Los Angeles, CA – (The Bulletin) – The Los Angeles Lakers won Game 2 of their Western Conference matchup against the Houston Rockets and have taken a 2-0 series lead. With the first two games being at home in Los Angeles, the Lakers have achieved the goal of protecting their homecourt.
Winning game one was important, but Kevin Durant from the Rockets returning in game two displayed a huge win for the Lakers.
Coming into the first round of the playoffs, it has been well known that the Lakers were viewed as underdogs against the Rockets. Missing star players such as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves generally is a huge loss for a team.
While those two players are missed, the Lakers are showing tremendous effort fighting against the odds and are currently winning the series.
The Lakers won game one of the series with the Rockets missing their best player Durant being held out due to a knee injury. Durant however returned for game two and looked to make an impact.
In the first half, the Lakers would make multiple runs to expand their lead over the Rockets. Durant would keep the game close, as the Lakers had no answer for him in the first half. The Lakers closed the first half leading, 54-51, but Durant had 20 points out of the 51 for the Rockets.
Houston’s offense is very inconsistent, so Durant drives their offense. His scoring and mere presence alone makes the Rockets better as he draws a lot of attention from the opposing team’s defense.
Durant being on the floor and dominating is a factor into why the Rockets were considered heavy favorites in the series. Going into the second half, the Lakers made some real defensive adjustments to secure a big win for game two.
After Durant scored 20 points in the first half and really being the only consistent offense the Rockets had, the Lakers decided to really trap Durant. Constant double teams and ball pressure forcing Durant to move or get off the ball slowed him down. Whenever Durant would touch the ball, a secondary defender would come towards him.
“We’re just getting this thing started and he’s the type of player that can take over a series. We just have to continue to have a great team defense and great activity.” said Lakers head coach JJ Reddick.
With the defensive adjustments made by the Lakers, Durant had nine turnovers for the game and only scored three points in the second half. The pressure in forcing Durant to give up the ball disrupted the Rockets’ entire offensive flow, and other players could not capitalize with their opportunities.
The team defense from the Lakers has been very impressive and made the Rockets offense look bad. Though in game two the efforts of Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart have been outstanding. With Reaves and Doncic being out some role players have to step offensively to win these games.
Lebron James is one of best players of all time, and despite being 41 years of age, his play is still all-star caliber. We know what to expect from James, other players on the Lakers have stepped up and helped secure these two wins early on.
Leading the series 2-0 is a big accomplishment for the Lakers. While the job is not finished, the Lakers have done well. Being massive underdogs coming into the series, winning the first two games puts all the pressure on the Rockets. They have protected homecourt, and continue to buy more time for Doncic and Reaves.
With the two wins under their belt, they now can continue to be patient with the two stars’ recovery and not have to rush their return.
With the series now shifting to Houston for the next two games, it is for the Lakers to play well. In the playoffs, roleplayers tend to do better at home than on the road. Houston’s players struggled in the first two games in LA, it should be expected for them to play better in Houston.
The same logic can apply for the Lakers. Role players like Kennard and Smart excelled at home, the hope for the Lakers is that they are any other role player who can step up on the road to take a commanding lead in the series.
While it may seem like the Lakers could be playing with house money leading the series 2-0, it just now means they have to focus more and try to steal some wins in Houston. Being down in the series after being the favorites to win means the Rockets will come out swinging and be more comfortable at home.
The Lakers must be prepared for the Rockets and it may require Lebron James to put out another huge playoff performance like he has in the past. In Game 2 James finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, with Durant looking to bounce back next game, James may need to put up a similar stat line or better to win in Houston.
