Lakers’ bold second-half lineup adjustment worked — until it didn’t. Now what?

Sports

add

MINNEAPOLIS — Staring at the possibility of a daunting 3-1 series deficit, Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick made a bold rotation adjustment at halftime.

Instead of starting center Jaxson Hayes at the beginning of the third quarter, Redick replaced him with Dorian Finney-Smith to deploy the team’s best lineup — the “Lasers lineup,” as Redick calls it — at the beginning of the half. The decision was made quickly — Finney-Smith later said he was given two minutes’ notice that he was starting the third.

Redick had cautioned against overreacting earlier in the series. But the Lakers, enjoying a combined 43 points from Luka Dončić and LeBron James in the first half, somehow found themselves down by three points, 61-58, at intermission.

They felt they had outplayed the Timberwolves up to that point. Yet the series was slipping away. They needed to do something.

Redick believed it was time to test a change he had been considering for a couple of games. So he went for it. And it worked. Until it didn’t.

And now, following a crushing 116-113 Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers find themselves down 3-1 and one loss away from an early playoff exit and an offseason full of questions.

“We had opportunities to win,” LeBron James said. “We just didn’t close.”

After Redick’s adjustment, the Lakers opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run to regain control of the game. They outscored Minnesota 36-23 — the most points the Lakers have scored in a quarter this series — in the frame to enter the fourth quarter up by 10 points, 94-84.

The Timberwolves inexplicably started hedging and blitzing the Lakers in pick-and-roll coverages, rather than switching them, as they were doing were most of the series. That tactical error, which primarily occurred in the third, allowed Dončić and the Lakers to generate advantages with their passing out of 4-on-3 and 3-on-2 situations.

The Lakers shredded the Wolves defense, making 13 of 22 shots, including 7 of 14 3-pointers. The ball whipped around the floor, pinging from the ball handler to the roller to the corners. The Wolves looked helpless against the Lakers’ firepower.

But as the second half progressed, Redick’s rotation change went from an adjustment to an all-out strategy. He decided to play the Lakers’ five best players the entire second half. There was a brief moment he nearly subbed Gabe Vincent — for whom it is unknown — but that was it. If the Lakers were going to lose and fall down 3-1, Redick wanted to do so going down swinging.

“I think once you’ve kind of made that decision, and (the players) all are in, you just gotta trust them,” Redick said.

The problem was that the group barely had energy to keep the fight going in the fourth. They tried. And they nearly got it done. But the Wolves out-executed the Lakers once again. The Lakers have been outscored 25-11 in the seven clutch minutes of the series, a decisive advantage in the Wolves’ favor. The Lakers were up by seven points with 5:06 remaining, but couldn’t hold on. The Wolves outscored them 32-19 in the frame and 19-9 over the final 4:50.

Minnesota has been fresher and more energetic in each fourth quarter. And that’s reflected in the results: The Wolves have outscored the Lakers in each fourth quarter in the series. The fourth-quarter scoring margin is 105-69. The Lakers have an 83.1 offensive rating and a 128 defensive rating in the series’ fourth quarters — both horrific numbers. That’s been the key difference in the series.

“We just gotta hold onto the lead,” Dončić said. “We can’t relax. We gotta keep doing what we did to get lead and that’s how we gotta play.”

The Lakers wasted massive performances from Dončić (38 points) and James (27 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and three blocks), and a great shooting night (19 for 47 on 3s, 40.4 percent). The margins continue to haunt them. The Wolves have won the possession battle in all four games. They attempted 10 more field-goals, eight more free throws, grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, and turned the ball over three fewer times.

The final minute of the game was another disasterclass for the Lakers. Dončić was tripped by Jaden McDaniels while dribbling up the floor, but a foul wasn’t called. Dončić called timeout on the ground. On the ensuing possession, the Lakers turned the ball over due to a miscommunication between James, the inbounder, and Dončić, the intended recipient, with 30.1 seconds left.

Then, with 10.1 seconds left, James stripped the ball off Edwards’ leg, but the Lakers called a timeout and the Wolves challenged the ruling, leading to it being overturned and called a foul on James. Edwards sank both free throws, Reaves missed a 3-point look at the buzzer and that was the game — and likely the series.

“I don’t think fatigue had anything to do with that,” James said. “Just missing some point-blank shots, you know? We were getting into what we wanted to get into. We just weren’t able to convert.”

Redick’s decision to close was, in some ways, an indictment of the Lakers’ roster. He didn’t trust Vincent, Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt or Jordan Goodwin — the other four rotation players — to spot any of the second-half starters for even a minute or two.

“I mean, it was tough,” Finney-Smith said. “But it’s the playoffs. Don’t think nobody wanted to come out.”

It’s difficult to blame Redick. The Lakers’ bench has been shaky. They have several one-way players in their rotation, and Redick is trying to strike the proper two-way balance.

But arguably the biggest takeaway from this series is how desperately the Lakers need a quality starting center (and, to a lesser extent, another two-way wing). The Lakers barely have six playable players. Even Reaves, who broke out over the second half of the season as one of the league’s best No. 3 options, hasn’t looked like himself against Minnesota’s perimeter length and athleticism. The Lakers don’t have a fourth reliable scoring threat outside of their top three scorers. Rui Hachimura, the best option, finally stepped up with 23 points, but he has been relatively underwhelming offensively for the series.

It’s unclear how many more adjustments the Lakers have left. They should start by starting Finney-Smith over Hayes and maximizing the minutes their best lineup plays together to begin halves. Hayes has more fouls (eight) than points (seven) in the series. It’s probably time to go entirely centerless.

The Lakers could also stand to run a more organized offense, an issue for them, at times, post-Dončić trade. They too often devolved into mismatch-hunting and iso-ball, which can look great, but isn’t the most effective offensive strategy, especially against a long, athletic and stingy defense like Minnesota’s.

For what it’s worth, the Lakers remain steadfast in their belief that they can win this series. Finney-Smith referenced James’ iconic 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.

“This is not done yet,” Hachimura said confidently.

Every game moving forward is a single-elimination contest for the Lakers, who entered the series as favorites with aspirations of making the Western Conference finals or going further. A first-round loss would indisputably be a disappointment, if not a disaster.

Dončić, a playoff riser whose teams have often punched above their weight in the postseason, said he’s looking forward to the challenge of trying to become the 14th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series.

“It’s a fun challenge,” Dončić said. “We should have extra motivation to win these next three games. It’s gonna be very hard. Every possession’s gonna matter. And we gotta go 100 percent no matter what.”

The Lakers host the Timberwolves for Game 5 on Wednesday. The team will be off on Monday before reconvening for practice on Tuesday. The goal, for now, is to force a Game 6 — shifting the pressure back onto the Wolves to avoid a Game 7.

But if the Lakers can’t figure out how to better hold onto leads and solve their fourth-quarter woes, their season could be over in a few days.

“You don’t think about winning three (games),” James said. “You think about just getting the next one. That’s the only thing that matters because if not, obviously, the offseason begins. So it’s all about Wednesday. That’s what’s important.”

(Photo of Julius Randle, Dorian Finney-Smith and Luka Dončić: David Berding/Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

Flávio Prado aponta contratação que é ‘mico’ no Brasil hoje: “Eu avisei”

Futebol

Next

trending_flat

Masterplan behind Liverpool title win, Copa del Rey chaos, Wrexham rise again

Sports