The Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright says the Los Angeles Lakers has a real shot at a deep run, thanks to a favorable bracket and home-court advantage. They avoid early matchups against tough teams like the Nuggets, Warriors, Grizzlies, or Rockets. Instead, they open against the Minnesota Timberwolves—a draw Wright sees as ideal for the Lakers’ veteran core.
On Monday’s “First Things First” episode, Wright said:
“Nothing is easy in the West, but this broke perfectly for the Lakers,” Wright said. “Going into the weekend, they knew they couldn’t play Houston nor Memphis because they couldn’t move up going into the weekend. How do you want the playoffs to fall, they would’ve said exactly how they felt.”
“Nothing is easy in the West, but this broke perfectly for the Lakers.”@getnickwright breaks down why LAL has the ideal path: pic.twitter.com/tpDE0GQwKB
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) April 14, 2025
He points out that Minnesota’s style won’t wear the Lakers down early, giving them a physical break to start the postseason. He also thinks the matchup plays to Luka Doncic’s strengths against Rudy Gobert.
“Luka has tortured this man in international play when [Rudy] Gobert is in France, when Gobert is on the Jazz, when he’s on the Timberwolves, he tortured him,” Wright added.
Wright admits the Timberwolves are on a roll and hungry for payback. But he’s still confident. He’s calling a five-game win for L.A. and says the path ahead couldn’t be better lined up.
Western Conference first-round playoff schedule released for the Lakers
Western Conference first round playoff schedule including Lakers-Wolves: pic.twitter.com/Pd0iYcCpcG
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) April 16, 2025
The No. 3 seed L.A. Lakers will face No. 6 seed Minnesota in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, with Game 1 tipping off Saturday, April 19, in Minneapolis at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN Radio.
Game 2 stays in Minnesota on Tuesday, April 22, with a 10:00 p.m. ET start on TNT. The series shifts to L.A. for Game 3 on Friday, April 25, at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, followed by Game 4 on Monday, April 28, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
If necessary, Game 5 will be played in Los Angeles on Wednesday, April 30, with the time and network still to be determined. Game 6 would head back to Minnesota on Saturday, May 3, and Game 7—if it gets that far—would stay in Minneapolis on Sunday, May 4.
Times and TV details for Games 6 and 7 are also TBD.
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