Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo question how Lakers can respond against Wolves

'What's the adjustment?'

Apr 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after taking an elbow from Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Timberwolves sent a message to the NBA world on Saturday night with a dominant 22-point win in Game 1 against the Lakers, and two of the biggest voices in the national media are questioning how LA can respond.

Rysen Russillo is a weekly guest on the Sunday edition of the Bill Simmons podcast throughout the NBA Playoffs, and the acclaimed duo had a lot to say about the Wolves' performance on Saturday. Minnesota's size advantage was clear and obvious, and Russillo agreed.

"In this game, they were small. The alarming part of it, when you think of it as a matchup, is what's the adjustment? The Lakers are going to grow?" he asked. "But then, if I am on the Lakers side of this, I am going, 48 points from Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels? That's not happening again."

Can the Lakers rebound after a series opening loss at home to Minnesota?@BillSimmons and @ryenarussillo share their biggest takeaways from Game 1.

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The Wolves out-rebounded the Lakers 44-38 on Saturday night, and they out-scored them 44-32 in the paint. That happened with Rudy Gobert having only two points and six rebounds in 24 minutes. The Lakers' top post pressence, Jaxon Hayes, scored only one point in eight minutes.

"I don't really know what the move is for the Lakers. That one lineup they have, which got killed [on Saturday] — with the Rui, LeBron, Luka — if that lineup is just going to get torched by Minnesota, I don't know what the next move is," Simmons questioned. "Because the next move is basically playing LeBron at center and going super small with wings and shooting, and I just think Minnesota would be delighted if they did that."

Jaden McDaniels, leading Minnesota with 25 points, is certainly an anomaly, but Simmons pointed out, "When McDaniels plays like that, Minnesota looks awesome."

After game one, there's no doubt that the Lakers have far more questions to answer than the Timberwolves. They play a seven-game series for a reason, and Tuesday night's Game 2 will tell a lot about how Los Angeles can respond.