Facing a 3-1 deficit to the Timberwolves, the Lakers are banking on LeBron James and Luka Don\u010di\u0107 boosting them in L.A.<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES \u2014 Much like dozens of honeymoons involving famous people in this town, Luka Don\u010di\u0107 and LeBron James have it all: a massive following, plenty of bliss and the most coveted title of all, power couple.<\/p>\n
Once they linked back in February<\/a>, the basketball anticipation swelled \u2014 no easy feat for a team with a history as rich as the Lakers \u2014 and a No. 3 playoff seed was seized.<\/p>\n All the hopes and expectations began to swell, although when these grand playoff plans were presented to Anthony Edwards, well, he\u2019s still laughing at them.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most humbling aspect for the Lakers in this first-round series<\/a> with the Timberwolves is that neither James nor Don\u010di\u0107 is playing the heavy right now. That role belongs to Edwards, the chest-beating and muscle-flexing foe, who has been the most impactful player on the court so far.<\/p>\n As for Don\u010di\u0107, James and the Lakers? They can\u2019t afford to add a fourth L.<\/p>\n They\u2019re down 3-1 in the series, and the plug might be pulled on this Hollywood premiere unless there\u2019s a stirring comeback story, of which both LeBron and Luka are fully capable of directing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen Bron do it already,\u201d said Lakers swingman Dorian Finney-Smith, referring to the 2016 NBA Finals<\/a>.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll need to start with cleaner fourth quarters. If these Luka- and LeBron-fueled Lakers can\u2019t finish playoff games properly, they will be finished. The Wolves are punishing them, displaying more energy, grit and gutsy plays, raising the suspicion that Don\u010di\u0107 and James are gassed from all the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n The Wolves have outscored the Lakers in every fourth quarter and are up 105-69 combined. Stunningly, this series isn\u2019t over already, given those dominating numbers.<\/p>\n As for Don\u010di\u0107 and James, they\u2019re shooting a combined 12-for-37 in the fourths. They were a minus-19 combined in the fourth of Game 3<\/a>, and minus-9 in Game 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n James, in particular, has either struggled or disappeared. He went scoreless in the fourth of Game 4 when the Wolves bounced and pounced back, winning in the final seconds.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s the solution? Can the Lakers use their star power to not only regain their footing in this series but win it? Or is this simply the wrong matchup against the bigger and more physical Timberwolves? And did the spoiled fans in L.A. have it all wrong when they sensed Luka-LeBron would bring riches in Year One together?<\/p>\n Here are the positives:<\/p>\n \u2022 LeBron remains frisky at 40. Overall, he has played well in the series, much like he has all season, which could result in an All-NBA selection<\/a> \u2014 crazy at his age.<\/p>\n He\u2019s taking a good portion of the playmaking away from Don\u010di\u0107 here in the playoffs, which allows Don\u010di\u0107 to play off the ball more, something he did last season with Kyrie Irving in Dallas and the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals<\/a>.<\/p>\n LeBron is moving around the floor effortlessly and has his fingerprints on plenty of impactful plays. He\u2019s averaging 26.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game in this series<\/a> while also shooting 50.7% overall and 39.1% on 3-pointers.<\/p>\n The Wolves must show him respect by occasionally throwing double-teams in his direction, even though Minnesota, an elite defensive team, doesn\u2019t normally give opponents that much love.<\/p>\n \u2022 Luka has leveled up. His first taste of the playoffs in a Laker jersey looks pretty familiar. Like, Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s stretches of dominance remain the same, no matter if it\u2019s Dallas or L.A.<\/p>\n He\u2019s the series-leading scorer at 30.8 ppg<\/a>, although the Wolves are making him work on every possession. The first line of defense for Minnesota is Jaden McDaniels, who brings length and athleticism and superb anticipation skills. Also, McDaniels guarded Don\u010di\u0107 often in the 2024 playoffs, so that experience helps.<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 is, for the most part, having his way against the Minnesota defense. His only fault is hunting Rudy Gobert too often for mismatched isolations. Those 1-on-1s were highlight plays last season in the 2024 Western Conference Finals that fell in his favor. In this series, not so much, percentage-wise.<\/p>\n If Don\u010di\u0107 doesn\u2019t step on McDaniel\u2019s foot in the closing moments of Game 4, maybe this series is tied. Sometimes, fluke plays have a way of tilting a series one direction or another, and it\u2019s nobody\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n And now, the concerns:<\/p>\n \u2022 Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s defense. He can run, but he can\u2019t hide. Don\u010di\u0107 must guard someone in this series and unless it\u2019s Mike Conley, the Wolves\u2019 aging point guard who rarely shoots, he\u2019s at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n Edwards is certainly a handful for Don\u010di\u0107, as he is for just about everyone in the NBA. Meanwhile, McDaniels\u2019 scoring is inconsistent yet vastly improved (19.8 ppg in this series). Just as the Lakers are hunting Gobert and trying to goad him into mismatches, the mismatch that seems to escape the public\u2019s radar is when the Wolves hunt Luka and get him into switches that favor them.<\/p>\n Remember, this side of the court haunted Don\u010di\u0107 in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, who punished him repeatedly. And lastly, this is the stated reason why Don\u010di\u0107 is no longer with the Mavericks. \u201cDefense wins championships\u201d is the mantra of embattled Mavs GM Nico Harrison, who must be watching this series with some interest.<\/p>\n Would the Lakers be up in this series if they had Anthony Davis and his rim protection? Because there\u2019s a noticeable lack of such right now on this team, and for the most part, coach JJ Redick is going without a center at all.<\/p>\n \u2022 LeBron\u2019s stamina. All claims that he lacked oxygen near the end of these games are rubbish, according to James.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got some really good looks,\u201d James said about the failed fourth quarter of Game 3. \u201cI don\u2019t think fatigue has anything to do with that. Just missing some point-blank shots, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n We\u2019ll see if Redick repeats a questionable strategy of using just five players for an entire second half, as he did in Game 4. That, of course, means LeBron, after yet another season\u2019s worth of tread wear, doesn\u2019t rest for the final two quarters of a second straight game here on the eve of May \u2014 assuming the game will be close and demand his presence.<\/p>\n The predictions in the past of James breaking down are all buried in a cemetery somewhere. He has proven those projections wrong every time. He prepares his body for deep playoff runs even if those runs don\u2019t materialize.<\/p>\n So maybe it\u2019s not a stamina issue. Maybe it\u2019s a late-game performance issue. Same thing, because the Lakers, at this point, can\u2019t afford either.<\/p>\n \u2022 Luka and LeBron must win a game in Minnesota. Even if these two prevail Wednesday in the friendly confines of Crypto.com Arena, they\u2019ll need to travel to Minneapolis, where a crazed crowd will certainly await, for Game 6.<\/p>\n The arena noise, according to those in the building, was ear-splitting for Game 4. Given the Wolves would be in position to close out the series \u2014 or face a do-or-die Game 7 if they fail \u2014 the home-court advantage will likely be significant enough.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s the situation facing Luka and LeBron. If this first phase of the pairing has another gear, there\u2019s no choice \u2014 it\u2019s now or never. They must overcome Edwards (29 points, eight rebounds, six assists in the series) and keep McDaniels and Julius Randle (who\u2019s playing the best playoffs of his career) from enjoying big stretches.<\/p>\n Because, given James\u2019 age, how many more of these opportunities will this couple have in L.A.?<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and follow him on\u00a0X<\/a>.<\/p>\n The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n