After losing Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers can get back into the series with a victory in Game 2. But a loss would mean taking a 0-2 series deficit into Minnesota, a place they have had lots of troubling winning games at, for the following two games.
Plenty may feel reluctant to call Game 2 a must-win game for the Lakers, given that it is so early in the series. But given the fact that the team has lost seven of its last eight games at Target Center and was 19-22 on the road in the regular season, it should treat Game 2 as one it absolutely needs to claim.
That is the attitude forward Dorian Finney-Smith seems to have.
Via Silver Screen and Roll:
“Every game different,” Finney-Smith said. “Just got to come out there and be the better team. They was the better team first game. It’s a whole new game. We just got to try to come out here and get this win. It’s a must-win. Especially if we’re trying to do something special, we have to get this win.”
A number of Lakers players, including Finney-Smith, will need to play better offensively in Game 2 in order to get their team into the victory column. On Saturday, he had just three points and shot 1-of-5 from the field in L.A.’s 117-95 loss. Overall, the team’s bench only produced 13 points.
When Finney-Smith is consistently throwing in darts from 3-point range, he tends to lift the team’s ceiling almost all by himself.
Game 2 will take place at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. Pacific time.
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