The King and Co. are hungry! Not just them, even the purple gold crowd was excited more than ever as the LA Lakers hosted Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs in their home court for the first time since 2012! Alas, it did not go according to plan. It couldn’t have been worse. LA was physically outmatched and outplayed by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jaden McDaniels and Ant-Man combined for 47 points. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic was the only bright spot for the Lakers, scoring 37 points. Apart from him, the entire LA crew seemed like meat to the hungry wolves. This defeat should be enough to ring alarm bells in Southern California.

Dropping the first game of the series is never a good sign, especially if you’re the host, more so if you are the LA Lakers. So, JJ Redick and his men, now must dust themselves off as they gear up for round 2 with Minnesota, again at home. As the Lakers prepare themselves for this high-intensity game two, their superstar, LeBron James, has a stern warning for the Lakers’ bench. “Ultimately, a role player can win or lose you a game. And when it comes to coaching and you get from one round to the first round, second round, conference finals, finals, there’s certain guys that can win you a game.” James stated in the latest episode of the Mind the Game podcast. He emphasized on importance of role players in the game.

“Steph is going to do what Steph does. Luka is going to do what Luka does. LeBron is going to do what LeBron does. Kevin Durant is going to do what Kevin Durant does,” the 40-year-old highlighted. He continued to emphasize on importance of every player and how they need to step up as it is more than just a game of physicality, but mind.

“But it’s that guy or that guy in their wins, he averages this and their losses. He averages this, right? That’s where that’s the assist. Cause myself you, Luka guys that we know, we need our teammates. We know in order for us to really reach our pinnacle, we have to make sure that these guys are super engaged on the offensive end as well. Cause they’re going to defend the hell out of the ball. They’re going to be scrappy. They’re going to run through a wall for us. We need them to make those timely shots. And that’s where the, that’s where the chess game comes in.” He elaborated further.

Role players are the backbone of any team, and there’s no doubt about it. Just the other night, we saw how important a piece Ty Jerome was for the Cavaliers in their Game 1 victory over the Heat. The difference in any playoff matchup comes from the supporting cast, something LA’s role players failed to provide in their series opener against the Wolves. Players such as Gabe Vincent, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t have any real impact on the court.

Meanwhile, for Minnesota, its supporting cast provided incredible support; Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, and even Nickeil Alexander-Walker looked solid, handing almost 40 points combined. Especially Reid, who went off, scoring 23 points along with five rebounds in 31 minutes of action from the bench. The 25-year-old’s performance adds more weight to LeBron James’s statement about role players being the X-factor in high-stakes games. So, LA’s franchise player’s advice should be a wake-up call for LA’s supporting cast, which includes the likes of Finney-Smith, Vincent, Vanderbilt, Goodwin, Knecht, or, for that matter, even Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes as well. However, this isn’t the only warning coming from the Lakers; Even their head coach, JJ Redick, has his players locked in for Game 2.

LeBron James and JJ Redick are all set on eliminating all mistakes from Game 1

When the ball tipped off at the Crypto.com Arena, most were expecting an easy Game 1 dub for the LA Lakers. However, Anthony Edwards and his team had other ideas and executed their plan to perfection, taking a crucial 1-0 lead in the series. While LeBron James and Co. were stunned in Game 1, they have no other option but to pull themselves together post-game. That’s why the main storyline is how they’ll bounce back? And will it be enough? Well, who knows better about making a comeback than the 40-year-old veteran? King James knows this feeling all too well. So, he’s pretty optimistic about round two against the Timberwolves, or in words, “until you win four games in a postseason, it’s not over.”

James elaborated more on the significance of the second game in a playoff series, especially if you’ve lost the opener. “It doesn’t matter if you go on the road, you start on the road, and if you beat the team by 25 in game one, game two is going to be the hardest game that you have to play.” It now means business for everyone involved, without any gap, without any lapse. “They’re mad. They’re sitting at home. They’re p—— about the game that they lost, what they didn’t do. Well, how didn’t they play well? The coaches are on their a–. They are embarrassed that, next game is going to be the hardest game.” James stated on the Mind the Game podcast. This statement, coming from James, that too on behalf of the coaches, is massive!

Moreover, it gives you an insight into how the Lakers are going to approach the next game. One can say from hearing that the Lakers are locked in for game two. From players to coaches, including HC JJ Redick, to the supporting staff, everyone is disappointed with the embarrassing Game 1 defeat and ready to bounce back. So, it will be interesting to see what new adjustments Los Angeles comes up with against Minnesota this time around.

LeBron James and the rest of the roster expect nothing less than a win as they aim to draw the series level. Keeping that in mind, it’s going to be some game at the Crypto.com Arena this time around. Are you ready with your popcorn?