Magic: The Lakers lost in defense and short stature! Duan Ran: Pelinka is busy in the offseason

On the first round of the NBA playoffs this year, the Los Angeles Lakers' journey came to an abrupt end. In the first round of G5, they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 96-103 at home, and were eliminated 1-4 in the total score, while the Timberwolves successfully advanced to the second round, which was the third time in the team's history that they have made it to the first round of the playoffs. After the game ended, many industry insiders expressed their opinions. Commentator Zhu Yanshuo believes that the Lakers lost unjustly, and one of the important factors is the gap in coaching experience. At the same time, he also mentioned the regrets of the Lakers' original lineup selection. In today's NBA, when facing a team with a strong center, the disadvantage of not having a good center will be magnified. In this game, the Lakers lost 17 rebounds, and were snatched 18 offensive rebounds, mainly because the Timberwolves had more iron shots today, otherwise the situation might be even more ugly. He also looks forward to the Lakers making big moves in lineup this summer.

Ji Mengnian, a reporter from the Sports Weekly, analyzed it from a more macroscopic basketball tactics. He pointed out that although today is the era of space basketball, the role of center is still irreplaceable, and height has always been an advantage in basketball games. Although the small lineup has impact in a short period of time, it is difficult to maintain high efficiency for a long time. The center with the ability to protect the basket is the best choice to maintain the lower limit. Taking Universe Brave as an example, the five small lineups are just killer moves at critical moments in key games. In a season or a round of series, the "shelf life" of the five small teams is very short. The Lakers had no center and had short rotations, resulting in the fourth quarter of the five games being silent. However, the Lakers still have bargaining chips. This year is not the year of results. In the summer, their first priority is to find a center with strong ability to protect the basket and can play pick-and-roll with Doncic. The bottom-up role of protecting the basket center in the regular season is more obvious. Next, it depends on the operation of General Manager Pelinka.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson also expressed his views. He congratulated Timberwolves owner Alex Rodriguez, superstar Edwards and the entire Timberwolves, and also pointed out that the reason why the Lakers lost the game was because of their poor defense and obvious physical weakness. The Timberwolves had an absolute advantage in the inside.

Commentator Duan Ran believes that the Timberwolves' victory has exposed the Lakers' unbalanced lineup and the weakness of coach Redick being too young and stubborn. From the previous failure to substitution to the abandonment of center, Reddick has been taking risks to gambling, but unfortunately he failed. He also mentioned that after the Timberwolves advanced, Pelinka has a lot of work to do in the offseason, to make up for the center and change coaches, and to find more help for James and Doncic.

For the Lakers, this playoff defeat was undoubtedly a heavy blow, but it was also an opportunity to re-examine and adjust. They need to summarize their experiences and lessons during the offseason, improve on the problems existing in the lineup and coaching team, and look forward to appearing on the field in a new look next season and launching another impact on the championship.