The Los Angeles Lakers are imposters.
Or they’re the real deal.
Either way, they’re a mystery headed into Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night in Minneapolis with the NBA first-round playoff series tied at 1-1.
Perhaps that was the real deal in Game 1 when the Lakers got clobbered 117-95. Or were those imposters?
Perhaps those were imposters in Game 2 when the Lakers beat the Timberwolves 95-84. Or was that the real deal?
Another possibility: this team settled into an erratic state that will be on display in Game 3.
Among the Lakers, here’s the popular narrative: They needed 2½ quarters while getting blown out in Game 1 before adjusting to playoff intensity.
“Playoffs require a different level,’’ Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
A lot depends on LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
In Game 1, the co-stars were underwhelming, combining for 56 points but just 13 rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Lakers had just 15 assists.
In Game 2, however, Doncic and James combined for 52 points along with 23 rebounds and 16 assists. As a team, the Lakers had 23 assists.
“I think we shared the ball great today,’’ said Doncic, who had just one assist in Game 1 and then nine in Game 2.
So the Lakers are a club now embracing teamwork. Or so it appears.
They can rely on something else.
“The one thing you can go back to is competing as hard as you possibly can,’’ Lakers guard Austin Reaves said.
All-out effort is something that helped define the Lakers in the second half of the season, when they won 20 of 24 games and eight consecutive. Is it something unsustainable. It can be tied to a buzzword through two playoff games.
Physicality.
The Lakers’ lack of it in Game 1 and demonstration of it in Game 2. The results:
The Lakers gave up 25 fastbreak points in Game 1 but only six fastbreak points in Game 2.
The Lakers watched Minnesota make 21-of-42 3-pointers in Game 1 but in Game 2 the Timberwolves made only 5-of-25 3-pointers.
In Game 2, the Lakers offense began to degrade in the fourth quarter. But rather than panic, they leaned on their defense.
With 2:43 left and the Lakers up by nine points, James stole the ball from Anthony Edwards and went coast-to-coast for a layup.
With 1:25 left and the Lakers up by 11, Reaves drew a charge on Jayden McDaniels.
Clutch plays. Whether the Lakers can deliver them again likely depends on who exactly they are.