Luka and LeBron must quickly find winning formula when Lakers face tested Timberwolves in 1st round

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Lower than three months after the commerce that shook the basketball world, the Los Angeles Lakers are headed into their first postseason with LeBron James and Luka Doncic atop their roster.

The difficulty is that this stellar duo has solely performed 21 video games collectively.

James realizes which may not be sufficient time to construct a bond robust sufficient to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, who most likely have a greater thought of who they’re and what they’ll do when these groups start their first-round playoff sequence Saturday in downtown LA.

The third-seeded Lakers gained 50 video games and the Pacific Division regardless of dramatically altering their core at midseason. Beating the Wolves in a seven-game sequence is a good harder activity, and James is aware of there gained’t be a Hollywood ending to the Lakers’ wild 12 months with out loads of work, willpower and harm luck.

The 40-year-old James has been cautious together with his ideas concerning the Lakers in current weeks because the 22-year veteran heads towards his 18th NBA postseason. Higher than anybody, he realizes the enormity of the problem forward as he chases his fifth championship.

“Obviously you want to be healthy going into a postseason run, that’s most important,” James mentioned Friday after apply. “And then you want to have been playing at a high level for the majority of the season — being in must-win games going down the stretch, playoff-type intensity games, and we had that. But at the end of the day … I don’t give a damn how much you know about a team, how much they know about you, all the talk. It’s not about that. It’s about once you get on the floor.”

One 12 months after Minnesota reached the Western Convention finals and misplaced to Doncic’s Mavericks, the Wolves roared into the playoffs this spring with a 17-4 end to the common season, taking part in standout basketball after Julius Randle returned from harm.

LeBron and Luka have the upper seed and home-court benefit — however solely simply barely.

For all the Lakers’ fanfare and star energy, they went 7-7 down the stretch. LA nonetheless held on to the third seed regardless of successful only one extra recreation than the Wolves — and solely two greater than eighth-place Memphis.

“Trying to figure stuff out on the fly, it’s not perfect,” Lakers rookie coach JJ Redick mentioned. “And frankly, our stretch since we traded for Luka hasn’t been perfect, and not just with scheduling, and with guys being in and out of the lineup. It just hasn’t been perfect, and it’s really hard to do.”

Mutual respect

James and Anthony Edwards are assembly within the NBA playoffs for the primary time after they cemented their friendship throughout final summer time’s Paris Olympics.

“It means a lot to match up against him, man,” Edwards mentioned. “Probably goes down as the greatest player to ever play basketball. Trying to get putting him out of the playoffs under my belt is going to be a tough one, but it’s going to be a fun road.”

James referred to as Edwards “amazing. Unbelievable basketball junkie. Loves to play the game of basketball. Great kid, and all the success those guys have had so far throughout his young career has been awesome to see.”

Can Ant maintain his cool?

Confidence gained’t be an issue in opposition to the Lakers for Edwards, regardless that he’s nonetheless simply 23. Conserving his cool has been a difficulty this season for him, having led the league in technical fouls and amassing tons of of 1000’s of {dollars} in fines for varied behavioral transgressions. He mentioned there’s no cause for the Wolves to fret about that, although.

“I won’t get no techs. I won’t say anything. I’m going to be super-quiet, 100%,” Edwards mentioned.

Catch and launch

The Lakers have performed this season a heavy gap-help protection that’s designed to maintain a gamebreaker like Edwards from doing an excessive amount of harm on the rim, so the Wolves’ wings should be able to capitalize on catch-and-shoot alternatives. The Wolves have been fourth within the NBA in 3-point share and fifth in makes an attempt throughout the common season, and Edwards led the league in makes.

“If they’re taking the ball out of Ant’s hands, you have an open shot, let it fly. Because once that happens, it just loosens up the defense and opens everything up,” mentioned Donte DiVincenzo, who shot almost 40% from deep. “And it also is just a confidence-booster for everybody in the locker room. Everybody knows that whoever’s going to give the ball up, the next person is going to have a wide-open shot to try to get a good one. And there’s nobody on the team who’s going to try to do it themselves, and Ant’s at the forefront of that, just building confidence in everybody on the team.”

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AP Sports activities Author Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed.

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