Rui Hachimura

Austin Reaves tallied 16 points (5-of-13 FGs, 3-of-3 FTs), three rebounds, three assists and three three-pointers in 37 minutes in Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Timberwolves.

LeBron James shot 8-of-18 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line in Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Timberwolves, scoring 19 points with five rebounds, three assists, two steals, three blocks and one three-pointer in 36 minutes.

Luka Doncic accumulated 37 points (12-of-22 FGs, 8-of-9 FTs), eight rebounds, one assist, two steals and five three-pointers in 40 minutes in Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Timberwolves.

Playing in the postseason as a Laker for the first time, Doncic recorded a gaudy stat line in Saturday’s series opener. Unfortunately, he was also responsible for five turnovers, and the Lakers were unable to keep the Timberwolves under wraps after getting off to a solid start. The turnover count wasn’t out of the ordinary for Doncic, but his efficiency will be of heightened importance in this series. Especially if the Lakers have as much trouble defensively as they did in Game 1. Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday night.

Jaden McDaniels finished Saturday’s Game 1 win over the Lakers with 25 points (11-of-13 FGs), nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and three three-pointers in 33 minutes.

McDaniels’ aggressiveness on the offensive end was one of the key factors in Minnesota’s Game 1 victory. He didn’t hesitate to make plays on that end of the floor, and the result was a highly efficient outing in Los Angeles. McDaniels scored 20 points or more 12 times during the regular season, most recently doing so in a March 16 win over the Jazz. Nights like Saturday have not been the norm for Jaden, so it would be unsurprising if his production took a hit in Game 2 on Tuesday. However, his performance in Game 1 has given the Lakers something to think about when they draw up their defensive game plan for Tuesday.

Tobias Harris accounted for 25 points (8-of-13 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs), six rebounds, two blocks and four three-pointers in 40 minutes in Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Knicks.

Saturday’s series opener was a tale of two halves for Harris. Shooting 7-of-10 from the field, he scored 22 points in the first half. Harris would only attempt three shots after halftime, going silent as the Pistons went from leading by eight at the end of the third quarter to trailing by 13 due to a 21-0 Knicks run. While the overall line was encouraging, the Pistons need a more consistent Harris if they’re to win this series. Game 2 is on Monday night.

Kawhi Leonard accumulated 22 points (9-of-15 FGs, 3-of-3 FTs), six rebounds, two assists, three steals and one three-pointer in 41 minutes in Saturday’s loss to the Nuggets.

Leonard shot the ball well in Saturday’s series opener, but the issue is what happened when he was not shooting. The Klaw committed a game-high seven turnovers, and the last thing a team can afford to do in the postseason is give away possessions. However, there should not be too much concern if Leonard’s regular-season production is an indication of what’s to come. He only had five games with at least four turnovers. Leonard will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Monday.