2025 NBA Playoffs Preview: Which Team Prevails In The Lakers-Timberwolves’ Stylistic Clash?

This matchup has everything you’d want in an NBA playoff series. Luka Doncic against the team he eliminated in last year’s Western Conference Finals, except he’s playing or a different team with a new cast alongside him. Instead of Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington, LeBron James and Austin Reaves are Doncic’s trusty sidekicks this time. Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves look a little different, too; the offensive firepower of Julius Randle and Donte DiVicenzo have replaced the size and shooting of Karl-Anthony Towns.

These two teams received pretty drastic makeovers this season. So, which one is better? 

The Numbers

Los Angeles Lakers

Record: 50-32, No. 3 seed

• Net Rating: 14th (plus-1.2)
• Offensive Rating: 11th (115.0)
• Defensive Rating: 17th (113.8)

Minnesota Timberwolves

Record: 49-33, No. 6 seed

• Net Rating: fourth (plus-5.0)
• Offensive Rating: eighth (115.7)
• Defensive Rating: sixth (110.8)

How Small Will The Lakers Play? 

Since the trade deadline, the Lakers’ Doncic-Reaves-James-Rui Hachimura-Dorian Finney-Smith small-ball unit has been one of the NBA’s best lineups. In 108 minutes with those five on the floor, Los Angeles boasts a plus-18.6 net rating.

Offensively, that group’s five-out style makes it a juggernaut. The three-head creation monster of Doncic, Reaves and James can not only work off the bounce themselves, but capitalize as off-ball scorers from the advantages the others conjure up. Hachimura and Finney-Smith are play-finishers who can knock down perimeter shots, and screen and move without the ball. 

What’s more surprising is how successful that group has been defensively thus far. The Lakers have allowed just 106.3 points per 100 possessions with this lineup. Despite the lack of a true rim protector, they do an excellent job of pinching in on drives, forcing turnovers and rotating out to shooters. They’ve even been successful against bigger opponents like Nikola Jokic and Alperen Şengün while deploying this highly aggressive scheme. 

So, how much will the Timberwolves force them out of this dominant formation? The Wolves are a massive team. With any combination of Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels, they clearly outmatch the Lakers in the size and length departments. But can they play big enough functionally to make the Lakers go bigger? 

The answer to that question revolves around Gobert. The Lakers will be aggressive. They’ll trap Edwards and rotate well to shooters behind those traps, but they’ll live with Gobert beating them inside. How long they’ll live with that and to what degree can Gobert beat them are the most pressing questions. 

Can Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle Keep Up As Playmakers? 

While the Lakers do have a size deficit in this matchup, they do not have a playmaking one. Armed with two of the best all-time passing wings in Doncic and James, they can consistently generate good looks offensively. Since Doncic joined, they’ve taken the third-most ‘open’ threes in the NBA, and are top 10 in both 3-point percentage and attempts. 

The Wolves have been firing and hitting from deep all year. Edwards’ dominant pull-up shooting — he’s hitting 42 percent of those threes this season — puts a ton of pressure on opposing perimeter defenders. Randle does the same with his mismatch hunting and isolation game in the high post.

Both players can generate quality looks, but the key word there is can. Edwards has evolved as a playmaker, but is far from perfect. The same can be said for Randle. They combined for over five turnovers a night during the regular season, and the Timberwolves finished 18th in turnover rate overall. Those marks need to come for Minnesota to win this series. 

The Timberwolves’ X Factor: Julius Randle 

Not only can Randle’s playmaking and scoring really change things for the Wolves in this series. But how well he utilizes his size could force the Lakers to go away from their most successful lineup with the aforementioned small-ball unit. On top of that, Randle, to put it mildly, has struggled in the playoffs during his career. Across 15 playoff games as a member of the New York Knicks, the 30-year-old shot 34 percent from the field and 28 percent from three. That won’t cut it in this series. His strong play proved crucial in Minnesota’s 17-4 record to close the year. He must sustain it under the big spotlight that comes with facing the Lakers. 

The Lakers’ X Factor: Austin Reaves 

As of late, Reaves has been playing All-Star-level basketball for the Lakers. Even before Doncic arrived, he was showing off more poise as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and isolation player. The addition of Doncic has made his life much simpler. Reaves can punish mismatches, attack titled defenses and shoot off the catch, where he’s drilled 40 percent of his 3-point looks this season. He’s averaging 22.2 points on 48-41-90 shooting splits since the All-Star Break (26 games). This will be a quick series if he continues that in the playoffs.

Prediction: Lakers In Six

The Timberwolves have been one of the league’s most confusing teams this season. They’ll pull off huge wins, like the double-overtime thriller against the Denver Nuggets earlier this month, only to play with their food against the Milwaukee Bucks and blow a 20-point fourth-quarter lead seven days later.  That inconsistency won’t bode well in the postseason, even if Edwards is one of the game’s best playoff risers. Trusting in Doncic and James to weather the storms of playoff basketball is just a safer bet.