EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Less than three months after the trade that shook the basketball world, the Los Angeles Lakers are headed into their first postseason with LeBron James and Luka Doncic atop their roster.
The trouble is that this stellar duo has only played 21 games together.
James realizes that might not be enough time to build a bond strong enough to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, who probably have a better idea of who they are and what they can do when these teams begin their first-round playoff series Saturday in downtown LA.
The third-seeded Lakers won 50 games and the Pacific Division despite dramatically changing their core at midseason. Beating the Wolves in a seven-game series is an even tougher task, and James knows there won't be a Hollywood ending to the Lakers' wild year without plenty of work, determination and injury luck.
The 40-year-old James has been cautious with his thoughts about the Lakers in recent weeks as the 22-year veteran heads toward his 18th NBA postseason. Better than anyone, he realizes the enormity of the challenge ahead as he chases his fifth championship.
“Obviously you want to be healthy going into a postseason run, that’s most important,” James said Friday after practice. “And then you want to have been playing at a high level for the majority of the season — being in must-win games going down the stretch, playoff-type intensity games, and we had that. But at the end of the day ... I don’t give a damn how much you know about a team, how much they know about you, all the talk. It’s not about that. It’s about once you get on the floor.”
One year after Minnesota reached the Western Conference finals and lost to Doncic's Mavericks, the Wolves roared into the playoffs this spring with a 17-4 finish to the regular season, playing standout basketball after Julius Randle returned from injury.
LeBron and Luka have the higher seed and home-court advantage — but only just barely.
For all of the Lakers' fanfare and star power, they went 7-7 down the stretch. LA still hung on to the third seed despite winning just one more game than the Wolves — and only two more than eighth-place Memphis.
“Trying to figure stuff out on the fly, it’s not perfect,” Lakers rookie coach JJ Redick said. “And frankly, our stretch since we traded for Luka hasn’t been perfect, and not just with scheduling, and with guys being in and out of the lineup. It just hasn’t been perfect, and it’s really hard to do.”
Mutual respect
James and Anthony Edwards are meeting in the NBA playoffs for the first time after they cemented their friendship during last summer's Paris Olympics.
“It means a lot to match up against him, man," Edwards said. "Probably goes down as the greatest player to ever play basketball. Trying to get putting him out of the playoffs under my belt is going to be a tough one, but it’s going to be a fun road.”
James called Edwards “amazing. Unbelievable basketball junkie. Loves to play the game of basketball. Great kid, and all the success those guys have had so far throughout his young career has been awesome to see.”
Can Ant keep his cool?
Confidence won’t be a problem against the Lakers for Edwards, even though he’s still just 23. Keeping his cool has been an issue this season for him, having led the league in technical fouls and amassing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for various behavioral transgressions. He said there’s no reason for the Wolves to worry about that, though.
“I won’t get no techs. I won’t say anything. I’m going to be super-quiet, 100%,” Edwards said.
Catch and release
The Lakers have played this season a heavy gap-help defense that’s designed to keep a gamebreaker like Edwards from doing too much damage at the rim, so the Wolves' wings must be ready to capitalize on catch-and-shoot opportunities. The Wolves were fourth in the NBA in 3-point percentage and fifth in attempts during the regular season, and Edwards led the league in makes.
“If they’re taking the ball out of Ant’s hands, you have an open shot, let it fly. Because once that happens, it just loosens up the defense and opens everything up,” said Donte DiVincenzo, who shot nearly 40% from deep. “And it also is just a confidence-booster for everybody in the locker room. Everybody knows that whoever’s going to give the ball up, the next person is going to have a wide-open shot to try to get a good one. And there’s nobody on the team who’s going to try to do it themselves, and Ant’s at the forefront of that, just building confidence in everybody on the team.”
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AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Greg Beacham, The Associated Press
