Lights, camera … freeze?

What was that?

Seriously, what was that?

After a blockbuster trade that changed the trajectory of the entire league, after a 50-win regular season that restored the faith of their despondent fan base, the Lakers were outmuscled, outshot and pretty much out-everythinged in a 117-95 defeat to the underdog Timberwolves on Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Goodbye, momentum.

Goodbye, home-court advantage.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 27 points, their performance at Crypto.com Arena so shameful that even one of the worst coaches in franchise history felt emboldened enough to criticize their current sideline leader.

“Coach JJ Redick did a great job all season but he didn’t do a good job for Game 1,” Magic Johnson posted on X. “The Lakers stood around on offense, played too much one-on-one basketball, and he didn’t make any necessary adjustments.”

Johnson knows something about the inability to make necessary adjustments, as he was just 5-11 when he received his shot on the bench.

Redick looked as if he might stiffen under the postseason spotlight, the rookie coach uncharacteristically a man of few words and no smiles in his pregame news conference. And in the critical moments of the game, there was nothing Redick could do to counter the Timberwolves. The visitors opened the second quarter with a 26-6 run to take control of the game and scored the first 11 points of the second half to move the game out of the Lakers’ reach.

Read more:'We'll get better.' Lakers vow to improve after blowout Game 1 loss to Timberwolves

“We were mentally ready,” Redick said. “I thought our spirit was right. I thought even when they made runs, our huddle was great. The communication was great. I’m not sure physically we were ready, if that makes sense. And, really, when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn’t respond to meet that.”

In other words, his team wasn’t ready.

The Lakers weren’t ready even though they knew about the Timberwolves’ size and the matchup problems it could produce. They scored fewer than 100 points in only eight games in the regular season, and two of those games were against the Timberwolves, against whom they were 2-2 before Saturday.

“You know this Minnesota team, they’re gonna be physical,” forward LeBron James said. “That’s what they bring to the table.”

The Timberwolves finished with a 25-6 edge in fast-break points and a 44-32 edge in points in the paint, with forward Jaden McDaniels scoring a team-high 25 points and center Naz Reid adding 23.

“They just played a lot better than us, a lot harder than us, and they did all the things that we wanted to do,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said.

Forward Jarred Vanderbilt called the deflating loss “a wake-up call,” but shouldn’t the Lakers have known what was coming, especially in a competitive Western Conference in which only two victories separated the third seed from the eighth seed?

The 40-year-old James was predictably calm.

“Sometimes it takes a quarter, two quarters, a full game to get used to playoff basketball once again,” said James, who finished with 19 points after being shut out in the first quarter.

Read more:How do the Lakers match up against the Timberwolves entering their playoff series?

Nonetheless, James acknowledged a chance in the dynamics of the best-of-seven series.

“They took home court from us tonight, as far as the series,” he said. “But we have an opportunity to even the series on Tuesday [in Game 2]. We have to play a much better game than we did today. We have to control the controlables, and if we do that, we’re gonna give ourselves a much better chance than we did.”

The Lakers can, and should, still win this series. The Timberwolves won’t make half of their threes in every game, as they did on Saturday. Reid won’t make six of his nine shots from behind the arc in every game, as he did on Saturday.

But the road to the Western Conference finals suddenly doesn’t look as wide open as it once did, and the Lakers’ negligence in Game 1 is threatening to waste one of only a handful of remaining chances to take advantage of having James on the team.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Steph vs. Thompson matchup hints at determining Warriors-Rockets factor originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – The real challenge facing the Warriors and Rockets as they wade into their first-round playoff series with Game 1 on Sunday is less about the intriguing matchup between Stephen Curry and Amen Thompson than the fascinating subplot within it.

Curry is the superstar whose collection of rings, trophies and plaques is worth millions. He’s 37 years young, according to his splendid performance this season.

Thompson is the gifted tyro who two weeks ago held – sometimes physically – Curry to three points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field, including 1-of-8 from Curry’s playground beyond the arc. Thompson is 22 years young, according to the NBA calendar.

They represent two different basketball generations, and history tells us Curry’s generation faces long odds in this Western Conference playoff series, and those odds only get longer if they get deeper into the playoffs.

Basketball is a young man’s game is more than a superficial phrase often uttered by NBA coaches and retirees. The reminders are frequent and typically come in the postseason.

When an NBA player hits his mid-30s, at the latest, the sun starts dropping on his career and his nights get longer. A few, like fitness fanatics LeBron James and Curry, are meticulous in finding ways to slow its descent, but that big, blinding orb stops for no one.

