The Lakers’ season ended in Game 5 on Wednesday night after a career night by Rudy Gobert, who took full advantage against small ball lineups.
What seemed like a promising playoff run ended on Wednesday, as LA fell to the Wolves in Game 5, 103-96.
Head coach J.J. Redick continued his rotation from the second half of Game 4, electing to bench Jaxson Hayes and start Dorian Finney-Smith. The Lakers‘ center-less group was outmatched in the paint and on the boards by Rudy Gobert, who took full advantage.
Conversations surrounding Gobert in the series focused on whether he would be played off the floor. Following a quiet Game 4 in which he scored five points on 1-6 shooting, he dominated Game 5 with arguably the best performance of his career.
A dominant display of 27 points, 24 rebounds and two blocks showcased his size and rim protection against the undersized Lakers. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year highlighted the gap in talent and size at center between the two teams.
Nine of Gobert’s 24 rebounds came off the offensive glass, leading Minnesota to a 20-10 second-chance advantage. Minnesota scored 94 second-chance points across the five games in the series.
LA played without a center for the entire game, distributing responsibility to the roster’s forwards. In the clip below, Gobert grabs two offensive rebounds on the same possession against the Lakers’ small front line.
“He’s really big.” Redick said postgame. “I mean he’s really big. It’s one thing if he’s the only one down there and it’s another thing if he’s there’s multiple crashers and they all have the license to crash; McDaniels, Di Vincenzo, in particular, Randle as well.
“But McDaniels and DiVincenzo are crashing nearly every shot, so you have to account for them plus Gobert’s just bigger than everyone.”
The Wolves grabbed 13 offensive rebounds per game, second in the playoffs. As Redick alluded to above, they compound their size by crashing as a team.
Late in the fourth, watch as Donte DiVincenzo hoists a step-back 3-pointer. Jaden McDaniels crashes from the corner while Julius Randle slides in from the opposite side of the key.
LeBron James boxes out Randle while Rui Hachimura tags McDaniels, leaving Luka Dončić, already behind in defensive rebounding position, to watch as Gobert puts back a massive fourth-quarter basket.
LA’s boxing-out principles were off throughout the series. Whether this was due to fatigue or the Wolves’ declared war of attrition, it had an impact.
The Lakers even went to a zone to offset some size and athletic issues. In desperation to get any size on the floor he trusts, Redick threw in Maxi Kleber, the 6’10 “shooting forward, for his Laker debut in the middle of it.
It did not work.
With the zone having given Minnesota some issues earlier in the series, they were more than prepared in Game 5. Watch below as they quickly get the ball in the middle of the floor, finding Gobert for an easy lob.
Minnesota dominated the points in the paint, 56-40, holding a 250-174 edge in the series. Numbers that are untenable to survive against.
As the series progressed, the Wolves had a response for every strategy from the Lakers. LA sent double teams at Anthony Edwards in Game 5, hoping to live with the results of his playmaking over his scoring.
Minnesota diced it up, getting great shots. Gobert was an efficient 12-15 from the field on spoon-fed baskets like the one below. Watch as Finney-Smith shows help on the baseline against Edwards.
Edwards quickly extends and swings the ball to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who drives and finds Gobert for the lob, once again taking advantage of the small front line.
The biggest concern for the Lakers coming out of the playoffs was their inability to score, an unthinkable conclusion when assessing the roster following the trade for Doncic. LA failed to score over 96 points in three of the five games in the series, including just 17 points per game in fourth quarters.
Gobert’s size on defense compared to the Lakers’ forwards played a significant role in Game 5 and the series. Redick turned to Jared Vanderbilt in the elimination game, giving him his most minutes of the playoffs, making him an easy target for Gobert to guard, or more precisely not guard.
Watch below as late in the fourth, he shuts off a LeBron drive while recovering to get the block on Vanderbilt.
The two blocks doesn’t do justice to the number of shots Gobert dissuaded from being taken around the rim.
LeBron and Dončić combined to go just 4-for-18 in the final two fourth quarters of the season. Lacking any threat at the rim, the Lakers and their stars were relegated to being jump shooters.
This is a credit to Minnesota’s defense, with Gobert in the middle, and the big men the Lakers did not trust to put on the floor.
Gobert took all the jokes to start the series, but he’s the one laughing now as the Lakers seek a much-needed big man over the summer.
You can follow Raj on Twitter at @RajChipalu.