The Los Angeles Lakers were on the wrong end of a blowout in Game 1 of their first round series against the Timberwolves, being outscored by 29 points at home in the final three quarters.
Despite the poor overall performance from the Lakers, Dorian Finney-Smith is confident that his team will bounce back in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
“We came out and had a good first quarter,” Finney-Smith said of Game 1. “Second quarter they picked up the energy and we just couldn’t bounce back for that. We’ll be ready tomorrow, be ready for the war. Last game, I felt like the coaches prepared us well. But the game turned down to a possession game and they got more possessions.”
Finney-Smith expanded upon why he is confident the Lakers will get back on track.
“We got good looks. We did our job really with Anthony Edwards, other guys just got hot,” he said. “We gotta make sure to limit their lasers. They’re a great 3-point shooting team, we can’t let them make 24 3s. We gotta do a better job of getting those attempts down and we’ll be good.”
With the series set to shift to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4, Finney-Smith expressed that getting Game 2 at home is super important for L.A.
“Every game is different. Just gotta come out there and be the better team. They were the better team in the first game, but it’s a whole new game. We just gotta try to come out here and get this win. Very important must-win, especially if we’re trying to do something special.”
Hopefully Finney-Smith and the Lakers come out with a sense of urgency in Game 2 as going to Minnesota facing a 2-0 deficit would not bode well for their chances of winning the series.
Dorian Finney-Smith admits to mistake in Lakers’ Game 1 loss
Dorian Finney-Smith only had three points on 1-of-5 shooting in the Lakers’ Game 1 loss and admitted that his lack of touches may have affected other parts of his game.
“This is probably one of those games where it may not be me because they’re putting Rudy Gobert on Rui,” Finney-Smith said. “So Rui is probably gonna be in the action a lot more than me so I’ll be in the corner a little bit more. But I could affect the game defensively, crashing the glass, finding ways to cut. Just being active, so I gotta be a little bit more active. I felt like last game I allowed not touching the ball to kind of mess with my energy, and I gotta do better.”
Regardless of how many touches he gets offensively, the Lakers need Finney-Smith locked in defensively and doing the dirty work if they are going to have a chance.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!