NBA Insiders Reportedly Felt Lakers Got 'Lucky' During 20-4 Run in Regular Season

Some people around the NBA questioned whether the Los Angeles Lakers' suffocating defense during a red-hot stretch of 20 wins in 24 games during the regular season was sustainable, according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha.

Part of L.A.'s defensive success was predicated on allowing secondary scorers and role players get good looks and watching them miss. Buha said in the newest episode of his podcast there was one belief within the league that the Lakers "were getting lucky with shot variance."

The idea was that the shots opposing players were clanging off the rim would likely start to fall sooner or later, and that regression spelled bad news for Los Angeles.

The risk behind the strategy was evident on Saturday night as the Minnesota Timberwolves went 21-of-42 from beyond the arc in a 117-95 win. Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels combined for nine of those made threes.

Buha made the point that Wolves shooters were wide open for "at least seven" of their successful long-range efforts.

"And then another four to five were half-assed to like not really there closeouts," he said. "So, it's like if over half of their threes are either open or like weak closeouts … Certainly, Minnesota could've had the same shots and just not made them, but the average team, you give them a bunch of open looks, they're gonna make those shots."

The team that wins Game 1 of an NBA playoff series has overwhelmingly gone on to advance. Los Angeles no longer has home-court advantage, either.

Still, nobody is going to count out a squad with LeBron James and Luka Dončić after just one loss. Game 2 could tell a much different story on the court.

Whether it's Minnesota's hot shooting or the way in which the Wolves pushed L.A. around, however, Saturday's contest did expose some flaws that can only be addressed so much through JJ Redick's mid-series adjustments.

In the case of the Lakers' defensive scheme, what worked in the regular season isn't always as useful in the playoffs.