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The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, with Game 1 scheduled to take place on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time at Crypto.com Arena.
That means taking on center Rudy Gobert, also known as “The French Rejection” and “The Stifle Tower.” While he isn’t much of an offensive threat, he averaged 10.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game this season, and he has been named the Defensive Player of the Year four times.
Center is the one positional weakness the third-seeded Lakers have, and it’s a rather sizable weakness. Jaxson Hayes, their starting center, is best suited to being a backup, and he isn’t a very good rebounder, nor is he an old-school lunch-pail type of big man.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has occasionally deployed Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III, both of whom have been on two-way contracts, at the 5 this season. While both have occasionally shown promise defensively and on the boards, neither has fully proven he’s ready for meaningful minutes in high-leverage situations.
Still, many have called for one or both of them to have their contracts converted to standard contracts so they could be eligible for playoff action. But that will not happen.
Via Los Angeles Times:
“The Lakers will enter the postseason without converting either Trey Jemison III or Christian Koloko to standard contracts, making the centers ineligible for the playoffs,” wrote Dan Woike.
This means Los Angeles will often have to go small, with LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt taking turns masquerading as a 5. Rebounding, especially defensive rebounding, will therefore be a big concern, especially since the Timberwolves have other frontline players such as Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels, who are capable rebounders and have plenty of size.
Based on what has transpired over the last several weeks, it’s hard to see Alex Len, the only other true center L.A. has on its roster, getting any real minutes, even though he’s seven feet tall and weighs 250 pounds.
#Christian #Koloko #Trey #Jemison #III #play #playoffs