Draymond Green is 35, as is Jimmy Butler III. The average age of the Curry-Green-Butler trio is a few ticks under 36. Those three carry the bulk of the team’s weight. They are not supported by an established younger star, or they would be seeded higher than seventh.

The Warriors are leaning into their postseason experience and superior basketball intellect to overcome Houston’s superior length and athleticism as well as its youthful energy. The hope is that youth and energy beget recklessness and loss of composure.

Golden State also hopes the five days between its play-in tournament win over Memphis on Tuesday and tipoff at Toyota Center is long enough for its veterans to recover and prepare for what’s ahead.

“I think Draymond in particular, will be rested and ready, and he needed that,” coach Steve Kerr said. “The frustration that I saw with him the last few games as we’re fighting like crazy, and he’s playing the five, battling (Clippers center Ivica Zubac), battling (Rockets center Alperen Sengun), battling (Denver’s Nikola Jokić). The emotion and the energy Draymond has to put forth is incredibly draining. And when he’s tired, when he’s fatigued, that’s when he’s most vulnerable, and he knows that. He and I talked about it.

“The rest of the preparation that’s going into this, I think, will help all of us be composed and poised, because that’s what it takes in the playoffs.”

Every edge, no matter how tiny, is being sought because Kerr realizes the goal of the team’s core is to access its reservoir of experience and make it enough to win. It’s not always enough to pull a team through a playoff series against an energetic squad with a physical advantage. 

There are reasons why no 37-year-old has ever been the primary force behind a team prevailing in three rounds of playoff basketball and a victorious NBA Final. The only 35-year-olds to manage the feat were Wilt Chamberlain of the Lakers in 1972, Michael Jordan of the Bulls in 1998 and LeBron with the Lakers in the shortened bubble season in 2020. 

James had prime Anthony Davis, 27 years old and already a seven-time All-Star. In Jordan’s last title, he was accompanied by Scottie Pippen, a 32-year-old seven-time All-Star, and 37-year-old Dennis Rodman.

When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the 1985 Finals MVP at age 38, his impact was greatly inflated by the production of five-time All-Star point guard Magic Johnson (25) and perhaps the game’s best two-way wing James Worthy (24).

Tim Duncan won his last ring with the San Antonio Spurs at age in 2014 at age 38, Manu Ginobili was 36 and Tony Parker was 32. The Finals MVP award went to a 22-year-old named Kawhi Leonard.

The Warriors encountered the experience-gap dynamic in the 2022 NBA Finals against Boston, which had a younger, more athletic roster. The Celtics won two of the first three but struggled as the water got deeper – to a place where the Warriors were comfortable. When Curry silenced TD Garden in Game 4, it was the first of three consecutive double-digit losses for Boston.

The last time the Warriors confronted a younger opponent in the postseason, they lost Games 1 and 2. They found enough energy to come back and win four of the next five to take a first-round victory over Sacramento. Water got too deep for the Kings.

The Warriors, however, were pushed to the brink, outscoring Sacramento by a mere 15 points over seven games. That left Golden State with a hangover that surfaced in the conference semifinals against the Lakers. The Warriors dropped three of the first four games to Los Angeles – and lost all three at Chase Center, by an average of 18 points before losing the series in six.

Golden State’s task now goes far beyond whether Curry, aided by schematic actions, makes the adjustments required to offset Thompson’s spirited defense. Steph’s history is to diagnose and respond. Can he do it yet again?

Do the Warriors have enough to force the Rockets to play halfcourt basketball, drag them to the deep end and dunk them?

This expedition is to climb a mountain yet to be scaled by any group led by such an NBA-old core. No doubt the Warriors know how to beat Houston. They will if they still have the vitality to ensure their knowledge is effectively applied.

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Have Warriors found perfect rest, rhythm balance entering playoffs? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

HOUSTON – Why the Warriors were in such pursuit of the Western Conference’s No. 6 seed and avoiding the NBA play-in tournament was obvious to everybody. 

First of all, the Warriors were 0-3 in play-in games before Tuesday’s win against the Memphis Grizzlies. Throughout a decade-plus of winning four NBA titles, the Warriors have thrived in making necessary adjustments throughout a series. Most of all, though, these guys needed a rest. 

The schedule was grueling down the stretch, and the intensity was as close to the playoffs as possible. Glimpses of fatigue naturally popped up over the last two weeks of the regular season with the Warriors fighting to climb up the standings, only for those around them to keep racking up wins.

