Charles Barkley slams Los Angeles Lakers after Game 4 loss to Minnesota Timberwolves: "Didn’t have a good game plan"

The Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff hopes took another hit after they squandered a 10-point lead in the final quarter of Game 4 in their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite a valiant effort earlier in the game, the Lakers fell 116-113, leaving them in a 3-1 hole in the series. Fans and analysts alike are now questioning what went wrong for the Lakers, as they struggle to contain a surging Timberwolves squad.

In a bold move during the second half, the Los Angeles Lakers leaned heavily on just five players, making them the first team since 1997-98 to play the same five throughout an entire half of a playoff game. While the strategy initially seemed to pay off in the third quarter, during which the Lakers launched a 14-0 run to take control, things quickly took a turn for the worse in the final frame. The Timberwolves responded with a blistering 32-19 fourth-quarter performance to close out the game.
Minnesota’s star, Anthony Edwards, was instrumental in the Timberwolves’ comeback, scoring 16 of his 43 points in the final quarter alone. His efforts helped the Timberwolves outscore the Lakers 19-9 in the game’s final five minutes and change, a stretch that ultimately sealed the Lakers’ fate.
During the postgame analysis on Sunday’s "Inside the NBA" on TNT, NBA legend Charles Barkley didn’t hold back when critiquing the Lakers’ game plan. "I think when they go with their small lineup, they’re better offensively," Barkley said, referring to the Timberwolves' shift in strategy that saw Rudy Gobert sit in favor of Naz Reid and Julius Randle. "When they take Gobert out, bring in Naz Reid and Randle, that’s where they’re best. And I thought the Lakers didn’t have a good game plan because the double works when Rudy is in the game because he can’t score."

Barkley’s criticism centered around the Lakers’ failure to adjust to the Timberwolves’ lineup change. With Gobert on the floor, the Lakers had been able to use a defensive double team to limit his impact, but without him, the Timberwolves’ smaller lineup created mismatches that the Lakers couldn’t counter effectively.
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As the series heads back to Los Angeles for Game 5, the Lakers are on the brink of elimination. Their chances of mounting a comeback now depend on whether they can adjust their strategy and find answers to Minnesota’s dynamic offensive play. For the Lakers, the time for fixes is now—before this series slips away entirely.