There is no nice way to put it, the Los Angeles Lakers were run off of their home floor in Game 1 of their opening round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves as 56 combined points from Luka Doncic and LeBron James wasn't enough to keep the game close.
The good news is that Los Angeles still has plenty of time to work out the kinks and get the train back on the tracks before this series shifts settings to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4. Defending the 3-point line was a huge issue for the Purple and Gold on Saturday night and will be something that JJ Redick and his coaching staff harp on for the remainder of the playoffs as you simply cannot afford to give up as many open looks at the bucket from beyond the arc as the Lakers did in Game 1.
While pushing the Timberwolves off of the 3-point line is absolutely a priority entering Game 2, it isn't the only glaring issue staring Los Angeles in the face. It goes without saying that there were plenty of Lakers players who did not live up to expectations in Game 1 but only one key piece of the puzzle was rendered unplayable and that is not a good omen for his future with the franchise.
Jaxson Hayes Making it Easy for L.A. to Say Goodbye After NBA Playoffs
It was no secret that there were potential issues that came with relying upon Jaxson Hayes to be the team's starting center after the trade involving Dalton Knecht and Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams fell apart due to injury concerns. If Los Angeles wasn't worried about that after shipping Anthony Davis out of town to pair LeBron James with Luka Doncic, they would have never agreed to send their top pick from the 2024 NBA Draft to Charlotte in exchange for Williams.
Fast forward to today and Hayes is coming off of a showing in Game 1 where he was such a non-factor that Redick was forced to bench him for the remainder of the game after just eight minutes of action. In those eight minutes of playing time, Hayes only recorded three rebounds and the Lakers were outscored by 11 points. For Hayes to be so ineffective that the Purple and Gold elected to play 40 minutes without any true center on the floor shows just how bad things are for Los Angeles at the center spot.
Given the fact that Hayes is an unrestricted free agent once the Lakers' postseason run comes to an end, performances like what fans saw in Game 1 make it impossible for Rob Pelinka to think that there is any scenario where the former Texas Longhorns big man can be worth a roster spot at all, let alone be someone the team depends on.
With LeBron James' future being something that he alone knows, Los Angeles cannot afford to not exhaust every possible option on the table when it comes to maximizing their potential to win a second Larry O'Brien Trophy with James as a leader of the team.
If Hayes wants to be part of those efforts, figuring out a way to stay on the floor without being a total net-negative to the Lakers' efforts would be a good start. Otherwise, he might as well have his agent start looking at which teams could be in the market for depth pieces at the center position once free agency opens this July.