Game 2 Preview: Timberwolves at Lakers

Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers – game 2
Date: April 22, 2025
Time: 9:00 p.m. CDT
Location: Crypto.com Arena
TV reporting: TNT/Trutv/Max/Fanduel Sports Network North
Radio cover: Wolves app/iheart radio

Preview of game 2: The wolves have only rocked Hollywood – now you can burn it down?

You cry that late Saturday evening? No, it was not a baby to drop her pacifier. It was not a toddler how the Easter bunny was attacked. That was the collective wailing of the national sports media-like friends at ESPN, the Lakers blog industrial complex and about half of the NBA podastospheric-who have just seen their story Poof In real time, the Minnesota Timberwolves marched to La and beat LeBron James and Luka Doncic directly into the action sheet.

That should be her Moment. Lebron, the eternal king. Luka, the generation magician. JJ Redick, the New School coach with old-school SMARM. The media had already donated to the Lakers for the second round. To hell, I saw final picks. I saw how people write Think of pieces About how this Lakers team was built for April. And then Anthony Edwards came in and dropped a crowbar into the gears of the entire machine. Wolves 117, Lakers 95. And it was not so close.

Here is the thing: that was no coincidence. This was not one of these random “Wow, the outsider scored 50% from three nights that never occur again. The wolves Didn’t even play your A-game for full 48. Rudy Gobert played for 24 minutes because of bad difficulties. They gave the most important points of the second chance by not dominating the glass. They had LeBron and Luka combined 56 points. And they still won at 22. The Lakers went out half of the third male from gasoline, and the wolves – Deepar, larger, better conditioned – just buried them.

Now game 2. And it’s not a must for Minnesota … but it Is A make-the-league panic victory. Take both in LA, and you return to Minneapolis with a 2-0 lead, a home that sounds like a metallica concert, and a serious opportunity to win successive seasons with playoff series in franchise history. (Yes. History. 36 years.

Let’s let the keys to game 2 disassemble what have to continue the wolves, what you have to clean up and why Anthony Edwards is officially on the way to become the next adult megastar of the NBA.

1. Anthony Edwards only gave you the blueprint. Don’t change it.

Here is a status for you: Edwards had 22 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 threesome, 1 cramp and 0 ego trips in game 1.

This was not just Edward’s goal. This was Edwards control the game. He played clever, balanced, selfless basketball. He hunted Las weak central defense early, pulled doubles, stepped onto shooters and buried them – when it was important – only buried them with daggers. His three -point shooting came in rhythm. No heat tests. No “I will surpass LeBron”, nonsense. This was a mature adult Performance of a 22-year-old who played as if he had done this 40 times earlier.

If you are a Wolves fan, this is your dream scenario: ant fully command and use its gravity to release Naz and Jaden. If he continues to play this basketball mark, the Lakers are cooked. Not metaphorical. Actually cooked. Well done. Medium rarely if AD was still here. But it is not. So: burned.

2nd Julius Randle: Less chaos, more control

Randle had some important moments – especially in the fourth quarter, when he hit big shots to kill the last gas from LA – but seven sales are a problem. This is not a playoff basketball, that is NBA 2K if your controller batteries die.

The good news? Most of them were correct. Are you trying to go to Bulldoze in Lebon’s chest? Maybe not. Throw Cross-Court overtaking against an aggressive trap? Not ideal. The Lakers will continue to take funny defensive looks at Edwards, which means that Randle will get touches. If he can be a secondary creator without neglecting – the wolves become borderline.

3. Leave jaden

Jaden McDaniels was one revelation In game 1.

• 25 points
• 11-against-13 shooting
• 3-von-3 of three
• Treated Luka in defense for routes as it was just another Tuesday

It was a career game for McDaniels and you could see that the excitement grown out of him …

McDaniels must remain aggressive. He is a rhythm type – when he starts hot, he continues to cook. The wolves did a great job to open it through ancient penetration, and his length gave the Lakers defensive. If Jaden plays like a third star, this series could end fast.

4. Hold the shooters in rhythm

• 21-of-42 of three in game 1
• Five players met several threesome

Is that sustainable now? Probably not. But it’s also not luck. Thanks to the drives of Ant Ant and Las, the wolves produced extensive looks. Divincenzo, Naw, Conley, NAZ – these guys Can shoot. If the Lakers ant still doubles 30 feet from the basket, Minnesota has to punish her further.

Redick will adapt. Expect 2 aggressive degrees and trap rotations in game. Here the wolves have to stay patient, swing the ball and find the open man. Trust the depth. Don’t follow the highlight.

5. Push the pace. The Lakers are old, except shape and tired.

This is not complicated. The Lakers came out hot. They ran. They jumped. They waved their arms around. And then … they died. The wolves snapped -up La in the late second and in the third quarter. Minnesota favored the pace. The deep preferred Minnesota. The lungs preferred Minnesota.

If the wolves are committed to the pace – to discontinue everyone, to get out in the transition, to play with controlled chaos – LA cannot keep up to date for 48 minutes. Especially not if your front is basically Jackson Hayes and Vibes.

6. Rebound. As you mean it.

Strange statistics from game 1: Despite their considerable size advantage, the wolves only won the rebound fight by six – 44 to 38, including 13 offensive days for LA

That shouldn’t happen. Not if you cancel Rudy, Randle and NAZ. The Lakers scored too many points of the second chance at an early stage, which helped them build a tour that they did not have in the plot. Clean that and this game does not stay nearby for two quarters.

7. Play smart. The referees are not your friends.

Let’s be honest:

• Rudy recorded his first foul for 15 seconds in the game.
• The Lakers were only challenged after a single foul, up to At the end of the second quarter.
• Jarred Vanderbilt is out there like a Dollar business Draymond, who tries to lure everyone in technicians.

The wolves have to rise above. Rudy has to avoid stupid fouls (especially these little sleepers), Jaden has to stay cool, and Ant only has to smile on as if he knows something that the referees don’t do.

Because the truth is: You play most nights in LA five-against-night nights, that’s just the deal. But if you stay composed, move the ball and defend without reaching? The referees cannot save the Lakers from a talent gap.

Conclusion: Would you like respect? Take game 2.

It’s one thing to win game 1. It’s different to win both on the street. Then people stop saying “coincidence” and saying “candidates”. This is the moment for Minnesota to step on the necks of the Lakers, to silence the media machine and to say the league: We are not a feel -good story. We are the right thing.

Nobody thought the wolves would win play 1. Now nobody wants to believe that he can win the series.

So take game 2.

Stolple Lebron’s throne.

King Edwards V Is here – and he doesn’t wait for his turn.