The Los Angeles Lakers now know their playoff opponent, and taking down the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round will be far from an easy task. It has been a fantastic season for the Lakers, and adding Luka Doncic created an entirely new dynamic as this squad looks to pursue a championship. However, matching up with the Timberwolves means the possibility exists for LA’s season to be over in short order.

Some die-hard Lakers fans may scoff at this suggestion. But when you look at the roster Minnesota has and how they make life difficult for their opponents, they are tailor-made to take down this Lakers team. There is no question about it: The Wolves are a big team. And they will be able to take advantage of this against a team like LA.

Again, adding Doncic changed the makeup of this Lakers squad completely. But perhaps not in all good ways. Losing Anthony Davis means this team has been sorely lacking a lot of interior size and defense for the last couple of months. Whereas Davis was a Defensive Player of the Year type of talent on a yearly basis, the Lakers have now been forced to rely on Jaxson Hayes on a consistent basis, which is not a formula for success for a playoff team.

Rudy Gobert creates a nightmare matchup for the Lakers

This is where Rudy Gobert comes in. The Timberwolves’ big man is one of the best rim protectors of this generation and while he has his faults and limitations, this could end up being a series he thrives in. Everyone wants to point back to last season where Doncic made a big shot over Gobert to win Game 2 in Minnesota. But that was just one shot.

If you watched the entirety of that series, the biggest advantage Luka’s Dallas Mavericks had over the Wolves was their skilled and athletic wings that could take away Gobert’s strengths in the paint. The Lakers do not have Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively and P.J. Washington to throw at Minnesota’s big man.

As a result, it will be on guys like Dorian Finney-Smith to put up strong performances to ensure the Lakers do not end up in their worst-case scenario. The worst thing that could happen for LA would be if Gobert is able to be comfortable the entire series because the Lakers do not have enough size on the interior to throw him off. As of now, this should remain the biggest concern for LA.