The Los Angeles Lakers were not exactly the favorites in their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves but they played like it, cruising to a 110-103 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
Wolves coach Chris Finch gave credit to new Lakers coach JJ Redick and his players saying their offense “looked more modern with better passing and movement and a greater emphasis on “wrinkles for shooters.”
As for his players, he has a choice of word for them.
The Wolves started out alright against Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and the rest of their hosts. However, they became listless come the second half. Rui Hachimura had a field day going to the basket, Jaxson Hayes had his moment.
Even rookie Dalton Knecht had a great time during the night.
Finch did not mince his words on his players during practice Wednesday night.
“Not a very good representation of ourselves. I thought we were soft. I thought at times we were selfish. We didn’t execute a lot of things we talked about doing. Had to go back to basics today,” he said as quoted by The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski.
Minnesota Timberwolves defense could use more focus
“The season has started and we didn’t answer the bell.”
This is how Finch described their opening night loss. The team made significant changes in their line-up, acquiring two key players in Julius Randle and Donte Divincenzo from the New York Knicks and let Karl Anthony Towns go.
Chemistry appeared to be a work in progress for the Wolves. Divincenzo made a good account of himself as a sixth man, scoring 10 points and recording 3 points and 3 rebounds.
Randle, who scored a decent 16 points on 5/10 shooting, is a whole different story as he was mostly at a loss in defense to the point that Hachimura revealed that he was made a target by the Lakers.
The Wolves will return to action to face the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center on Friday.
For the latest Basketball Content
Follow us @HardwoodHeroics for the latest and trending news about NBA, college basketball, and more. Stay updated by reading more of our NBA articles by clicking here and college basketball by clicking here!