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Dave McMenamin
PORTLAND, Ore. — When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Luka Doncic in February, little did coach JJ Redick know that his club was acquiring not just a superstar player but also a precious resource for his scouting department’s playoff preparation.
Sunday, shortly after Redick and his players and coaching staff watched the LA Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors in overtime and, as a result, lock in the No. 3 seed Lakers’ first-round opponent as the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves, the coach said he will tap into Doncic’s experience against the Wolves last spring.
“There are nuances to what teams are trying to do against certain opponents,” Redick said when asked about the benefit of discussing the result of last year’s Western Conference finals with Doncic to get the Lakers ready for Minnesota next weekend.
Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Wolves 4-1, with Doncic averaging 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals to earn series MVP.
While what worked for Doncic’s Mavs will be informative for Redick, so too will what didn’t work for Lakers assistant coach Greg St. Jean, who was swept out of the first round of the playoffs last year by the Wolves while on staff with the Phoenix Suns.
“We have a lot of work,” Redick said. “They’re a really good basketball team.”
Minnesota went 9-2 to close out the season and move up from No. 8 to No. 6 in the West, finishing with a 49-33 record, one fewer win than Los Angeles.
The Wolves finished with the No. 8 offense in the league, averaging 115.7 points per 100 possessions, and also had the No. 6 defensive rating, allowing 110.8 points per 100 possessions.
“It’s a very difficult opponent,” Redick said. “They’ve played as well as anyone lately, and I believe they’re one of four teams in the top 10 in offense and defense. So, they present a lot of problems.”
The Wolves are led by 23-year-old All-Star Anthony Edwards, who averaged a career-best 27.4 points per game in his fifth season and led the league in 3-point makes with 320 in the 79 games he played.
With the Lakers not hosting Game 1 until next weekend, Redick has been mindful to manage the break as best as possible to allow his team to recharge without getting out of rhythm.
Redick said the Lakers will have Monday off and then gather for a late afternoon practice Tuesday, followed by a team viewing of the Warriors-Memphis Grizzlies play-in tournament game.
“It’s not necessarily going to be everything at once this week. We’ll have to slow drip, and I think that’s the approach that I think is going to work best for our group,” Redick said. “Tuesday will be more about us. Wednesday, we’ll introduce Minnesota.”
The Lakers have plenty of recent experience against the Wolves. They opened the preseason against them and played them on opening night of the regular season before the teams split the season series 2-2. However only one of those games came after Los Angeles traded for Doncic; the Lakers won that contest 111-102 on Feb. 27.
Los Angeles closed out the regular season with a 109-81 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, with Doncic and LeBron James not joining the road trip and staying back to rest and rehabilitate their respective injuries — James’ left groin and right thumb and Doncic’s left quad. Austin Reaves (right ankle sprain), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle effusion), Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy), Jaxson Hayes (right hand contusion), Jarred Vanderbilt (left foot injury management), Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion) and Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery recovery) were also held out of the lineup.
The Lakers who did make the trip sat in a semicircle around a television in the visitors locker room at Moda Center on Sunday, watching the end of the Warriors-Clippers game with keen interest.
After Buddy Hield missed a last-second shot in OT to wrap up the game and finally sort out the seeding, Vanderbilt got up from his chair, gathered his belongings and made his way out of the locker room with an announcement: “We’re going to Minnesota, boys!”
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