{"id":2792,"date":"2025-04-28T11:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T11:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/2792\/"},"modified":"2025-04-28T11:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T11:09:12","slug":"the-lakers-are-on-the-brink-of-elimination-and-anthony-edwards-is-the-biggest-reason-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/2792\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lakers are on the brink of elimination \u2014 and Anthony Edwards is the biggest reason why"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Exhausted, weary and frustrated, the Los Angeles Lakers are on the brink<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Elimination is staring them in the face, an unexpected development considering how well the LeBron James<\/a>–Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> partnership has worked in a few short months.<\/p>\n

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Elimination is staring them in the face because they couldn\u2019t manage to scrape out one win on the road against a Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> team we can no longer describe as immature and unserious.<\/p>\n

But most importantly, elimination is staring the Lakers in the face because Anthony Edwards<\/a> pushed them there, because Edwards\u2019 mental and physical stamina is greater than the two stars he stands across the way from.<\/p>\n

The Lakers faltered down the stretch in their 116-113 Game 4 loss<\/a> to the Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon, as Minnesota has taken a 3-1 series lead and can eliminate the Lakers with a win at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Edwards is on the verge of becoming the NBA\u2019s giant slayer. He took down champions and MVPs in last year\u2019s playoff run. The encore for sending Kevin Durant<\/a> and Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a> home could be two more players he holds in the highest regard.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLuka\u2019s probably the best player in the game \u2014 young player in the game and Bron is the best player leaving the game, so I\u2019m just trying to prove I belong,\u201d Edwards said.<\/p>\n

One supposes James will leave the game eventually, but before he does, Edwards wants a piece \u2014 that the best respect he can show someone he called a mentor from their time as Olympians last summer is to put him out.<\/p>\n

Edwards scored 16 of his 43 in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves clawed back from a 10-point hole, beginning the proceedings with back-to-back triples. He finished with icy free throws, calm free throws, following a review that ruled James fouled Edwards on the hand on a drive with 10.5 seconds left.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHand is part of the ball. I feel like the hand was a part of that ball,\u201d James said. \u201cI was able to get his hand on top of the ball. The ball stripped out and went out on him.”<\/p>\n

The officials saw it differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s swiping at the ball, he can\u2019t get to it, you gotta hit my arm,\u201d said Edwards, who also finished with nine rebounds and six assists.<\/p>\n

Edwards wants his respect, as not just a top young player, but the guy \u2014 the standard. And who are we to deny him. There\u2019s this glimmer in his eye when he talks, almost as if he knows a secret he\u2019s not willing to share \u2014 but he knows it\u2019ll be revealed in due time anyways.<\/p>\n

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Due time could be Wednesday, or Friday, or even a week from now if this goes to a Game 7. Consider Edwards\u2019 approach here, seeing those two across the way. It was clear the Lakers stars were going for it, and the temptation, the urge to match them shot-for-shot had to be yearning inside those 23-year-old bones.<\/p>\n

Instead, he lulled them to sleep \u2014 almost like a black cat, one would say, before he pounced in the final period. He picked his spots, continuing his trend of facilitating without turning the ball over (six turnovers in four games), chased Don\u010di\u0107 around, bodied up on James and yet had enough down the stretch to dominate.<\/p>\n

\"Minneapolis,<\/p>\n

The Lakers are one more Anthony Edwards explosion away from elimination from the playoffs. (Robert Gauthier\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

He’s making sure Julius Randle<\/a> stays engaged and doesn\u2019t stray, pumping life into Jaden McDaniels<\/a> and crediting teammates like Donte DiVincenzo<\/a> for pointing out nuances he doesn\u2019t often read in real time.<\/p>\n

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But he sees it and is a quick study.<\/p>\n

The biggest plays he made were when he gave it up, to DiVincenzo for a driving layup and 3-point play, then not forcing it against a triple-team with 42 seconds left, dishing a hockey assist that resulted in McDaniels having a 3-point play opportunity with his team down two.<\/p>\n

