Timberwolves expect Lakers to be 'different animal' in Game 2

After dominating in Game 1, Chris Finch expects a more aggressive LeBron James and a better L.A. squad in Game 2.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch cheers on his team as they play the Phoenix Suns in the third quarter at Target Center in Minneapolis on March 28, 2025. | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Timberwolves ran the Los Angeles Lakers out of their home Crypto.com Arena with a 117-95 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series Saturday night in Los Angeles. They expect a response in Game 2.

"We know we're going to face a wholly different animal (Tuesday) night, and we're gonna have to be ready," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said in an appearance with Paul Allen on KFXN-FM 100.3 on Monday.

Finch, however, also believes his Wolves will be a better version of themselves. He didn't feel like Saturday was their best.

"I felt we left some meat on the bone there, too," Finch told Allen. "I thought there's some things throughout in the game plan we could do a little bit better, some things that we thought we needed to do but didn't, so it's what it's all about. Game 2, we'll see what adjustments each team makes and how they work."

Related: 5 reasons why Wolves can sustain high-level play from Game 1 against Lakers

The coverage on Luka Doncic and the rebounding struggles at times were among the things Finch believed the Wolves could have done better Saturday night. Those will be among the focuses as Minnesota prepares for the Game 2 matchup.

"I think every time we make a mistake around our coverages around (Doncic), he made us pay for it," Finch said. "We got to be a little bit better there and try to impact him more. Make life harder for him. ... And we just fouled way too much."

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Of course, there were also plenty of positive takeaways from the victory. Finch loved the aggressiveness from Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, saying they had "zero lag time" in their decision-making. He noted how McDaniels was able to push the pace in transition, playing at a tempo Minnesota hasn't always had during the regular season. He liked the way Julius Randle set the tone on both ends with his physicality, particularly in his matchup against Lakers star LeBron James.

Finch expects a more aggressive James in Game 2, and a counterpunch from the Lakers. The key will be taking it one game at a time. Right now, the Wolves have reclaimed home-court advantage. But that doesn't mean they can take their foot off the gas in a hostile environment for Game 2. A 1-0 series lead is just a one-game advantage. Nothing is settled.

"Listen, it's great to get a win on the road and steal home-court advantage quote, unquote, but this team, the Lakers, are good enough to win on your floor," Finch said. "That's just how it goes. If a team's good enough to win on your floor — you got a chance to hold home-court advantage — but at the end of the day, if they're good enough to win on your floor, the series keeps moving along. You just got to get the wins no matter how and where.

"Look at our series last year against Denver, (it) was kind of crazy. We win two on the road, they win two at our place and they go back and win at their place, we go back and win at our place and we win Game 7 at their place. It doesn't always add up, but getting the first one is huge and it does give us the upper hand for the moment, but we got to take advantage of that now."