As the Los Angeles Lakers prepare for Game 3 in Minnesota, they aim to secure a crucial victory to regain homecourt advantage after losing Game 1, followed by a hard-fought defensive win in Game 2 at Crypto.com Arena.
Although the Lakers hold a higher seed in the series, Minnesota enters the playoffs as one of the NBA’s hottest teams, having won 17 of their final 21 games to avoid the play-in tournament. Lakers star Austin Reaves emphasized after the Game 2 win that both teams need to focus on the small details to have success in the series.
Reaves stated, “Just think it’s the how connected we are when everybody’s giving it everything they have on every possession. You’re more locked into every detail on both ends of the floor. And that’s what the playoffs is about, winning on small details. Unfortunately, we didn’t do it the first game.”
Health has been a concern for the Lakers, with both forward Rui Hachimura and star LeBron James (groin) entering the postseason at less than 100%. On the other hand, the Timberwolves have been fortunate with their injury report.
On Thursday night, the team released its Game 3 injury report via the NBA, and only one player—rookie Rob Dillingham—was listed. Dillingham has missed the first two games of the series and will be out due to an ankle injury. Dillingham, who was acquired in a draft deal with the Spurs last June, had an inconsistent season. Although he averaged 16.3 minutes in a 21-game stretch heading into March, he lost his spot in the rotation due to some poor decision-making.