Coach Steve Kerr shed a spotlight on the importance of Golden State not needing a second crack at making the playoffs after taking down Memphis, saying his team, led by a 37-year-old Steph Curry and two 35-year-olds in Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, “desperately” needed the four days off prior to their first-round matchup with the Houston Rockets. 

He also revealed how the Warriors might now find themselves in the perfect balance of rest, recovery and rhythm before that Grizzlies game.

“I don’t think you even want a week off in the NBA,” Kerr said. “I think four days off is kind of perfect.” 

That’s where the Warriors find themselves now, which is a much different place than how the Rockets’ regular season wrapped up. 

Houston secured the No. 2 seed on April 8 with three regular-season games remaining. There was no reason to risk injury and exert the energy of their top players, so coach Ime Udoka gave his top players – aside from 15 minutes for Jalen Green – the night off in each of the next two games. It didn’t matter in the standings for the Rockets, but the results were two blowout losses to Los Angeles’ two teams, the Clippers and the Lakers. 

In the final game of the regular season, Udoka used his usual starting five, but gave time to 14 players in a 15-point loss against the Denver Nuggets, ending the regular season with three consecutive defeats by an average of 21 points. 

Of all the days on the NBA calendar, Wednesday might have been Kerr’s favorite. He and his coaching staff get into their basketball lab and get to work. Clip after clip after clip of film is broken down. Numbers are dissected, and matchups are picked apart. 

Players had the day off physically, and then came to Chase Center later in the afternoon for a deep dive of all their installations from film study. Basketball brilliance without a camera is put on display without a camera in sight. 

Thursday was time for them to lace their sneakers back up and get their bodies moving before boarding a flight to Houston. The Warriors then practiced Friday at the University of Houston and feel like the last few days were the perfect balance of getting a breather and locking in. 

“I thought the last two, three weeks was an incredible test and our guys were amazing,” Kerr said Friday after practice. “Obviously did enough to get where we are, and then getting those four days I think allowed us to get our feet on the ground and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.” 

Getting days off is a bonus every team desires. What a player, and a team collectively, does with that time can be the sign of true greatness. It’s where the Warriors’ championship experience kicks into gear, finding wins within the details. 

“Rest is one thing, but not all rest is created equally,” Curry said. “You have to be intentional about how you use the days. That doesn’t mean you don’t do anything. You’re priming yourself in the weight room, mentally, skills-wise getting your work in.” 

Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet, Green and others in the Rockets’ main cast haven’t played meaningful basketball since beating the Warriors two weeks ago. Meanwhile in that span, Curry and Butler kicked into playoff mode early and combined to score 272 points since the Warriors’ loss to the Rockets. 

Youth against experience. Rest against the rhythm. Every battle of contrasting teams will take center stage. 

The once-desired week off wasn’t in the cards for the Warriors. An even better balance might have struck the right chord for another playoff run.

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The Los Angeles Lakers slumped to a 117-95 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening game of their NBA Western Conference first-round play-off.

Jaden McDaniels top scored with 25 points for the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, who were the only away team to win in the opening matches of the best-of-seven post-season series.

Naz Reid scored 23 points off the bench while Anthony Edwards added 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota, who led by 27 points at one stage.

Lakers star LeBron James, who is chasing a fifth title in his 22nd NBA season, failed to score in the opening quarter for the third seeds but went on to hit 19 points.

Luka Doncic, in his first post-season game with the Lakers after arriving from the Dallas Mavericks in February's high-profile trade, top-scored on 37.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team was "mentally ready" but failed to match Minnesota's physicality.

"I thought our spirit was right," he said. "I thought even when they made runs our huddles were great, the communication was great.

"But when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn't respond immediately to that."

• How do the NBA play-offs work?

In the other Western Conference first-round game, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and added nine rebounds, 12 assists and three steals as the Denver Nuggets edged past the Los Angeles Clippers 112-110 in overtime.

The Nuggets trailed by 15 points early on but Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook helped them back into contention.

Elsewhere, the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers both went ahead in their Eastern Conference match-ups.

The Knicks scored 21 unanswered points in the final quarter to pull away for a 123-112 win over the Detroit Pistons, who are in the play-offs for the first time since 2019 and have not won a play-off game since 2008.

Jalen Brunson scored 23 of his 34 points in the second half while Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby had 23 points apiece for the Knicks, who rallied after trailing by eight going into the final period.

Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo netted 36 points but it was not enough as his Milwaukee Bucks lost out 117-98 to the Pacers.