Although the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the 2024 NBA Playoffs, there are still plenty of reasons to watch the postseason as the remaining teams have played some exciting games so far.
The most interesting series is arguably between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets as the former currently holds a 2-0 lead over the latter. Minnesota’s been able to do what few other teams can do and that’s shut down Denver’s efficient offense.
Between Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, the Timberwolves have legitimate answers to slow down Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. On the ‘Mind the Game’ podcast with JJ Redick, James highlighted Minnesota’s collective length when breaking down why they’re experiencing so much success against Denver and the rest of the league:
“Obviously, Minnesota’s advantage, which they have in our league in general no matter if it’s versus Denver or versus anybody is their length that they have at the wing positions. You don’t look at Mike Conley as a tall guy, but his length. He has a lot of length out there. Obviously, Ant Edwards a lot of length. Jaden McDaniels, length. KAT, length. Rudy, length. They come off (the bench) with Nickell Alexander-Walker, length. Naz Reid, length. Kyle Anderson…they just continue to barrage you with length, length, length and then guys that also know how to play, too.
“So that’s been their biggest advantage cause they’ve bought in to coach Finch’s defensive schemes or whoever their defensive coordinator is there I don’t wanna speculate whatever the case may be and those guys have bought in to the defensive end. And it’s not only that they bought into the defensive end, they got guys that want to defend and make their mark on the defensive end.”
James almost sounds envious of the Timberwolves’ roster given how easy they’ve made it look guarding the defending champions. James reflected on his own series against the Nuggets and noted how the Lakers were a couple of possessions away in each game from winning, but just couldn’t get over the hump.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have done an excellent job capitalizing on every opportunity they get and look poised to close this series out on their home floor.
Gabe Vincent believes Lakers are close to competing with Nuggets
Gabe Vincent may have missed most of the 2023-24 season due to a knee injury, but he cracked the playoff rotation because of his perimeter defense. Despite losing in five games, Vincent believes L.A. is close to competing with Denver.