These moments keep adding up, these random isolated instances keep going to the ledger \u2014 and it equals something.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are moments that we should live for, going on the road, trying to close the team out,\u201d Edwards said looking ahead to Game 5. \u201cIt’s gonna be tough, gonna be a tough atmosphere, but it should be fun, if you like competing at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And with the way the Lakers emptied their tanks, the fact Lakers head coach JJ Redick didn\u2019t make a single substitution in the second half, lets you know how critical they saw this game. James played 46 minutes and 14 seconds, while Don\u010di\u0107, fully recovered from an illness that slowed him Friday, played 45 minutes and 49 seconds. James was limited to five points, five rebounds and five assists after halftime, finishing with 27, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and three steals. Don\u010di\u0107 scored 38, but added just two assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some really good looks. Luka missed a point-blank layup to put us up seven. I missed a point-blank layup to put us up four,\u201d James said. \u201cWe had a couple opportunities, I don\u2019t think it was fatigue. We just missed shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such is life with James\u2019 legs that Mike Conley<\/a> \u2014 another senior citizen here \u2014 managed to recover from being pushed off by James on a look-ahead pass to block his shot from behind midway through the third quarter.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s the best block I\u2019ve ever had. It\u2019s probably the only one [on James], but I\u2019ll take it,\u201d said Conley, the 37-year-old who\u2019s compiled 242 blocked shots in 1,172 games. \u201cI\u2019ll take a bum ankle over it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

That pain was soothed in the win, similar to Edwards when James\u2019 weight landed square on his left ankle in the third \u2014 but he popped up and played on, showing no signs of pain later.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s the flaws on the Lakers’ roster that brought them here. Redick has done yeoman\u2019s work making this bunch a better defensive team, but Don\u010di\u0107 has been targeted on defense and has little use for starting center Jaxson Hayes<\/a>, who played the first four minutes, picked up two fouls and never returned.<\/p>\n

Was it the smartest move by Redick to play his starters the entire second half, considering this was a Sunday afternoon game and Game 3 was Friday night? It was certainly a calculated risk, perhaps done out of respect for what the Timberwolves can do, perhaps out of desperation for what awaits the Lakers on the other side of this: a 3-1 deficit where Games 6 and 7 will be played every other day and the cities sit two time zones away.<\/p>\n

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\u201cToday I felt better, there\u2019s no excuse,\u201d Don\u010di\u0107 said. \u201cThis is the playoffs, fatigue shouldn\u2019t play any role in this. Played a lot of minutes, but they shouldn\u2019t play a role. I think they just executed better on the defensive end during the last minute.”<\/p>\n

This was Redick’s chance to get the best of this bunch this series. Those who saw this matchup and looked directly ahead to a Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets meeting before a showdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder didn\u2019t truly foresee this.<\/p>\n

This is clear and present danger, and it was evident in the fourth before Austin Reaves<\/a>\u2019 corner 3 bounced off the rim before the buzzer. It was evident even with Rui Hachimura<\/a> being the only Laker outside of James, Don\u010di\u0107 and Reaves to score in double figures this series \u2014 he scored 23, including some big shots with the Timberwolves charging in the second half.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s evident the Lakers have the top-end talent but perhaps not the sweat equity the Timberwolves have grown to possess \u2014 the playoff callouses from last year\u2019s run to the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

“I think it helps having the continuity that we have, the chemistry that we have, the belief that we have together. Just understanding that we can beat anybody, any night,\u201d Conley said. “We go 8-9-10 deep, with guys that continue to fight and find ways to impact the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

This series isn\u2019t over, not with James still able to conjure excellence and Don\u010di\u0107 doing something otherworldly every night. But Edwards smells blood in the water \u2014 and for the Lakers, that water could be the sandy beaches of Bora Bora or some other tropical island if they don\u2019t pull it together, fast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Exhausted, weary and frustrated, the Los Angeles Lakers are on the brink. Elimination is staring them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[375,1013,7,372,164,194,377,32,376,938,185,1911,150,508,371,152,6,11,253,179,1912,1012],"class_list":{"0":"post-2792","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-anthony-edwards","9":"tag-austin-reaves","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-donte-divincenzo","12":"tag-golden-state-warriors","13":"tag-houston-rockets","14":"tag-jaden-mcdaniels","15":"tag-jaxson-hayes","16":"tag-julius-randle","17":"tag-kevin-durant","18":"tag-lebron-james","19":"tag-lebron-james-luka","20":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","21":"tag-luka","22":"tag-mike-conley","23":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","24":"tag-nba","25":"tag-nba-playoffs","26":"tag-nikola-jokic","27":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","28":"tag-richard-jefferson","29":"tag-rui-hachimura"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114415282742721172","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}