Lakers 2025 Playoffs Are Familiar in Extremely Unfortunate Way

The 50-win Los Angeles Lakers are not exactly where they want to be in the first round of the 2025 playoffs.

Despite adding five-time All-NBA First Team superstar guard Luka Doncic to the fold in the stead of aging 10-time All-Star center Anthony Davis, the Lakers find themselves in a familiar position heading into Game 5 of their ongoing best-of-seven playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

Next up: Game 5 at home. pic.twitter.com/PssJJsMLpI
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 27, 2025

Los Angeles currently trails Minnesota 3-1 in the series, the same standing the Lakers took into a must-win Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets last spring in another ill-fated first-round playoff series.

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The Lakers would go on to lose to MVP center Nikola Jokic and the then-reigning champs, 4-1, and shifted into an uncertain offseason.

Team president Rob Pelinka opted to return the club's entire roster that season, minus departing free agents Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie and plus incoming rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.

Pelinka inked 3-and-D swingman Max Christie to a four-year, $32 million new deal in what wound up becoming a nice bit of business, and signed 21-time All-Star power forward LeBron James to a one-and-one near-maximum free agent deal — one guaranteed season for 2024-25, plus a player option for 2025-26.

Under new head coach JJ Redick, the Lakers forged an impressive defense-first identity, and although their personnel didn't quite make them look like world-beaters, they seemed to at least be on their way to hosting a first-round playoff series with a healthy Davis in tow.

Pelinka made a savvy minor deal to jettison guard D'Angelo Russell for 3-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith, seemingly making Christie somewhat redundant.

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Davis invariably got hurt, and Pelinka somehow made a steal of a deal to obtain Doncic at the deadline in exchange for Davis, Christie, and some draft equity.

But this current Lakers club does not look like a world-beater. L.A. badly misses Davis' rim protection, and although its perimeter and point-of-attack defense have been respectable, it's become clear that Redick only trusts about five of his players.

Redick played just Doncic, James, Rui Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Austin Reaves through the entire 24 minutes of Game 4's second half over the weekend.

This may be a different roster than what ex-head coach Darvin Ham had last season. But it could yield the same underwhelming playoff result.

The Lakers need a rim-rolling center, and may want to think about improving their Gabe Vincent slot (a defensive-minded point-of-attack defender who's more willing to score). Those personnel moves could have made all the difference against Minnesota.

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