Lakers-Wolves Game 3 Observations

A sick Luka, no depth, and no margin for too many errors

Photo by David Berding / Getty Images

And just like that, the Lakers are behind again.

After an inspiring performance in Game 2, the Lakers dropped Game 3, 116-104, against the Wolves. They now trail 2-1 after a weird night in Minneapolis. LeBron James delivered his best performance of the series. The Lakers had a real chance until the final minutes, even with almost everyone else struggling. But with Luka Dončić clearly not himself, playing through illness, the Lakers simply ran out of bodies and out of gas.

Now Dončić, James, and the rest of the group will have a very short turnaround to recover and regroup before Sunday’s early afternoon game.

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Today’s notes:

1. Sick, low-energy Luka

2. No bodies, no alternatives? 📊

3. An awesome, throwback LeBron game wasted (🎞️VIDEO)

4. Giving up rebounds and turnovers led to a huge deficit in shots and transition (🎞️VIDEO)

5. Still not enough pace and thrust in the half-court (🎞️VIDEO)

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1-Sick, low-energy Luka

This game was marked by Dončić battling a stomach virus, with several Lakers beat writers reporting that he hadn’t been feeling well for the past 24 hours. Dončić sought treatment at different points, was late coming out of the locker room, and didn’t start the second half.

Source: X posts by Jovan Buha and Dan Woike

It was clear Dončić wasn’t in rhythm, lacked his early attacking mindset, and missed the off-the-dribble bounce we saw from him in the first two games. He struggled to score for most of the night, finishing 6-of-16 from the field with just 17 points —half of his scoring average from the first two games.

After a great effort in Game 2, Dončić’s lack of energy on the defensive end in Game 3 was even more impactful. The Lakers' small-ball defense only works if all five players are flying around at 110% energy and effort, and this time, they weren’t. Jaden McDaniels (30 points) attacked Dončić early and exposed every late rotation. The Wolves' rim and corner three frequency were both very high — just like in Game 1 — a clear indicator that the Lakers were stuck in catch-up mode on defense most of the night.

LA Lakers opponent’s shooting frequency (source Cleaning the Glass)

2-No bodies, no alternatives?📊

It was obvious Dončić wasn’t himself. He wasn’t the pressure point on the Wolves' defense like he was in the previous games, and he often hurt the Lakers on the defensive end. A legit question, raised by Lakers media after the game: why didn’t Redick bench Dončić?

Source: Travor Lane on X

Not only was Dončić not benched, but this was another game in the series where he played 40 minutes or more.

The uncomfortable and brutal reality for the Lakers is that they just don’t have the depth — unlike most other contending teams — to replace any of their three star players. Jaxson Hayes' poor decision-making makes him unplayable in this series. Jarred Vanderbilt is too big of an offensive minus to play more than 10–15 minutes. And the size deficit with Gabe Vincent and Jordan Goodwin against the much bigger Wolves means the Lakers are giving up either open shots after double-teams or offensive rebounds. The Lakers' depth and bench talent are at a huge deficit compared to the Wolves’ trio of Reid, DiVincenzo, and Alexander-Walker.

So far in this series, Redick hasn’t found any alternatives to playing small ball, relying on Finney-Smith and Hachimura for heavy minutes next to his three stars, with only occasional short breaks.

3-An awesome, throwback LeBron game wasted (🎞️VIDEO)

In my Game 3 Adjustments post, I wrote about LeBron James’ shooting struggles in the first two games and predicted that a good LeBron game should come sooner or later.

Not only was this a good LeBron game, it was an impressive, throwback 38-point outburst on 13-of-21 shooting by the 40-year-old. After he caught fire by sinking three straight threes in the fourth quarter, it looked like James might single-handedly will the Lakers to victory.

But in the end, he simply didn’t have enough support from his teammates as Anthony Edwards matched him shot for shot on the other end. Austin Reaves shot the three much better (5-of-11), but was just 2-of-7 inside the arc and finished with four turnovers.

The lack of depth and scoring from the role players means the Lakers need all three of their stars to have efficient scoring nights — and that hasn’t happened in any of the three games so far, hence the 2-1 deficit.

4- Giving up rebounds and turnovers led to a huge deficit in shots and transition (🎞️VIDEO)