The Lakers knew the Timberwolves would be a tough matchup in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but it turned out to be much tougher than expected.

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a brutal early first-round exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a tough and unexpected loss to a young Timberwolves team l

The Lakers’ star says the MCL sprain likely would have caused him to miss the rest of the first-round series had the Lakers defeated Minnesota in Game 5.