After losing Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers can get back into the series with a victory in Game 2. But a loss would mean taking a 0-2 series deficit into Minnesota, a place they have had lots of troubling winning games at, for the following two games.
Plenty may feel reluctant to call Game 2 a must-win game for the Lakers, given that it is so early in the series. But given the fact that the team has lost seven of its last eight games at Target Center and was 19-22 on the road in the regular season, it should treat Game 2 as one it absolutely needs to claim.