"Feel out" specialist LeBron James keeps it real about playoff-basketball rust after Lakers drop Game 1 

LeBron James' treatment of Game 1s as "feel-out" matchups was all but confirmed after the LA Lakers lost their series opener in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a good old-fashioned blowout as Anthony Edwards and Co. took a 117-95 win at the Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers weren't ready for the Timberwolves' defense's physicality, which allowed them to steal the game away from the second quarter onwards. James confirmed that in his post-game interview.

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"We should be more than prepared on Tuesday night," James said.

He then added that it takes time to adjust to playoff-level basketball, and it could take a full game sometimes.

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"Sometimes, it takes a quarter, two quarters, a full game to get used to playoff basketball again," James added.

Losing Game 1s has been a trend for James' teams over the past decade. He's now 31-24 overall in a series opener.

In 2018, LeBron James confirmed the "feel out" theory after losing the Eastern Conference finals opener to the Celtics.

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"For me, Game 1 has always been a feel out game ... I've got a good sense of the way they played me today and how I'll play them going into Game 2."

James and the Cavaliers won that series in seven games. Saturday seemed like a typical James Game 1 after he played passively for most of the first half before attacking the Timberwolves' coverages. He finished with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks on 8 of 18 shots.

LA didn't make any glaring adjustments to their game plan despite the Timberwolves out-executing their schemes. The Lakers' offense also went stagnant, and it's something that can be fixed moving forward.

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