The Los Angeles Lakers had the entire squad healthy, and they had home-court advantage. No wonder the majority of the analysts had picked up the Lakers as favorites, but the Minnesota Timberwolves showed out.
After a crushing 117-95 loss in Game 1, the entire Lakers squad seemed to be in reflection and looking back mode. Starting from LeBron James to Luka Dončić to head coach JJ Redick, the team largely admitted that they could not respond quickly to Minnesota’s changes in game plan and physicality.
Now, the squad’s guard, Austin Reaves, did not mince words when reflecting on his performance.
Austin Reaves Takes Accountability for Game 1 Loss Against Minnesota
“I played s*****,” said Reaves. “I wasn’t myself. To what the reason was… don’t know. But I just gotta go out there, be myself, play my game, and have fun doing it.”
In a night where very little went right for the purple and gold, Reaves’ brutal honesty stood out just as much as his struggles on the hardwood. Finishing with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 3-of-8 from 3, Reaves’ numbers weren’t necessarily catastrophic, but he looked lifeless on the court, just like everyone else in a Lakers jersey not named Dončić.
The Lakers were virtually bested in every category, but especially beyond the arc. Minnesota rained down 21 3-pointers. Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, and Naz Reid exploited LA’s defense, putting up 25, 22, and 23 points, respectively.
Dončić was the lone bright spot for the Lakers with a signature postseason showing of 37 points, while the rest of the team (Reaves included) simply failed to rise to the occasion.
Nowhere was that more glaring than in bench production. Minnesota’s reserves outscored LA’s bench 43-13, severely contributing to the blowout loss. Coming into the series as the No. 6 seed, the Timberwolves came into Game 1 firing on all cylinders and flipped the script on the Lakers. By contrast, the Lakers looked far from their usual selves.
Game 2 Might Be the ‘Game Changer’ in the Series
Since the acquisition of Dončić, postseason hopes are sky high for the purple and gold. The Game 1 loss was a particularly devastating blow to the LA faithful, but there’s a reason the playoffs are structured around a best-of-seven series. A Game 1 victory does not erase all hope.
Game 2 looms large on the horizon. Los Angeles has a chance to regroup and respond, and fans are holding Reaves to his promise to bounce back. His accountability was the first step in turning the series around. While he may not have found his rhythm in the series opener, Reaves has proven time and time again that he thrives under pressure.
READ: Magic Johnson Exposes JJ Redick’s Biggest Mistake in Lakers’ Game 1 Fallout to Timberwolves
With the Lakers needing a jolt of offensive energy to even the series, Reaves’ resurgence could be the key to a Game 2 victory. While a 0-2 deficit is hardly irreversible, it’s still a hole that no team wants to find itself in.
If the Lakers want to avoid falling into that before heading to Minnesota, they must play Game 2 with a renewed sense of urgency — and Reaves knows it.