PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Lakers Face Houston Rockets in Round 1 Matchup
The Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets on Saturday, April 18th at Crypto.com Arena, 5:30 pm PST, in what will be the first postseason matchup between LeBron James and Kevin Durant since 2018.
It’s all hands on deck heading into the playoffs for the Lakers. After losing two of their stars to injury a little over two weeks ago, the team seems to be mentally prepared to go into battle with what they have. And it all starts with LeBron James, who’s been accustomed to being in this position over the course of his 23-year career.
This season, LeBron has played primarily as the third option behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, a role he has embraced and excelled in. It took some time for the three to get into a rhythm, but they had finally found their stride during that March stretch. Since the absence of Doncic and Reaves, James has still shown himself to be capable of playing first-option hoops.
Houston’s Strengths and Weaknesses
The Rockets excel on the defensive end and on the glass. They average 48.1 rebounds per game compared to LAL’s 41.0. The Rockets also ranked 6th-best defensive rating in the NBA, compared to the Lakers, who ranked 20th. They’re a tall team, equipped with a ton of size that will surely give the Lakers’ offense issues.
Houston will undoubtedly look to blitz LeBron, double-teaming him and forcing him to rely on his teammates to knock down shots or create their own looks. This is where the Lakers have an opportunity to thrive. If LeBron’s gravity can create open looks for their two best shooters, Kennard and Hachimura, that would give them a much-needed offensive boost.
Funnily enough, both the Lakers and Rockets are each other’s preferred matchups. Among the other top 5 teams in the West, the Rockets have the most glaring offensive weaknesses. Their lack of a playmaking guard may prove a recurring obstacle in a playoff setting.
When the Lakers faced the Rockets in March, they doubled KD on numerous occasions in the 4th quarter and essentially stunted Houston’s offense at times. LaRavia, Smart, and Vanderbilt will be heavily relied on defensively for LAL.
Mindset Heading Into the Postseason
The Lakers have held several practices in the last few days in preparation for Saturday’s game.
Here are a few notable quotes from some of the players and coach JJ Redick in their interviews with the media…
Deandre Ayton:
“I am truly excited. I want to do backflips. I’m in the purple and gold, and I just want to really just play hard as hell to contribute to wins.”
Luke Kennard:
“I don’t feel much pressure going into this. We still believe in what we have and who we’re going to start the series with and I think everybody believes that. Being maybe somewhat of an underdog with guys out, it kind of gives us this sense of freedom.”
JJ Redick:
“The mindset for our team and for those two guys [Luka and Austin], like we’re gonna try to make this season as long as possible so that we can get those guys back at some point. We don’t know when that is, and that’s just our job. And their job is to do everything they can to be in a position to come back at some point. It may not work, but that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Marcus Smart:
“They’re going to try to come in and punk us…I don’t think we have any guys that are going to be punked on this team. So, we might not be the most athletic and strongest, but we got to have the most heart.”
The NBA Playoffs kick off tomorrow night, and the Lakers look to defend homecourt in what will be this team’s most difficult test yet.
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