NBA-TV analyst Sam Mitchell spoke with our Darren ‘Doogie’ Wolfson about the Wolves-Lakers first round playoff matchup.

Game 1 of the best-of-7 series is Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. on 5-Eyewitness News. The Lakers have homecourt advantage.

***Click the video box above to watch our conversation with Mitchell***

Mitchell went 185-242 as an NBA head coach with the Raptors and Timberwolves. He was the NBA Coach of the Year with in 2007 with Toronto. He most recently served as an assistant coach under Penny Hardaway at the University of Memphis 2018-19.

He played for the Timberwolves for 10 seasons over two different stints. He was the Wolves’ interim head coach for the 2015-2016 season.

“I feel like we can win a championship, to be honest with you,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said last week. “The reason for that is I know everybody in that locker room believes that.”

LeBron James didn’t speak to the media after the win over Houston, but Luka Doncic echoed Reaves’ assessment of the Lakers’ belief in their championship quality after they wrapped up the division with their seventh win in 10 games down the stretch.

“I think we have the team to do it,” said Doncic, who scored 39 points in three quarters against the Rockets. “When everybody is locked in, we’re a hard team to beat, so that’s our goal.”

The goal seems increasingly realistic, which is even more impressive because this version of the Lakers has only been together for two months.

Doncic played his first game for Los Angeles on Feb. 10, several days after the Dallas Mavericks shocked the basketball world by dealing the Slovenian superstar in a package for Anthony Davis. The Lakers are 19-12 since then — not a jaw-dropping record, but one that stands out given the upheaval they’ve faced.

“The guys that have been here all along, they went through every single peak and valley,” Redick said. “I think even this third iteration of this team has gone through a bunch of peaks and valleys. Just incredibly proud of our team. It’s an accomplishment to win 50 games in the regular season in any year, particularly in this year, in this Western Conference.”

The Lakers now have one of the NBA’s best scorers in their lineup next to the top scorer in basketball history, and the partnership is increasingly enticing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report