Lakers vs. Wolves Game 5 Preview and Game Thread: Will L.A. waive the white flag?

The Lakers will be fighting to save their season in Game 5 against the Wolves.

Now on the brink of elimination, the Lakers look to extend the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who will be back in Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday. The purple and gold look to bounce back after two disappointing and heartbreaking losses in Minnesota.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

When: 7 PDT, Apr 30

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: TNT, truTV, Max, Spectrum SportsNet+

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After the Lakers’ disappointing Game 4 loss, much of the conversation was about JJ Redick’s choice to run his five best players to the ground by playing them 24 minutes straight in the second half.

It was a decision worth criticizing the rookie head coach over and one of the biggest reasons why Los Angeles is in the position it is right now.

But Redick’s decision-making isn’t the only reason the Lakers’ season is in jeopardy. There’s also the fact that they can’t figure out this matchup against the Wolves.

They’ve had self-inflicted mistakes, like turnovers, that they haven’t cleaned up and Minnesota’s role players are simply outperforming L.A.’s. This is unfortunate, given that the last two games were extremely winnable.

So, the question at this point is, can the Lakers still figure it out and turn their fate around? They certainly are confident that they can still come back, albeit their chances are slim. They need to take it one game at a time and that’s exactly what their approach is heading into Game 5.

Perhaps the biggest question ahead of Game 5 is how Redick will adjust again. Is he going to start with a new lineup? He didn’t want to reveal anything during Tuesday’s practice, but we’ll likely see L.A.’s small-ball unit right away.

If that’s the case, can Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves lead the team’s offense? More importantly, can the Lakers find a way to prevent the Wolves from feasting inside the paint?

Hopefully, the Lakers will get a much-needed boost from their crowd because even if the odds are now against them, it’ll be ugly to wrap up a successful regular season by losing to the Wolves in five games.

If there’s one thing we know about this season’s Lakers, they won’t go down without at least putting up a fight. They should be far from ready to waive the white flag.

Notes and Updates

• For the Lakers’ injury report, Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery) is questionable for the first time since being traded to Los Angeles. But it’s hard to foresee him getting any minutes in this one, knowing that he has yet to play a single game for the Lakers.
• As for the Wolves, only Rob Dillingham (right ankle sprain) is listed as out.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.