The Los Angeles Lakers are ready to compete for a championship, and it starts in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Luka Doncic is also looking to get back into the NBA Finals after getting there with the Dallas Mavericks last season. Doncic seems to be ready to take on the challenge, and it sounds like the team is ready as well.

“I think we have a great team,” Doncic said via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. “We have guys who are willing to go to war. Everybody is staying together; the chemistry is high. So I think we, for sure, have a chance.”

There are many people who believe that the Lakers have a good chance of making it to the Finals, and with the talent that they have on the team, it's possible. Doncic plays some of his best basketball in the playoffs, and LeBron James is known for turning it up a notch when the postseason arrives.

The Lakers also have key role players surrounding Doncic and James, and they have shown down the stretch of the season that they can make big plays. It will be interesting to see

Lakers and Timberwolves set to face off in first round

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The first test for the Lakers is to take down the Timberwolves in the first round, and Doncic is fairly familiar with doing that. Last year with the Mavericks, Doncic took down the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, and he ended up winning MVP of the series.

The Timberwolves are a different team than they were last season, and toward the end of this year, they started to click on both sides of the ball. Regardless, the Lakers seem to be ready for the matchup, and Austin Reaves believes they can win it all.

“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.”