A game of 103-96! The Western Conference Powers fell down with 4 bad news after the game

On May 1, the first round of the NBA playoffs, G5 officially kicked off, and the Los Angeles Lakers met the Timberwolves' challenge at home.

The Timberwolves ushered in a big explosion in G4 last game, scoring 43 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists efficiently. In the last quarter, facing the Lakers' crazy counterattack, they scored 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in a single quarter, leading the team to finally win with difficulty. In order to win, the Lakers allowed the starting five players to play in the second half, James and Doncic scored 65 points at a loss, but the team's poor defense inside and outside and the players' physical strength at the end of the moment were defeated by 3 points. The Timberwolves are currently 3-1. If they win today, they will be the second team in the West to advance to the next round after the Thunder, and the Lakers will completely bid farewell to this season if they lose.

The Lakers chose to change their teams, and the starting lineup is: James + Doncic + Reeves + Hachimura Shizuo + Finney Smith. The Timberwolves' starting lineup is: Edwards + Conley + Randle + McDaniels + Gobert.

In the first quarter, the Timberwolves scored 6-0 after Randall and Gobert scored consecutively inside. Doncic broke out and caused a foul. Reeves also made a defensive drop-off. Randall scored 2+1 against Doncic, and made a three-pointer. The Timberwolves 15-9 Lakers. Divincenzo and Walker made consecutive three-pointers, Doncic assisted Finney Smith to complete an all-in contact, Edwards made a strong breakthrough in the inside, Reeves made a three-pointer against the top of the defense, and the Timberwolves led the Lakers 23-14. Claybel finally came on the court, Reed and Gobert scored continuously at the basket, James made a layup, Doncic missed the middle distance, but then made a three-pointer to cause Randle to foul. At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves led the Lakers by 9 points 31-22.

In the second quarter, James fired all his energy and attacked with Reeves to play a 7-1 offensive climax. Gobert completed a dunk on the frontcourt rebound to help the team stop the bleeding. Vanderbilt made a foul and made two free throws. Edwards made a strong breakthrough with the ball. Hachimura made a three-pointer from the top of the arc. Edwards made a strong breakthrough with 2+0. Conley made a three-pointer from the bottom corner. Hachimura made a three-pointer and Walker made a three-pointer. The Timberwolves led the Lakers 44-37. Divincensor made another three-pointer in the corner, Edwards counterattacked and made a foul and made two free throws, Doncic made a mid-range shot, Gobert made another dunk at the basket, James received an assist from his teammate to complete a dunk, Doncic made a strong breakthrough, causing a foul and made all two free throws, Divincensor made another shot, and Walker also made a breakthrough. At the end of the first half, the Timberwolves led the Lakers by 10 points 59-49. In the second half, the Lakers strengthened their defensive strength. With the joint efforts of James and Doncic, they scored a 12-7 attack stream to narrow the gap to 5 points. In the third quarter, Doncic scored 13 points and 3 assists in a single quarter. After the three quarters, the Lakers trailed the Timberwolves by 1 point 80-81. In the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves widened the gap to 5 points in a row in the frontcourt rebounds. James made a three-pointer in the bottom corner, Randle and Edwards broke through the inside to make a hit, Hachimura and Conley made three-pointers one after another. In the end, the Timberwolves defeated the Lakers 103-96 away and successfully advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals 4-1.

The Lakers have four bad news after losing:

1, the coexistence of Doncic and Reeves' backcourt combination. Although both of them have very good ability to hold the ball and organize teammates, they will be targeted by the opponent on the defensive end, making the team's outside defense very bad. The Lakers will also consider how to better handle Doncic and Reeves' starting backcourt partnership.

2. The starting center faces a situation where no one is available. As the regular season starter, Hayes averaged only 7.6 minutes of playing time in the playoffs, lacked independent offensive ability and limited frame protection ability, and seriously dragged the space attributes on the field and the trouble of fouls. The first goal in the offseason is to find a reliable center to match Doncic.

3. Can James remain brave next season? As a 41-year-old veteran, James averaged 40.7 minutes of playing time in the playoffs, scoring 25.4 points, 9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2 steals and 1.8 blocks. As he grows older next season, it is unknown whether he can maintain this brave state.

4. The bench lacks reliable scoring points. As the number one scorer of the substitute, Vincent performed very poorly in this round of the series, averaging only 2.8 points and 1 assist, and his shooting percentage was only 35.7%. Finney Smith is even more defensive than offense, and he can only average 6.2 points per game on the offensive end. The lack of reliable scoring for the bench is also one of the important reasons for the Lakers' ultimate failure.