Player Grades: Lakers vs. Timberwolves
Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 120-109 win over the Wolves.
The Lakers are at a point in the season where it doesn’t matter how wins come, they simply need to be stacked together. Coming up against a depleted Wolves team, the Lakers weren’t great in the first half but eventually pulled away in the fourth quarter for a relatively comfortable win.
The result? The Lakers are six games over .500 for the first time in nearly two years.
The last time the Lakers were six games or more above .500 was May 16, 2021 (they were 42-30) — nearly three years ago. https://t.co/ZeB0bKgBrV
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 11, 2024
More importantly, the Lakers are now 1.5 games above the Warriors, one game back of the Mavs, 1.5 games back of the Kings and two games back of the Suns. Squeaky bum time!
So, let’s grade the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Rui Hachimura
24 minutes, 15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 5-10 FG, 3-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, +3
A pretty standard game from Rui, who bounced back from his poor outing against the Bucks with a fine performance. The Lakers going away from him felt more like the team trying to match up with Minnesota’s lineup and also finding something that worked and sticking with it.
Grade: B+
LeBron James
38 minutes, 29 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 10-16 FG, 2-4 3PT, 7-9 FT, +14
LeBron started slow in this one but really came on in the second half, scoring 21 points on 7-11 shooting in the final two periods. When he shifted up a gear, the Wolves had no one to hang with him, a problem many teams have.
The ideal version of the Lakers probably features LeBron taking it lightly in the first half and going for it in the second half. He was the deciding factor in the second half.
Grade: A-
Anthony Davis
39 minutes, 27 points, 25 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks, 9-17 FG, 9-13 FT, +15
The Lakers came into this game with a commanding advantage in the interior on paper. While Naz Reid had a strong first half offensively after knocking down some 3-pointers, he had absolutely nothing for AD at the basket.
Even that, though, is putting it mildly. He finished two blocks off likely the most insane 5x5 in the league’s history. He’ll settle, instead, for the only 25-25-5-5 stat line in the league’s history, and that doesn’t even account for his three blocks.
His 25 rebounds are just one shy of his career-high. The seven steals are a career-high. It’s the second 25-25 game of his career. Truly, it’s one of the best games of his career.
Grade: A+
D’Angelo Russell
34 minutes, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 5-12 FG, 2-5 3PT, 1-2 FT, +21
A pretty quiet night for D’Lo after he had one of his own greatest games of his career. The Lakers didn’t need his heroics on Sunday. Still, he was impactful in a positive way and was on the court for the team’s decisive fourth-quarter run.
You’d want a bit more out of him on the night, but you’re not going to fault him too much after what he did on Friday.
Grade: B-
Spencer Dinwiddie
17 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 0-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, -5
Look, Dinwiddie’s had a couple nice defensive possessions that stood out on highlight reels, but two things:
- He wasn’t signed for his defense nor is that what the Lakers needed with their last roster spot
- He’s not even consistently good on that end either
The Lakers already had wing players who were defensive-minded. They needed Dinwiddie to be productive offensively. After Sunday, his shooting splits are 35/31/72. The ceiling with him is still high, but how long does he need to keep offering floor-level production before you pull the plug?
Grade: F
Taurean Prince
24 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-6 FG, 0-3 3PT, +11
After some of his poorer performances of the season, Prince has bounced back nicely over the last four games. Sunday, he had a strong defensive effort, matching up nicely against Anthony Edwards in the second half. He, too, was on the court when the Lakers pulled away in the fourth and he earned his spot there as well.
Grade: B+
Jaxson Hayes
16 minutes, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4-4 FG, -4
The Lakers didn’t have as many minutes with two bigs on the floor on Sunday with the Wolves being relatively small without Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns or Kyle Anderson. Still, Hayes was productive and provided the energy he typically does.
Grade: A-
Max Christie
9 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1-1 FG, -4
As someone who has very much clamored for more Christie minutes, Sunday was not a glowing recommendation for him. In fact, it’s one of the worst cameos for him this year.
Giving him sporadic minutes and expecting consistent production is not rational.
Grade: D
Harry Giles III, Skylar Mays, Maxwell Lewis
The victory cigars for the Lakers on Sunday. The trio played only 79 seconds.
Darvin Ham
I liked that Darvin found a lineup in the fourth quarter early on and went for the jugular to end the game, which the Lakers did. He also threw a lot of defensive looks at Ant, leading to him going 10-23 from the field and never finding much of a rhythm.
Grade: B+
Sunday’s DNPs: Jalen Hood-Schifino
Sunday’s inactives: Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood, Colin Castleton, Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.