The Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves will be facing each other in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, and it should be an exciting series to watch. The Lakers and Timberwolves have a lot of history with each other, and it dates back all the way to the preseason, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

“The Lakers opened up the preseason against Minnesota. They opened the regular season up against Minnesota. And now they'll open the playoffs against Minnesota,” McMenamin wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The Lakers look completely different than they did since the beginning of the preseason and the regular season, and it's going to take the Timberwolves to play some of their best basketball to try and advance to the next round.

Lakers ready to make a deep playoff run

Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2), forward LeBron James (23), forward Rui Hachimura (28), center Jaxson Hayes (11), and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrate after scoring against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

In the second half of the season, the Lakers were playing their best basketball of the year, and it honestly started before Luka Doncic came to the team. With Doncic on the team, opposing teams could be in for a long series as his game is built for the playoffs.

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The Lakers are confident in their chances of winning a championship and before the end of the season, Austin Reaves shared the mindset of the team.

“As a team, I feel like we can win a championship to be honest. And the reason for that is I know that everybody in that locker room believes that. And it’s also bought into whatever your role is to help us do that,” Reaves said. “You could go down the line of everybody in there and ask them what their role is and they’ll tell you exactly what it is. We’re not unrealistic with each other. And that’s what you have to be, to be a good group. You have to be honest with each other.”

Though the Lakers have a lot of good things happening for them, they still have some weaknesses, such as their center depth. Playing a team like the Timberwolves could expose them, especially if Rudy Gobert can dominate in the paint. On the other hand, if the Lakers can take advantage of Gobert on offense, they can force the Timberwolves to go small.

It'll be an interesting test for both teams, but as of now, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Lakers favored to start the series.