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The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after the Minnesota Timberwolves exploited all of their biggest weaknesses.
After the elimination, Los Angeles superstar LeBron James was asked to reflect on the series. While it was an outstanding effort from Anthony Edwards in each game, it was actually (surprisingly!) Rudy Gobert who stepped up during the final clinching victory.
Gobert deserves credit for reaching playoff career-high numbers in both points and rebounds during the Game 5 win for Minnesota. But it is impossible to talk about his excellent game without talking about his opponent.
Los Angeles was playing without Jaxson Hayes, who was the only player on the roster with the size to match up against Minnesota's frontcourt. The Lakers did not have much depth in the frontcourt after trading Davis to get Luka Doncic.
When asked about what it was like for the Lakers to play without a big man, James originally pleaded that he had no comment.
He added that he didn't want to talk about it because when Davis asked for a center, he was traded to the Mavericks shortly thereafter.
It is no secret that if the Los Angeles front office had listened to Davis' concerns and found another starting-caliber running mate big man for him, it would have given them the insurance to replace him once he was traded.
Instead, however, the Lakers didn't have the personnel to play against a team as big as Minnesota.
As they look forward to the upcoming off-season, this is absolutely a concern that president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka will need to address.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: LeBron subtly showed frustrations about Lakers' frontcourt after the Anthony Davis trade
Continue reading...
After the elimination, Los Angeles superstar LeBron James was asked to reflect on the series. While it was an outstanding effort from Anthony Edwards in each game, it was actually (surprisingly!) Rudy Gobert who stepped up during the final clinching victory.
Gobert deserves credit for reaching playoff career-high numbers in both points and rebounds during the Game 5 win for Minnesota. But it is impossible to talk about his excellent game without talking about his opponent.
Los Angeles was playing without Jaxson Hayes, who was the only player on the roster with the size to match up against Minnesota's frontcourt. The Lakers did not have much depth in the frontcourt after trading Davis to get Luka Doncic.
When asked about what it was like for the Lakers to play without a big man, James originally pleaded that he had no comment.
He added that he didn't want to talk about it because when Davis asked for a center, he was traded to the Mavericks shortly thereafter.
It is no secret that if the Los Angeles front office had listened to Davis' concerns and found another starting-caliber running mate big man for him, it would have given them the insurance to replace him once he was traded.
Instead, however, the Lakers didn't have the personnel to play against a team as big as Minnesota.
As they look forward to the upcoming off-season, this is absolutely a concern that president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka will need to address.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: LeBron subtly showed frustrations about Lakers' frontcourt after the Anthony Davis trade
Continue reading...
