LeBron James admits gameplan to stop Anthony Edwards allowed Rudy Gobert to bully Lakers with 27 points and 24 rebounds

Lebron James and the LA Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. However, the Timberwolves didn't win Game 5 because of Anthony Edwards. Rudy Gobert led the way for Minnesota, scoring 27 points and grabbing 24 rebounds in the best postseason game of his career.

Edwards made a name for himself in last year's postseason when he took down both Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic on the way to the Western Conference Finals. He added James and Luka Doncic to the growing list of stars he has sent home after his latest playoff series win. His star continues to ascend as he cements himself as one of the best playoff performers in the league.

LeBron James spoke with Steve Nash on Thursday's episode of Mind the Game about the Lakers plan of attack entering the decisive Game 5. The team identified Edwards as the biggest threat offensively in the game and built their defensive coverage around stopping him specifically.

According to LeBron James, Gobert was able to succeed because the Lakers' game plan allowed him to.

"Everything that Rudy did in Game 5 came because Ant(Edwards) approached the game the way he did those first four games," said James about Gobert's success. "Now all eyes were on Ant, and everything was game planned around Ant, and Ruby was the beneficiary of that moment..."

On a night when the Lakers were determined to let anyone but Edwards send them home, Gobert stepped up and led the Timberwolves to a 103-96 series-clinching win.

In theory, Los Angeles' game plan was a good one. Getting the ball out of Edwards' hands forced Minnesota to find other avenues through which to score. They wanted Gobert to have a big role in the offense, hoping to take advantage of his relatively weak skillset on that end of the floor. Unfortunately for them, Gobert was ready and made them pay throughout the game.

Was it a poor game plan or a flawed roster that sent LeBron James home?

When they traded for Doncic at the trade deadline, the Lakers formed one of the best playmaking duos in the league with him and LeBron James. However, the team gave up both depth and size in order to make the deal. After rescinding a trade that would have brought in Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles had one true center left on their roster: Jaxson Hayes.

In the postseason, it became clear that Hayes simply couldn't stay on the court for the Lakers. That forced head coach JJ Redick to play a shorter rotation than he wanted. He made history in Game 4 when he played the same five players for every minute of the second half.

The Lakers depended heavily on James and Rui Hachimura to be the team's center in smaller matchups, something Gobert took full advantage of in Game 5. He is several inches taller than both forwards and dominated the boards as a result. His 27 points and 22 rebounds were both playoff career-highs for the former Defensive Player of the Year.

The Lakers enter the 2025 offseason with a lot to do in order to complete a championship roster. However, LeBron James refused to point the finger at any of his teammates and coaches, simply saying that their strategy didn't work, and that at the end of the day, the better team won the series.