The Minnesota Timberwolves knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The Lakers looked great throughout the regular season, under their head coach JJ Redick who is not only passionate but is also extremely hard working. Despite losing one of their best players in Anthony Davis, the Lakers still stayed afloat and were ranked No.1 in defensive efficiency, even without a starting caliber center. This had the NBA analysts and fans shocked, as everyone expected them to start losing because of their defense and the lack of size. Last season, the Golden State Warriors had a similar lineup, in terms of size and length, like the Lakers, and their lack of size heavily affected them, as they missed the playoffs.<\/p>
However, after a couple of weeks, the Lakers’ weakness started to show and their lack of lengthy front court players started to show, and in the first round series against the Timberwolves, it was more evident than ever, that they were not ready to compete for a championship. The Lakers lost the series in 5 games, and the best reason why was their paint defense, and their paint scoring on the other end of the floor. The Timberwolves are one of the biggest teams, in terms of length, and that cause a lot of problems for the Lakers. The Lakers had LeBron James playing the 5, and did not workout well for them.<\/p>