Hernández: After a Game 1 meltdown, the Lakers should still win their

Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) scored 37 points in a losing effort against the Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena Saturday. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Lights, camera … freeze?
What was that?
Seriously, what was that?
After a blockbuster trade that changed the trajectory of the entire league, after a 50-win regular season that restored the faith of their despondent fan base, the Lakers were outmuscled, outshot and pretty much out-everythinged in a 117-95 defeat to the underdog Timberwolves on Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) closes in on the ball as Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) defense during a playoff game at Crypto.com Arena Saturday. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Goodbye, momentum.
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Goodbye, home-court advantage.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 27 points, their performance at Crypto.com Arena so shameful that even one of the worst coaches in franchise history felt emboldened enough to criticize their current sideline leader.
“Coach JJ Redick did a great job all season but he didn’t do a good job for Game 1,” Magic Johnson posted on X. “The Lakers stood around on offense, played too much one-on-one basketball, and he didn’t make any necessary adjustments.”
Johnson knows something about the inability to make necessary adjustments, as he was just 5-11 when he received his shot on the bench.
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Redick looked as if he might stiffen under the postseason spotlight, the rookie coach uncharacteristically a man of few words and no smiles in his pregame news conference. And in the critical moments of the game, there was nothing Redick could do to counter the Timberwolves. The visitors opened the second quarter with a 26-6 run to take control of the game and scored the first 11 points of the second half to move the game out of the Lakers’ reach.
Read more: ‘We’ll get better.’ Lakers vow to improve after blowout Game 1 loss to Timberwolves
“We were mentally…

