Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Stephen A. Smith Names Timberwolves Player to 'Put Lakers on Notice'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Orlando Silva | Last updated Apr 19, 2025 2:26 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers are set to face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The purple and gold completed a terrific regular season that started with Anthony Davis as their second-best player and finished with Luka Doncic as their go-to guy following a shocking trade with the Dallas Mavericks.

The quest for the championship starts today against a dangerous team led by Anthony Edwards, one of the best young players in the association. The Timberwolves have more stars who can make some noise in this series, but veteran analyst Stephen A. Smith identified one who could have a major impact.

They tied the regular-season series with two wins per team, showing how competitive their duels were.

During Saturday's edition of "NBA Countdown," Smith mentioned the player who could open more options for the Timberwolves while making life hard for the Lakers.

"The Julius Randle that needs to show up in the postseason is not the Julius Randle we're accustomed to seeing in the postseason, it's the Julius Randle we saw in the regular season when he was a New York Knick.

"He needs to be very, very aggressive and he needs to put the Lakers on notice that you have to guard him."

"JJ Redick is too smart of a coach to let [Luka Doncic] get put on an island." @KendrickPerkins and @stephenasmith on why the role players might matter more than the superstars in Lakers-Wolves pic.twitter.com/6P5nCQd27z
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 19, 2025

The Lakers enter Game 1 as a 4.5-point favorite (per ESPN Bet). The matchup is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 PM ET at Crypto.com Arena. There will be several storylines to follow here, as they could give fans one of the best first-round series.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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