The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves tip off their best-of-seven series on Saturday night in the City of Angels as LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and company look to start their postseason run off on the right foot with a win over the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference in Game 1.
One of the biggest positives about locking up the No. 3 seed means that the Lakers would not have to get through the Oklahoma City Thunder until the Western Conference Finals. Given the way Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates have been cooking the opposition throughout the league's 82-game regular season schedule.
With Game 1 on the horizon, here are three bold predictions for Los Angeles as they embark on what the franchise hopes is another deep postseason run.
1. Luka Doncic Will Make Rudy Gobert Unplayable
You have to think Luka Doncic cracked a smile when the Lakers were officially locked into their opening round matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves. For as great a defender as Gobert is around the basket, he looked like a man lost on an island whenever he found himself on the perimeter guarding Luka during his team's matchup against Doncic in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. For his career, Doncic owns a 6-2 record in games against Gobert, and that is a trend that I expect to continue in this series.
2. We Will Get LeBron vs. Steph One More Time
For a wide variety of reasons, fans did not want to see the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors square off in the opening round of the playoffs. With the Purple and Gold drawing the Timberwolves and the Warriors set to square off against the Houston Rockets, basketball fans avoided seeing two of the superstars of this generation go head-to-head in round one, but the two could very well be on a collision course to meet in the Western Conference Semifinals.
I expect the Lakers to take care of business against the Timberwolves in relatively short order, while the battle-tested Warriors should have the advantage over a youthful Rockets team making its first significant playoff push.
3. Austin Reaves Will Be a Breakout Star This Postseason
The postseason is when you can take whatever reputation you have as a player and elevate it to another level, and I expect Reaves to do just that during this playoff run. There is no doubt that he is a key piece of the puzzle for the Lakers at this stage of his career, but this could be his chance to break out and become a name that is known nationally by even the most casual of fans. Defenses are going to adjust to make things as difficult as they possibly can for LeBron and Luka, which will free up opportunities for Reaves to make a significant impact on the team's success.
Given the way he has performed throughout his tenure in Los Angeles, it seems like a safe bet to suggest that Reaves will be up to the challenge.
We'll find out soon enough just how correct these predictions are as the Lakers and Timberwolves open their best-of-seven series at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night, as Game 1 is scheduled to air on ABC with the opening tip set to come at 8:30 p.m. ET.