18-point victory over the Timberwolves! The Lakers have set up three gates for Doncic, waiting for James to return

For Lakers fans, this will undoubtedly be a wonderful weekend. The Lakers, who have just experienced a bad start to the season, will face the Timberwolves who eliminated them last season at home. Whether it is to strive for the first win of the season or to avenge the Timberwolves, the Lakers must win this game. , in the end, the Lakers lived up to expectations, beating the Timberwolves 128-110 and winning their first victory of the season, which also allowed fans to see the potential of this team. If they continue to play in this state and wait until James returns, the Lakers will undoubtedly become a strong contender for the championship.

Looking back on this game, many Lakers players performed well. Reeves had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists, Rui Hachimura had 23 points and 2 rebounds, and Ayton had 15 points and 8 rebounds. The fully blossomed Lakers were both internal and external, making it difficult for the Timberwolves to resist. The main contributor to the Lakers' victory in this game is undoubtedly Doncic. Doncic played 34 minutes in the game and made 14 of 23 shots, including 5 of 12 three-pointers and 16 of 19 free throws. He scored 49 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.

According to statistics, Doncic's 49 points in this game set a new high in his Lakers career. The previous high was 45 points. In addition, Doncic scored 43 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in the opening game, making him the first player in NBA history to score 40+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists in two consecutive games at the beginning of the season. It can be seen that Doncic, who has successfully lost weight during the offseason, is even more difficult to stop when he returns to the NBA. He has scored 40+ points in two consecutive games. Doncic's strong offensive firepower will be the Lakers' greatest confidence in competing for the championship this season.

However, it should be noted that Doncic's continuous rampage is not only because of his personal ability, but also because of the system the Lakers have built for him. Simply put, this season the Lakers are trying to find ways to reduce Doncic's defensive pressure so that he can perform at his best on the offensive end. The biggest difference from the first game against the Warriors is that in this game against the Timberwolves, the Lakers only gave Vincent 24 minutes of playing time, 4 minutes less than the 28 minutes in the first game. In comparison, Smart and Vanderbilt's playing time has increased, which shows that Redick may have realized that Vincent is not as valuable as Smart and Vanderbilt on the defensive end.

I still remember that during the offseason, a Lakers reporter posted that the Lakers hope that Smart and Vanderbilt can become the team's outside leaders in the new season and continue to maintain defensive pressure on the ball holder. This game is a good example of the Lakers' strategy. Smart and Vanderbilt's double ghost shot. It made the Timberwolves uncomfortable, especially because Smart's several pressings created rare counterattack opportunities for the Lakers, and completely ignited the passion of the Lakers team. I have said before that the Lakers lacked a tough and passionate Smart like Smart last season, who can even act as a villain on certain occasions. The current Smart is undoubtedly very suitable for this position.

In addition to the two gates on the outside, the biggest difference between the Lakers and the Timberwolves this time is that they finally have a tall man on the inside. Although Ayton is not considered a defensive gate, with the help of Smart and Vanderbilt on the outside, Ayton only needs a tall man on the inside. Just use your height to interfere with your opponent as much as possible. In this game, Ayton's presence on the defensive end is actually not bad. He is also much tougher on the offensive end. He finally had a wonderful cooperation with Doncic. That alley-oop ignited the whole game. There should be more and more scenes like this in the future.

In summary, they have only played two games in the season and the Lakers are still looking for the most suitable rotation and tactical system. But what is certain is that this season the Lakers can use more resources on both offense and defense. They will no longer be able to only come up with one lineup rotation like last season's playoffs. They now finally have a way to allocate the most suitable rotation according to the opponent's lineup. When James returns healthy, this Lakers may become the biggest dark horse in the Western Conference this season.