The Los Angeles Lakers faced significant issues in their initial playoff game, a 117-95 defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Numerous aspects went wrong, leaving no single, easy fix. Minnesota set a franchise playoff record with 21 three-pointers, dominated fast-break scoring 25-6, and the Lakers` offense faltered late, managing only 17 points in the fourth quarter. Luka Doncic recorded just one assist, far below his average, and LeBron James scored 19 points, also below his typical output.
However, early in the second game, the Lakers began to adjust, highlighted by a signature play executed by their two main stars.
The play started when Minnesota`s Jaden McDaniels missed a corner three. Rui Hachimura secured the rebound and quickly advanced the ball to Doncic on the right wing. As Doncic received the pass near the backcourt three-point line, James was already sprinting downcourt with only Minnesota`s Mike Conley attempting to defend his path to the basket.
Doncic took one dribble, turned upcourt, and spotted James. Seizing the chance, Doncic immediately launched a precise 50-foot outlet pass that sailed over Conley, dropping perfectly into James` hands for an uncontested close-range shot, which he made.
“It`s easy,” Doncic commented after the game. “I know what he`s going to do. He`s going to beat his defender, and I just throw it up there. It`s not hard.”
This score put L.A. up 7-4 and previewed the team`s successful adjustments for Game 2. Doncic finished with nine assists, the Lakers reversed the fast-break battle (13-6 in their favor), and L.A. won 94-85, evening the series at 1-1.
As the series moves to Minneapolis for Game 3 and the Timberwolves` strong defense tightens up at home, the connection between Luka and LeBron will be a crucial offensive advantage. It also showcases the potent partnership they have quickly built for what they hope will be a deep playoff run.
“One thing about Luka,” James told ESPN, “you got to be at the right spot at the right time or you got to make the connection, or he won`t pass you the ball like that. So, I think he trusts me.”
The fast-break chemistry between Doncic and James was evident from their very first game together with the Lakers, a decisive win over the Utah Jazz in February.
Late in the second quarter of that game, with the Lakers holding a large lead, James contested a Lauri Markkanen three-pointer and immediately ran past him towards the opposite basket. After the miss, Doncic grabbed the rebound, took one dribble, and sent a pass approximately 65 feet downcourt to find James in full stride for a layup.
Following the basket, James acknowledged the superb pass by pointing his index finger at his new teammate as he headed back on defense.
Lakers coach JJ Redick commented on their initial chemistry: “I think instantly you saw just the ability to feed off each other in transition, particularly with Luka as an outlet passer, LeBron running or getting down the court and creating an early cross match and getting that early seal. We saw that sort of right away.”
Such plays and this type of chemistry have long been a part of LeBron James` game throughout his extensive career.
“If you watch Bron`s career, whenever he had great passers who can make that pass — Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade — it was always effective,” Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith observed. “Bron does a good job of reading those [passes]… I think that`s definitely an advantage and gives us easy points. It`s hard to get easy points in the league.”
Lakers guard Gabe Vincent agreed, stating, “Great players got to get easy buckets too. Sometimes, that`s the easiest shot that he`s going to get [all game].”
In the 21 games they played together before the playoffs, Doncic found James for five assists on passes traveling 60 feet or more, according to tracking data. This was the highest frequency of such long passes between any two players in the league during the final two months of the regular season.
James continues to defy typical expectations for a player his age, but he approaches the game differently now than in his younger years. His first step isn`t as explosive, and he can`t simply out-jump defenders as easily. In the first two games against Minnesota, players like Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert have somewhat contained him in half-court situations.
However, James` understanding of the game remains exceptional. Years ago, he mentioned strategically conserving energy during parts of the game when a teammate is directing the offense, allowing him to exert more effort on defense or for specific offensive plays. Playing the role of a “wide receiver” to Doncic`s “quarterback” is the latest evolution of this strategy.
When asked about the key to his chemistry with Doncic before the playoffs, James deferred to his younger teammate: “Offensively? Give Luka the ball. If we stay ready,” James said, “we never got to get ready.”
When the Timberwolves prepared to face the Lakers for the first time after the acquisition of Doncic, Minnesota coach Chris Finch considered the challenge James would still present even without constantly handling the ball.
“If you`re overhelping in the gaps, you`re going to open massive runways for him to get downhill. That`s not going to end well for a defense, generally,” Finch commented before that game. “We spent a lot of our coaches` meeting talking about LeBron [playing] off ball and what that does to a defense… It`s a whole `nother threat level.”
The Lakers won that game, with James scoring 33 points and six assists. Doncic added 21 points and five assists, while Austin Reaves contributed 23 points and five assists.
When Minnesota secured the sixth seed and a first-round matchup with L.A., a specific goal of their game plan, according to sources, was to limit James in transition. They believed forcing him to operate primarily in half-court sets might tire him out over a long series.
Through the first two games, this strategy has had some success. The outlet pass from Doncic in Game 2 accounts for James` only two transition points in the series so far. He averaged 6.0 transition points per game in the regular season, ranking sixth in the NBA.
The Timberwolves` defensive approach on misses is reportedly similar to a hybrid of man and zone coverage in football. Two players immediately sprint back, with one specifically guarding James man-to-man. Meanwhile, players who crashed the offensive glass are instructed to pressure Doncic if he gets the rebound, denying him a clear opportunity to launch those long, accurate passes.
However, Finch and the Wolves cannot rest easy. The potential for James to play quarterback and Doncic the receiver has yet to be fully unleashed in this series.
“Passing to each other, them two motherf—ers? It sounds crazy to even be saying that,” Finney-Smith said, expressing amazement at the pairing. “Two years ago, that s— would have sounded fake. What am I saying — two years ago? Two months ago it would have sounded fake.”