After finding out the Lakers playoff opponent, head coach JJ Redick gave his first thoughts on the Wolves.
The Lakers had to wait a bit on Sunday to find out their playoff opponent until the Warriors-Clippers game went final after overtime, but the Wolves will await them in round one.
It’s an opponent they have familiarity with, having played them four times this season, but three of those meetings came before Dorian Finney-Smith was on the roster and only one of them featured Luka Dončić. In that sense, then, it’s a unique opponent for the Lakers.
After the team’s loss to the Blazers, head coach JJ Redick spoke about the Wolves and the upcoming matchup, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“It’s a very difficult opponent. They’ve played as well as anyone lately, and I believe they’re one of four teams in the top 10 in offense and defense. So, they present a lot of problems.”
Redick is right in that the Wolves, along with the Cavs, Celtics and Thunder, are the only teams to rank in the top 10 in offensive and defensive rating this season.
And while the Lakers may not have had experience with the Wolves in their current iteration, Luka does have a lot of experience against Minnesota. Last year, he downed the Wolves in the Western Conference Finals, including a memorable shot over Rudy Gobert.
LUKA 3-POINTER IN THE CLUTCH TO TAKE THE LEAD WITH 3 SECONDS LEFT IN THE 4Q
DAL-MIN (1-0) | 4Q Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/6hNV77J8aV
— NBA (@NBA) May 25, 2024
As a result, Redick noted that he would rely on Luka for some knowledge of the Wolves as well.
“There are nuances to what teams are trying to do against certain opponents,” Redick said when asked about the benefit of discussing the result of last year’s Western Conference finals with Doncic to get the Lakers ready for Minnesota next weekend.
The Lakers will be a favorite in the series. Having a week to gameplan for the Wolves will be a huge bonus for the Lakers. An even bigger bonus will be having Luka — who has beaten this team — and LeBron James, who has beaten every type of team in the playoffs.
And if all goes right, hopefully Luka adds another highlight play over Gobert in a series win, too.
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