The Timberwolves Went Into LA And Blew Out The Lakers To Steal Homecourt In Dominant Fashion

Ronald Martinez. Getty Images.

It took until the final game of the day, but we finally had a home team drop a Game 1 and immediately give up homecourt advantage. The Pacers had little issue with the Bucks, the Nuggets pulled out the OT thriller to hang on against the Clippers, and the Knicks used an insane 21-0 run in the 4th to come back against the Pistons. All three games were entertaining, and all three home teams found a way to win.

When it comes to MIN/LAL, it does feel like a lot of people already wrote the Lakers down to advance to the second round. Why, I'm not so sure. Once you get to the playoffs, for the most part you have to throw away what you saw during the regular season. These series are about matchups. Do you present a problem that your opponent will have trouble solving for 4 seperate times? Even if you believe the Lakers and the Wolves had very different seasons, when it comes to the matchups within this series, we just saw why the Wolves shouldn't have immediately been overlooked

Now, the #1 thing you always have to remember with every single LeBron James team is the fact that dropping Game 1 usually means absolutely nothing. It's the feel out game. We've seen plenty of LeBron teams drop Game 1 only to still win the series, so I wouldn't go overboard and say the Wolves have this series locked up either. They're off to a great start, they've stolen homecourt and now really put the pressure on the Lakers to win Game 2, because you do NOT want to go back to the Twin Cities down 0-2. Next thing you know, you have an off night and suddenly you're down 0-3 and your season is effectively over. That's now the reality for the Lakers in the short term.

When it comes to this ass kicking, that's really what it was. The Wolves were better pretty much across the board. Going on the road and putting up a 21-42 performance from behind the arc is exactly how you steal a Game 1. 

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Then you add in the 18 points off TOs, a 25-6 ass whooping in fastbreak points, a 44-32 difference in paint scoring while also winning the shot margin, and it's hard to find an area where the Wolves weren't the superior team. 

Bench production? Yeah, Wolves owned that too by a total of 44-13. Nobody on the Lakers other than Luka could really hit a shot, and that's not exactly news to anyone who watches the Wolves play. They have size and length on the perimeter to really give you fits, especially an offense like the Lakers. The Wolves can match the Lakers size if they play big, they can go small and play Randle or Reid as the solo big at the 5 if they want, and while this shooting was a clear magnet ball, that shit happens in the playoffs sometimes. 

The more you rely on isolation scoring and don't put the Wolves in rotation, the easier you're making their lives. Gobert at the rim is always going to make an impact, and you can let their wing/perimeter defenders just sit back and guard in isolation. They're too long and too physical. Then, on the other end, good luck when you have to rely on both Austin Reeves and Luka defensively against lineups where everyone can put the ball on the floor and make a play. How'd that look? I'd say not great! 

Remember, it's early. Every series we saw today still has a LONG way to go. You don't win a series by winning Game 1, but I will say that in NBA history, the teams that did went on to advance 77.8% of the time. It certainly helps set the tone, especially when you steal that game on the road like what MIN did tonight. 

For those of us who are hoping for a long series, you have to remember LeBron James is extremely difficult to kill and beat 4 times. The Lakers' margin for error just got a tad smaller, but there's enough talent on this team to bounce back in Game 2 and then split on the road. I personally hope they get swept, but I'll settle for a long and competitive series.