Player Grades: Lakers vs. Wolves

Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 111-102 win over the Wolves

After looking like they would run away with this one in the first half, the Lakers had to hang on late to beat the Wolves on Thursday.

It wasn’t pretty in lots of ways. LA shot 11-41 (26.8%) from the 3-point line. They matched that by going 32-46 (69.6%) from the free throw line, too.

We’ll dive into some rough nights from players individually, too, but not every win as to be pretty. Consider how this team looked in the two games against the Wolves earlier this season and be thankful to come away with this victory.

So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

Rui Hachimura

18 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2-6 FG, 1-4 3PT, +21

A real bummer about Rui’s injury. Like head coach JJ Redick, I won’t speculate about the injury but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he missed a little bit of time.

He had really put things together on both ends of the floor. Let’s hope it’s a short-term absence, or none at all, for Rui.

Grade: B

LeBron James

37 minutes, 33 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 11-21 FG, 4-9 3PT, 7-10 FT, +12

It’s a marvel to see him reinvent himself yet again. He’s moved off the ball more and has upped his rebounding while his assists have dipped. And it’ll never get old seeing him on the receiving end of those Luka outlets.

Grade: A

Jaxson Hayes

23 minutes, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-5 FG, 4-6 FT, +18

Another solid game from Hayes, who closed this contest with Rui out injured. He held his own against Naz Reid, who finished with just one field goal and three points on the night.

It continues a string of strong showings from Hayes, who has really stepped up since the Anthony Davis trade.

Grade: A-

Austin Reaves

38 minutes, 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 5-10 FG, 2-5 3PT, 11-12 FT, +9

One of the few Lakers to actually shoot the ball well on the night. Much like it’s been incredible to see LeBron reinvent himself, seeing Reaves not miss a beat this season despite his role changing multiple times this season has been so impressive.

Now, he’s playing third fiddle again as an off-ball connecter and is casually putting up 20 points per game.

Grade: A-

Luka Dončić

36 minutes, 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 6-20 FG, 1-9 3PT, 8-12 FT, +0

Easily the worst game for Luka since becoming a Laker. He couldn’t get any shot to fall, struggled defensively and couldn’t find any sort of rhythm in the game. And yet, he still hit an enormous shot late to keep the Lakers ahead.

Chalk this one up as Luka still working his way back into shape and hope there aren’t any games worse than this.

Grade: D+

Dorian Finney-Smith

31 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1-4 FG, 1-4 3PT, +1

Even DFS didn’t feel like he was making quite as many winning plays as he did in other games. But hopefully he’s ready to step up because he’ll likely move into the starting lineup if Rui misses time.

Grade: C+

Gabe Vincent

20 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1-6 FG, 0-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, -5

After playing his best basketball as a Laker, Vincent has slumped. Over the last four games, he’s shooting 6-24 from the field and 4-20 from the 3-point line. Hopefully that means he’s due.

Grade: D

Jarred Vanderbilt

13 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-2 FT, -17

Not the prettiest game from Vando. He did knock down another corner 3-pointer and found LeBron for a nice alley-oop, but there needed to be more positive moments from him.

He’s been on a pretty strict minutes restriction that hopefully can be lifted or expanded if Rui is out.

Grade: C-

Jordan Goodwin

13 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3-5 FG, 1-2 3PT, +8

A nice bounceback game from Goodwin, who continues to prove his value. The Lakers might have to make a decision at the end of the season about whether to sign him to a standard NBA contract so that he’s playoff eligible.

Grade: B+

Dalton Knecht

11 minutes, 1 rebound, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-2 FT, -2

Boy would it be nice to have a big shooting night from Knecht in a game in the near future. His huge November feels so far away.

Grade: F

JJ Redick

I thought there were a couple instances where Redick maybe should have called a timeout to stem a Wolves run, but most of the time the Lakers found a timely response to do it themselves. Perhaps that’s him knowing his team better than I do.

Grade: B

Thursday’s DNPs: Alex Len, Shake Milton, Markieff Morris, Cam Reddish

Thursday’s inactives: Bronny James, Trey Jemison III, Christian Koloko, Maxi Kleber

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.