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The Lakers got a taste of a playoff atmosphere against the Houston Rockets only a month ago. They can recreate the moment again, this time with real postseason stakes, but the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference will be missing a key component from those thrilling wins.
Luka Doncic, still getting specialized treatment in Europe for his Grade 2 left hamstring strain, is a long shot to return during the first round of the playoffs, which begin Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.
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Between Doncic and Austin Reaves, who is out with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, the Lakers have lost their two leading scorers and an average of 56.8 points per game. They lost the No. 3 seed. But by finishing the season with three consecutive wins to maintain home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, they haven’t lost their fight.
Read more: Lakers beat Jazz in finale, will host play-in game against Timberwolves
They’ll need it against the Rockets.
“The playoffs, to me, are all about resiliency,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “… You’re playing one opponent in the playoffs and there’s a bunch of things that are gonna happen, some good, some bad. You may get down in a series. You may get down in the game, you may get down in the game on the road. And just, you have to play with resiliency.”
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Here’s how the teams match up:
Key team stats
Lakers
Record: 53-29
Offensive rating (OFF RTG): 117.0 (10th)
Defensive rating (DEF RTG):115.5 (20th)
Net Rating (NET RTG)*: 1.5 (14th)
Rockets
Record: 52-30
Offensive Rating (OFF RTG): 117.5 (8th)
Defensive Rating (DEF RTG): 112.1 (6th)
Net Rating (NET RTG)*: 5.4 (6th)
(*Net rating subtracts defensive rating from offensive rating for a projected margin of victory.)
Players to watch
Lakers
LeBron James: 20.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 7.2 apg, 51.5 fg%/31.7 3-pt. fg%/73.7 ft%
Deandre Ayton: 12.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1 bpg, 67 fg%/64.5% ft%
Marcus Smart: 9.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 39.5 fg%/33.1 3-pt. fg%/82.2 ft%
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Rockets
Kevin Durant: 26 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.8 apg, 52 fg%/41.3 3-pt. fg%/87.4 ft%
Alperen Sengun: 20.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 6.2 bpg, 51.9 fg%/30.5 3-pt. fg%/69.1 ft%
Amen…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-match-against-houston-rockets-165200700.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-13 16:52:00
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