The Los Angeles Lakers were an overwhelmingly popular pick in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Even after losing Game 1 to the Wolves, many national pundits are still picking the Lakers.
Bill Simmons remains among that group, but he’s slowly starting to crawl over to the Minnesota side.
On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons and Ryen Russillo looked back at Minnesota’s Game 1 win. Russillo went into the series having picked the Wolves to take out the Lakers, and Simmons is now trending in that direction.
Minnesota’s just really comfortable wherever they’re playing. I think that’s my favorite thing about them. … They don’t care if they’re playing against LeBron and Luka. … I saw a team that walked in there and thought, ‘We have the best team in this series and we’re winning this series’ and they carried themselves that way.
Many are having that takeaway from Simmons this morning after reflecting on Saturday’s contest. It wasn’t just that Minnesota won; that part wasn’t stunning. It was how it won, dominating the Lakers on their home floor to the tune of a 22-point victory.
Minnesota was the more physical, the more ready team. The Wolves routed LA with superstar Anthony Edwards scoring only 22 points. He was a willing distributor, racking up nine assists.
Simmons didn’t stop praising Minnesota and started to consider hedging his initial pick in the series.
I really liked what I saw from Minnesota and that was a series that, it didn’t flip me, because I had Lakers in seven but it did make me go, ‘(Expletive), I don’t feel great about Lakers in seven.’
Russillo picked the Wolves to win the series from the start and is sticking by that idea after the Minnesota win on Saturday. His logic makes sense. Many people are picking the Lakers just because they’re the Lakers.
I picked Minnesota and I’m not taking credit for it as if I saw all these things. … It felt like this overwhelming vibe decision by the general NBA public, right? Where it’s the Lakers, another run with LeBron, the Luka stuff.
The public is undoubtedly reconsidering vibes after Minnesota’s performance on Saturday. The Wolves won’t sweep, and the series is far from over. However, it’s a great start and something to build on for the Timberwolves moving forward in the series.
