The first round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets continues on Tuesday.
L.A. looks to take further control of the matchup and protect homecourt by going for 2-0.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets
When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Apr. 21
Where: Crypto.com Arena
Watch: NBC, Peacock
Just when it looked like the Lakers needed a miracle to win Game 1, there was a sudden plot twist moments before tip-off that Kevin Durant was ruled out as well. The matchup instantly became more favorable
for the purple and gold and, boy, did they make the most out of it in the best way possible.
Shoutout to Luke Kennard for having himself a career night, to LeBron James for taking control of the game with his IQ and the rest of the team for doing what they’ve done for the most part of the season: rise to the occasion.
Game 1 didn’t go perfectly for the Lakers by any means, but they played well enough to earn the victory. Now, the next challenge is to win Game 2, which will be even harder. Durant’s health remains the biggest storyline but with or without the all-time great, Los Angeles will have to be ready for Houston’s response.
How will Houston respond?
What was ironic about Game 1 was that even as the Rockets won the rebounding battle (44-35) by a substantial margin, scored more points in transition (11-4) and finished with more possessions through second-chance opportunities, they still lost. A huge reason for this is that no one from their team scored more than 20 points and without KD, they lacked offensive firepower.
Expect that to change in Game 2. The likes of Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith — who shot a combined 11-34 — will definitely want to bounce back. The same goes with Alperen Sengun, who will likely be more aggressive and look for his shots. The Rockets will most likely tighten their defensive coverage on Kennard and will limit James’ playmaking and scoring abilities. This is the perfect opportunity to test how quickly head coach JJ Redick and the Lakers respond to the Rockets’ adjustments.
Can L.A. continue to beat the Rockets on offense?
Going into this series, the Lakers had the offensive advantage and they showed that in Game 1 even without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Besides Kennard’s spectacular 27-point night, L.A. shot 53.6% from downtown and five players were in double figures.
Talk about contributions across the board.
The purple and gold clearly also played with more effort and focus. They had an answer to every single one of Houston’s runs and found ways to overwhelm them on offense. It’s tough to ask Kennard to score 27 points again, but it’s fair to expect Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and co. to continue playing well. The Lakers’ best shot at beating the Rockets is still through their offense.
There are still so many variables that can impact this series: Luka, Austin and KD’s health, for example. But with all the uncertainty both teams are dealing with, it becomes a series about which team can control what they can and the cards they’re being dealt.
Can the Lakers carry over their success from Game 1? Will the Rockets bounce back? We’ll find out on Tuesday.
Notes and Updates
- The Lakers’ injury report remains as it is with Luka Dončić (left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (left oblique muscle strain) out.
- As for the Rockets, Steven Adams (left ankle surgery) and Fred VanVleet (ACL surgery) are out while Kevin Durant (right knee contusion) is questionable.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
