Player Grades: Lakers vs. Wolves

Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 103-96 Game 5 loss to the Wolves.

The Lakers losing fairly decisively in the first round of the playoffs was not only shocking, but the manner in which they dropped Game 5 was hard to grasp. Facing elimination at home in a win-or-go-home, the Lakers chose the “go home” option.

The first half was spent sleep walking, led by LeBron James and Luka Dončić. By the time they came alive in the second half, it was largely too little, too late. While they did take the lead, they didn’t have much left in the clip and, when the rubber met the road, they yet again had nothing to offer the Wolves in the fourth.

So, despite a 50-win season and a No. 3 seed, the Lakers are going home before April is over for the second year in a row. There’s a lot to digest moving into the offseason, but there is plenty of time for that.

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

Rui Hachimura

39 minutes, 23 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 9-16 FG, 5-8 3PT, -12

Kudos to Rui, who was one of the only players to show up from the start of this game. In a very frustrating first half, he was the bright spot.

He knocked down some shots in the fourth as well. Yes, he was part of the rebounding problem, but so was literally every Laker since there wasn’t a playable center on the roster. At least he tried for more than two quarters.

Grade: A

LeBron James

40 minutes, 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 9-21 FG, 1-5 3PT, 3-6 FT, -14

What a really disappointing performance from LeBron. His jumper wasn’t there for him and he looked gassed for most of this game. There was no fourth quarter flurry and there wasn’t even the defensive plays to account for the lack of production.

He played this game like it was January 30, not April 30.

Grade: F

Dorian Finney-Smith

29 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3-5 FG, 1-3 3PT, -2

JJ Redick finally pulled the trigger and moved DFS into the starting lineup. It didn’t change much, other than being entirely unable to grab rebounds. That wasn’t really DFS’ fault, just more a symptom of a roster-building issue.

However, what was DFS’ fault is fouling out of the game. It was just an uphill battle all night trying to fight on the boards.

Grade: C

Austin Reaves

41 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 5-14 FG, 2-10 3PT, -9

For the majority of his career, Austin Reaves has been a playoff riser. Save for one series against the Warriors in 2023, he’s excelled in the postseason.

That’s necessary context to remember when thinking about this series, where he was dreadful. He capped it off with the worst game of the series in which he had more turnovers than field goals.

It’s going to be a long wait to redeem himself from this one.

Grade: F

Luka Dončić

39 minutes, 28 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 7-18 FG, 2-8 3PT, 12-15 FT, -5

Well, that was another rough one. From the jump, he looked slow and when he aggravated his back injury, it became a little more clear why that may have been the case.

Again, he gutted it out and was actually a huge part of the run in the third quarter that got the Lakers the lead. At the same time, he could barely move defensively because of his back and was targeted relentlessly.

It’s rough that, of the five games these playoffs, two of them featured clearly hampered Luka.

Grade: C-

Jarred Vanderbilt

19 minutes, 2 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0-1 FG, 2-2 FT, +3

I’m glad Vando got some extended run in this one because he, along with Rui, brought the energy from the jump. He fought underneath, did the dirty work and had his best game of the series.

Grade: B+

Gabe Vincent

26 minutes, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, +5

With Jaxson Hayes entirely out of the lineup, Luka dealing with back problems and DFS in foul trouble, Gabe was the guy Redick turned to and...woof.

At times this year, he’s knocked down some huge shots. But immediately hoisting a three from well beyond the 3-point line on a fastbreak with 40 seconds left down six was a choice.

He finishes this series shooting 4-13 from the 3-point line.

Grade: D

Maxi Kleber

I was shocked as everyone when Kleber checked in during the first half. I was flabbergasted when he returned to the floor in the fourth quarter.

I can’t even be critical of him in any way. There was no way he was going to be productive in those circumstances.

JJ Redick

This season, Redick was fantastic. He coached the team to 50 wins and the No. 3 seed. He exceeded everyone’s expectations.

But he was outcoached in this series — not a shock both as a rookie and going up against Chris Finch — and his last six quarters of this series were dreadful. After making history in Game 4 by not making a sub in the second half, he then played Kleber, didn’t play Hayes at all and gave Vincent as many minutes as he had in Games 3 and 4 combined.

He looked like a coach who got desperate. The Lakers weren’t in a spot where they needed to be this desperate. They were close in Games 3 and 4.

Yes, he had a personnel problem. There just wasn’t a solution on the roster to fix the rebounding problem. But he was doing too much in this one and looked like a rookie head coach.

Grade: F

Wednesday’s DNPs: Jordan Goodwin, Jaxson Hayes, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Alex Len, Shake Milton, Markieff Morris

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