The Minnesota Timberwolves will tip-off with Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, April 19. After facing each other four times in the regular season and finishing in a draw against each other, they meet again in the postseason.
The Timberwolves will have to find a way to defend LeBron James and Luka Doncic in this series. Meanwhile, the Lakers will need to find an approach to preparing for Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported that Lakers coach J.J. Redick is taking a unique approach to preparing for Edwards in this series.
"JJ Redick said the Lakers used Shake Milton and Bronny James as Anthony Edwards on their scout team today. The Wolves have been using Joe Ingles as Luka Doncic in their scouting groups," Buha tweeted.
A shocking approach to say the least. Especially, because Shake Melton and Bronny James combine for 7.8 points per game. Likely, James was used for scout team due to his athleticism and his pull-up three-point shooting combination. Many teams use a similar approach when it comes to scouting the opposing team's star player.
Coach Chris Finch's decision to use Joe Ingles as Doncic in Minnesota's scouting group makes sense. He is tall and a quality passer, that is also capable of hitting threes. It's all about the gameplan and these preparations can work.
Edwards averaged 27 points per game against the Lakers this season. The Timberwolves have only played one game against Doncic in the purple and gold this year. In that game, he scored 21 points 6/20 shooting from the field.
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This Saturday will be a great measuring stick to see which scouting group was the most successful as the teams prepare for their seven-game series. Only one win separated them in regular season, so it should be an exciting series.
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