Doncic finally waited for help. The Lakers two starting lineups are efficient in output, and the new backcourt players are the hidden heroes.

Against the Timberwolves at home, the Lakers could not afford to lose. On the one hand, they lost miserably against the Warriors in the opening game and suffered a disastrous start. Moreover, in the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers were eliminated by the Timberwolves. As a typical revenge battle, all members of the Lakers were full of energy.

Although the regular season has just begun, Lakers star Doncic seems to have started unparalleled mode. Although the Lakers lost to the Warriors in the first game, Doncic performed impeccably. He became more and more fierce in this battle. Even though the Timberwolves had defensive heroes such as Edwards, McDaniels and Clark on the outside, and Gobert was guarding the basket, Doncic showed no fear. He was relaxed and casual throughout the first half, helping the Lakers quickly establish an advantage, and finally scored 49 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Moreover, Doncic shot 14 of 23 under tight defense, which really dragged the Lakers forward.

The Timberwolves are obviously not inferior to the Warriors. Compared with the first game, one of the reasons why the Lakers won is that Doncic finally had a reliable helper. The two starters of the Lakers have efficient output in this game. The first is Austin Reeves. In addition to his good statistics, he scored 25 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists, his efficiency was also much better than in the opening game. You must know that Reeves is currently the second leader of the Lakers. In addition to Doncic, he will definitely attract a lot of defensive resources from opponents. In this case, Reeves played more than 36 minutes but only made one turnover. This control ability is already considered top-notch.

Last season, the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves in the first round, but Hachimura's performance was not bad. He once again became a surprise player in this game. It stands to reason that the Timberwolves are very strong inside, with Gobert, Randle and Naz Reid. However, Hachimura has a certain mid-to-long-range shooting threat. After passing the pick-and-roll, he can also quickly attack the basket. He is really not very good at defending. Sure enough, Hachimura was killing everyone in this battle. He scored 23 points on 10 of 13 shots. You can say that Hachimura has only one function. As a power forward, he only grabbed 2 rebounds and his defensive ability is weak. However, Hachimura can indeed score points and help the team win.

As a new backcourt player, Smart is also a hidden hero for the Lakers in this game. If you only look at the data, Smart only had 3 points and 2 steals in this game. But he is everywhere on the court, especially Smart on the defensive end. He is like a bottle of universal glue, almost revitalizing the entire team.