What the Lakers Must Do to Make 3-1 Comeback

The margin between 3-1 and 2-2 was razor-thin.

One Hawk-Eye camera away.
One foul call on Jaden McDaniels’ trip on Luka away.
One Austin Reaves game-tying three away.
One careless foul — one missed opportunity — away.

If a few moments broke differently, we’d be talking about a 2-2 series, with two of the final three games inside Crypto.com Arena — where the Lakers always play their best brand of basketball.

Now, it’s a steep hill to climb. Nobody’s sugarcoating that. But if you had to put money on any team to pull off a 3-1 comeback, you’d be crazy not to pick the Lakers.

https://t.co/RCdAlmixHs pic.twitter.com/GMIjqz7CHf

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 27, 2025

Adjustments Are Needed — and Possible

At this point, it’s common sense to hunt Austin Reaves defensively. There aren’t many other easy targets left outside of Luka and Reaves. My solution? Limit the minutes Luka and Reaves share the floor. Instead, stagger Reaves’ time with LeBron more often.

Without Luka beside him, Reaves can operate better, and defensively, he won’t be as easily attacked. The defense has fewer options to take advantage of when Luka and Reaves are separated.

It would be naive not to mention the offseason creeping into the conversation. Regardless of how this series ends, the Lakers need to find a Nickeil Alexander-Walker type — a gritty, point-of-attack defender to pair with Luka. Plus, let’s be real, we’ve always known we were undersized.

That incredible February-March run made us believe we could surf above water and contend, but size was always a question mark.

Playoffs Expose Everything

The playoffs aren’t just about talent — they’re about schemes.
This Wolves team — fully healthy, fully locked in — isn’t one we got a real look at post-Luka trade during the regular season. Now, we’re seeing them in full form, and they’re exposing weaknesses.

Still, anytime you have Luka Doncic and LeBron James on the roster, you can’t count a team out until it’s truly over. Sure, LeBron’s famous 3-1 comeback was about ten years ago — but let’s not act like he didn’t just drag a 7-seed Lakers team to the conference finals two seasons ago.

What’s Actually Going Wrong?

The Lakers have posted the third-worst defensive efficiency this postseason. Isolation ball, while successful in bursts, isn’t carrying us.

It’s clear JJ Redick leaned into the Luka isolation strategy against Gobert, and it worked early in Games 1 and 2. In Game 2, Gobert faced 35 challenges and allowed just 22 points (0.63 points per challenge), his best defensive outing of the series. Still, Luka’s size and slightly slower pace now make it clear: the focus should shift.

Instead of Luka always hunting Gobert, it should be Reaves — or even better, more aggressive targeting of Mike Conley, who’s often matched with Rui. That matchup isn’t being abused nearly enough.

And about Redick’s choice to run the starters the entire fourth quarter in Game four? It showed.
We were gassed. Gabe Vincent or even Goodwin could’ve bought our ball handlers some minutes, but when nothing was producing in the small sample size of play, I understand playing your best five guys.

Finding a Hero for Game 5

Chances are, we won’t get another Rui Hachimura heater like we did in Game four — 23 points, five rebounds, 56% shooting, 50% from three on 10 attempts. So the real question becomes: who steps up next?

Maybe it’s a Vincent game. Maybe it’s Dorian Finney-Smith. Somebody’s going to have to catch fire.

Luka can still create, but instead of full-court, let’s try more half-court sets. He ranked sixth this season in points created off drives (16 per game), and he’s still one of the most terrifying players on the planet with the ball in his hands.

Shot Quality and Execution

Gameplans have shifted.

Early on, the Lakers forced Anthony Edwards to become a playmaker. At first, Ant missed some key reads — but as this series has gone on, he’s adjusted impressively. His growth as a decision-maker is one of the biggest reasons Minnesota has taken control.

Meanwhile, Jaden McDaniels has been a nightmare for our guards. He leads the NBA in time spent tightly guarding 20+ ppg scorers — logging 150 possessions against top weapons this season — and it shows. His size, athleticism, and timing are crushing our perimeter flow.

And the Lakers? They’ve been forced to their weaknesses.
This team thrives when the floor is spread out in half-court sets, not stuck in one-on-one situations running down the shot clock, forcing a terrible shot.

When we freelance, 25% of our shots come at the rim and 28% are catch-and-shoot threes. When we run help beaters — designed actions to punish help defense — we see better looks:

• 27% of shots at the rim

• 40% catch-and-shoot threes

• 49% of shots classified as open

(stats courtesy of @Tim_NBA)

Big Picture Thinking

If there’s a bright spot, it’s this:
This series showed us that LeBron, with a reduced offensive burden, can still play at an All-Defensive level. His energy and effort defensively have been elite when he doesn’t have to carry the entire offensive load.

Even if the comeback doesn’t happen, we learned something important: Luka is the superstar to build around. Rob Pelinka, despite the pressure, has shown he knows how to retool.

And JJ Redick?
He’s not perfect — nobody is — but from the day he walked into the building and said “I don’t give a f***” at his first presser, you knew he was different. His mind, creativity, and competitive fire are real. With time, I believe JJ has the potential to become a Hall of Fame-level coach.

This series isn’t over yet.
And neither are the Lakers.