5 things the Timberwolves must do to upset the Lakers, plus a prediction

The national analysts across the country are singing a familiar tune heading into this first-round series: Lakers in six or seven games.

Thats not surprising.

Los Angeles has two sure-fire Hall of Famers in LeBron James and Luka Doncic, and the Lakers are the No.

3 seed with home-court advantage.

Minnesota, meanwhile, won 17 of its final 21 regular-season games to nab the No.

6 seed.

Its fair to poke holes in the incredibly soft schedule that contributed to that run.

ADVERTISEMENT So the Lakers it is, at least in the minds of many.

Thats fine by Minnesota.

I just love it.

Its dope, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said.

I love the fact that everybody wants the Lakers to win.

Thats how its supposed to be.

They dont want the Timberwolves to win.

I get it.

Thats fine by Minnesota.

The reality is that Minnesota can win.

The Wolves feature one of the most talented, physical rosters in the NBA, capable of beating anyone on any given night.

Still, much will be required to oust the Lakers in a best-of-seven series.

Here are Minnesotas keys to victory.

Balanced offense The common playoff narrative is that star players must produce for their teams to advance.

Thats true for the Wolves in the sense that leading scorers Edwards and Julius Randle need to make a positive impact if Minnesota is to down Los Angeles.

But that impact may not always come in the form of points.

ADVERTISEMENT Wolves players this week acknowledged the Lakers will do everything in their power to get the ball out of Edwards hands.

Edwards has noted his teammates have to be ready and confident when he finds them set up to make shots.

Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley must take turns knocking down outside shots and attacking closeouts to make Los Angeles pay for its heavy attention on Edwards.

Randle also will be a natural candidate to receive some of those passes, but he cant get caught in an isolation game against any of the Lakers sturdy wings.

Ball and player movement will be especially critical against Los Angeles lengthy, organized defense.

I think a lot of it is going to be trying to create distortion by drive and kick, said veteran point guard Conley.

Moving the basketball, trying to get them moving a little bit.

Because they do load up, they do create a lot of help situations where theyre not just relying on the on-ball defender to get the stop.

Theyre relying on the gap help and the guy behind them, so for us its about being fast, being quick with our decisions, pushing the ball, getting out and really just trying to put a lot of pressure on the paint and make them have to move.

Make Luka work Speaking of making players move, thats something Minnesota didnt well enough in last years West Finals, specifically pertaining to Doncic on the defensive end.

He was largely allowed to rest defensively while cooking the Wolves on the other end.

In fairness to Wolves coach Chris Finch and Co., Minnesota doesnt have a bevy of perimeter isolation players on offense like, say, Boston.

But there are ways to make Doncic work more defensively.

I think its activity.

Weve got to play way more in transition than we have done against these guys, I think.

Just play with a lot more activity on and off the ball, Finch said.

Theres lots of things that you can do.

I think its one of those marginal gains that youve got to do across the board, that youve got to do with every little thing that you do.

And thats how you can kind of make these guys work a little bit harder.

ADVERTISEMENT Run Wolves, run Much of the talk this week centered on Minnesotas readiness to defend the Lakers home-run passes for easy transition layups.

But the Wolves may need to be just as aggressive in getting out on the fast break.

Minnesota was 9 for 12 from the field in fast-break opportunities in its only matchup against the Luka Lakers on Feb.

27, with 23 points coming in transition.

Aside from that, the Wolves shot 36% from the field.

Minnesota didnt have Julius Randle or Rudy Gobert in that game, but the point stands that the Lakers length could give the Wolves' offense fits in the half court.

Any easy buckets the Wolves can nab could go a long way toward edging Los Angeles in the end.

A big Gobert Gobert was Minnesotas second-best and perhaps most important player over the final quarter of the regular season.

The same will need to be true if Minnesota is to prevail in this first-round series.

As previously mentioned, the Lakers may have the defensive personnel and discipline to limit Minnesotas offensive effectiveness.

And they may simply have too many shot creators in Doncic, James and Austin Reaves for the Wolves to entirely shut down their offense.

So, Minnesota will likely have to win the possession game.

Thats done, largely, by controlling the glass.

Gobert has to be in the teens with his game-to-game rebounding totals, grabbing at least a few offensive rebounds a game while limiting the Lakers second-chance attempts on the other end.

Stay composed There have been numerous times in recent years in which the Wolves seemed to unravel because of disputes with officiating.

That could come to a head in this series.

Edwards had to miss a game because of his volume of technical fouls this season, and the NBA had to step in to keep him from missing two.

ADVERTISEMENT The Lakers were third in the NBA in free-throw attempts per game this season.

Doncic and Reeves are excellent at getting to the line.

Los Angeles also surrendered the seventh-fewest free throws per game this season (20.4).

Minnesota allowed the sixth fewest.

Should a few borderline calls go the Lakers way, will Minnesota manage to keep its composure? I think theres a lot of things that youve got to do to stay focused right now, Finch said.

We cant control that.

As a team, weve done a better job down the stretch here of just getting on about the business of basketball, and thats what its got to be.

Edwards made the following declaration: I wont get no techs.

I wont say anything.

Im gonna be super quiet, 100%.

Prediction Lakers in 7 Minnesota may very well win this series thanks to its depth, physicality and ability to hit open triples.

But to do so, its going to have to prove itself in some tight spots against two of the players with earned reputations as athletes who are built for such environments.

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