The Lakers' first playoff run of the Luka Doncic-LeBron James era lasted a total of five games.
After surging to the West's third seed, Los Angeles suffered a 4-1 series loss to the 6-seed Timberwolves in the opening round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. It marks a bitter end for the Lakers, whose postseason expectations were through the roof after motioning to acquire Doncic ahead of the trade deadline.
It's not easy to win big in the postseason, and L.A. ran into a Minnesota team that won just two fewer games during the regular season and proved to be better built for a playoff run. The Lakers' flaws were exposed throughout the series, even though they got big performances from their superstar duo.
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What exactly went wrong for Los Angeles in its playoff loss? Here are a few of the biggest factors that led to the Lakers' playoff shortcomings in 2025.
What went wrong for the Lakers?
The Lakers were outmatched for the majority of the series, evidenced by the swiftness with which they were eliminated. With that in mind, it's impossible to pinpoint just one specific issue for Los Angeles.
Things, of course, will naturally begin up top with L.A.'s stars, and it certainly did not help that James scored 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting in Game 1 while a stomach bug limited Doncic to 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting in Game 3. And who knows where the Lakers would be had Reaves not had a scoreless first half in Game 4?
Over time, the Timberwolves created separation as the superior team, and a few specific things stood out. Most of them pertain to roster construction.
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Lack of a frontcourt presence
It's no secret that L.A. was looking to make frontcourt upgrades, as the team motioned to acquire Hornets center Mark Williams at the trade deadline before a failed physical nixed the trade.
In the aftermath, the Lakers were left with Jaxson Hayes as a starting center, and the franchise signed Alex Len for frontcourt depth.
As Len was an essential non-factor during the regular season and essentially unplayable during the playoffs, it put even more pressure on Hayes to be the rim-protecting lob threat the Lakers needed. He wasn't able to, even getting a DNP-CD in Game 5.
History has shown that offensively, Donic is at his best when he has a rim-running lob threat to serve as something of an outlet. It was a major key to Doncic's dominance during his run to the 2024 NBA Finals.
On the other end of the floor, L.A.'s lack of true rim protection allowed Anthony Edwards and other Wolves slashers to have their way, while Rudy Gobert could be a dominating force.
Rotational depth issues
JJ Redick's puzzling decision not to make any substitutions in the second half of L.A.'s Game 4 loss will be remembered for some time.
Whether or not the decision was a product of Redick's coaching inexperience or a lack of trust in his reserves doesn't matter. It revealed an underlying issue with the way this roster has performed.
While not completely founded, Doncic's conditioning issues are well-documented and James is a 40-year-old who has logged more minutes than any other player in NBA history. A team with championship aspirations cannot be in a position where depth pieces are not trusted to give spot minutes.
Championship coaches also recognize players sometimes get in their own way and recognize the value of strategic rest, even if it means you let up a brief run in the moment. The decision led to L.A. running out of steam and being outscored by double digits in the fourth quarter of Game 4.
On the other side of things, the Timberwolves benefited from the contributions of Donte DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, each of whom outplayed their Los Angeles counterparts.
Redick will grow and improve, and the point has been made that roster upgrades would be helpful.
MORE: How JJ Redick made dubious history in Game 4 loss to Timberwolves
Defensive breakdowns
The Lakers were up and down on the defensive end post-Doncic trade. That continued in the playoffs, especially in Game 5 when Rudy Gobert posted 27 points and 24 rebounds.
Doncic's defensive shortcomings can be easy to pinpoint but he alone did not necessarily spell the Lakers' downfall. The lack of rim protection was the biggest issue, and the trend in the series showed that the Lakers did not have the personnel to play the way they needed to.
Look at the final scores:
- Game 1: Timberwolves 117, Lakers 95
- Game 2: Lakers 94, Timberwolves 85
- Game 3: Timberwolves 116, Lakers 104
- Game 4: Timberwolves 116, Lakers 113
- Game 5: Timberwolves 103, Lakers 96
With several factors at play, the Lakers did not have the offensive firepower to keep up with the Timberwolves, and defensively, were not sound enough to grind it out four times, as they did in Game 2.
The Lakers have the talent up top, but this year's playoffs served as a reminder that the franchise still has some improvements to make to win its 18th title.
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