How one late lineup change for Minnesota took Game 3 from the Lakers hands

The Wolves earned a crucial Game 3 win, fueled by the benching of Rudy Gobert for Naz Reid.

In a 1-1 series, Game 3 is regarded as the series definer, granting control to the victor.

In a tightly contested matchup, the Timberwolves achieved a significant win at home, 116-104, on Friday, taking a commanding 2-1 series lead. In a tie game with 4:37 remaining, Minnesota head coach Chris Finch made a crucial lineup shift, benching Rudy Gobert for Naz Reid.

The Lakers got a brilliant performance from LeBron James, who finished with 38 points on 5-9 3-pointers, carrying the team while superstar Luka Dončić, who had 17 points and eight assists, battled a stomach flu.

Late in the third quarter, Gobert was isolated in a switch against Dončić at the top of the key where he made a clean steal that led to an and-one finish for Jaden McDaniels, three of his team-high 30 points.

In the fourth, Dončić and the Lakers were prepared. They found success by exploiting Gobert’s weaknesses on both ends. Offensively, they sent extra attention to Anthony Edwards, ignoring the big man at the rim. Defensively, they targeted his foot speed.

The late-game offense was simple: whoever Gobert was defending, have him come up to set the screen. Everyone else, get out of the way.

Gobert was hidden on Rui Hachimura. Watch below as Dončić gets a screen, resulting in the switch.

A quick drive draws the bump foul, sending Dončić to the line for free throws. 103-101.

The discussions on whether Gobert is “playable” down the stretch focus heavily on the defensive end. It can be argued that the main area where he harms his teams is on offense. On the very next Minnesota possession, watch below as the Lakers double team Edwards, with no concern of Gobert at the basket, resulting in a stop.

Gobert did not attempt a shot in his 25 minutes of play, finishing with one point on 1-4 from the free throw line.

On the subsequent Laker possession, Dončić once again hunts Gobert out, with Minnesota conceding the switch. A drive and floater finish over the seven-footer evens the score at 103 apiece with 4:37 remaining. The Lakers were rolling.

A timeout is taken by the Wolves, and in comes the spacing big man Reid to replace Gobert.

His impact was felt immediately.

With the paint no longer clogged, Minnesota now uses McDaniels as a screener with Reid serving as a spacer. In the clip below, with all five players being threats, L.A. is less inclined to over-help, giving Edwards the chance to dance one-on-one against Dončić.

On the next Wolves offensive possession, Reid demonstrated why he’s in the game. Watch below as Edwards once again hunts Dončić, with McDaniels acting as the screener. He drives downhill and kicks out to Reid on the opposite wing.

Edwards collected his eighth assist on the night, to go along with 29 points and eight rebounds.

“Naz was huge,” Finch said postgame. “Everyone was huge. I thought in many ways, Naz showed up at just the right time we needed him to splash a couple of three’s and he did.”

The substitution of Gobert even stalled the Lakers on the offensive end, altering their entry point on offense. Rather than switching, the Wolves choose to send extra help when Reid, the more disadvantaged defender, is on the court. Watch below as Dončić looks to hunt Reid, with him showing at the level of the screen.

McDaniels shades over to help, opening up Hachimura, who elects to take the 3-pointer.

The Wolves want to force the ball out of the Lakers' shot creators’ hands.

Down seven with just over two minutes left, L.A. once again tries to attack the matchup with Reid. LeBron receives the screen this time, as the Wolves put two on the ball. He finds Hachimura on the short roll, who drives and gets tied up with Edwards, leading to a review that gives the Wolves the basketball, essentially icing the game.

This is a look the Lakers will need to address. One option is targeting the Wolves' guards, a strategy that hasn't been explored enough in the series so far. L.A. has focused on attacking the Wolves' bigs with mixed results at best.

Another alternative is positioning LeBron and Doncic in the post instead of solely relying on screen actions. L.A committed 19 turnovers, resulting in 28 points against the Wolves' stingy on ball defense.

Minnesota has been able to hide their bigs on the least dynamic screeners, baiting the Lakers to involve them in the actions. It has worked, with L.A. putting up a putrid 107.7 offensive rating so far, ranking sixth worst in the postseason. If this offensive futility continues, the Lakers won’t be playing much longer.

Series take twists and turns as they progress, and coaches continue to play more cards. Benching Gobert for Reid adds another card to the table, which the Lakers need to be prepared for moving forward.