IZTOK FRANKO: LAKERS PLAYOFF OBSERVATIONS GAME 5 VS. ROCKETS!

April 30, 2026 at 12:00 pm

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

The Lakers missed on their second match point, falling 99–93 to the Houston Rockets at home.

With the series now at 3–2, they’ll have another chance to close it out on Friday. But this one will be even tougher, on the road against a young Rockets team that is starting to find comfort and gain confidence, even getting cocky and thinking they are the better team.

After the Lakers surprised everyone by jumping on Houston and winning the first three games, it may have looked like the Rockets would collapse and the Lakers would cruise into the second round.

But this series was never supposed to be easy, and now we see why. The Rockets, even without Kevin Durant, are an athletic, long, and physical team that makes most opponents uncomfortable—and they’re starting to do exactly that in this series.

The bad news is that even with Austin Reaves making his anticipated return, the concerning trends from the last couple of games continued to linger. The main problems remain unsolved.

The good news is there’s still no need to panic. The Lakers still have two more chances to close this out and avoid becoming the first team to lose a 3–0 lead.

digginbasketball is a reader-supported publication. Join now for full playoff coverage and complete offseason access.

Today’s notes:

Offense still in free fall

Shooting regression on both sides

Austin Reaves returns in a tough situation (VIDEO)

Another great Ayton game goes to waste (VIDEO)

Kennard, bench struggles as rotations shorten

1-Offense still in free fall

The Lakers defense has been good enough for them to win for most of this series. Well, at least to win a normal type of game, not this 90s-style, low-scoring, most possessions in the mud type of game the Rockets have turned it into over the last couple of games. After the hot, what some of us warned was an outlier shooting in the first couple of games, the Lakers offense just can’t find ways to score at even an average rate anymore.

Iztok Franko
@iztok_franko

Lakers offense struggling badly, decline every game in the series since hot shooting start. Highest turnover rate in the playoffs.

G1 115.2 pts per 100
G2 113.5
G3 108.8
G4 102.4
G5 102.2

Jason Gallagher @jga41agher
Hot Take Alert I think Luka Doncic was really important to the success of the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
11:59 PM · Apr 29, 2026 · 34 Views
3 Likes

There are two main issues that keep showing up. The first one is turnovers. The Lakers had 15 of them last night, and 15 or more in every game of the series. They remain the team with the highest turnover rate in the playoffs.

The second one is the shot profile, more specifically the inability to generate, and now also convert, three-point looks. The Lakers have the lowest three-point frequency among all teams in the playoffs, an issue they somewhat compensated for early in the series with shotmaking. In the last two games, however, they made only seven and five threes, which is very hard to overcome in a modern NBA game.

After having early series success hunting Reed Sheppard, they haven’t been able to really punish the Rockets’ weaker defenders and force either rotations or Ime Udoka to replace Sheppard and Sengun with better defenders. The duo played 35 and 43 minutes last night.

Iztok Franko
@iztok_franko

Where Lakers most miss Luka atm is his weak links hunting. He is one of the best at forcing uncomfortable adjustments and punishing guys.

Lakers did great going at Sheppard early in the series. But he and Sengun had averaged 31 and 39 minutes bc they are not punished on D.

Iztok Franko @iztok_franko
Lakers offense struggling badly, decline every game in the series since hot shooting start. Highest turnover rate in the playoffs.

G1 115.2 pts per 100
G2 113.5
G3 108.8
G4 102.4
G5 102.2
12:57 AM · Apr 30, 2026 · 3 Views
1 Like
2-Shooting regression on both sides

The Lakers shot the ball at an unsustainably high rate over the first three games, making 35 of 76 threes, or 46%. Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, and LeBron James all shot 44% or better, with the first three even above 50%. In the last two losses, the Lakers made just 31% of their threes, with Kennard, Smart, and LeBron going a combined 10 of 42. Smart and LeBron have been inconsistent outside shooters all season, so this kind of variance is expected.

For Smart, more problematic has been the drop-off in overall decision-making. He had six turnovers last night after impressing early in the series with his drive, dish, and score game. LeBron has shot 12 of 35 on non-rim jump shots over the last two games.

The Rockets, on the other end, after going just 29 of 101, or 29%, from beyond the arc over the first three games, made 26 of 70, or 37%, in the last two. For the Rockets, it’s not only shot variance. They seem to be getting more comfortable generating open threes within the flow of their offense. Their 40 attempts and 14 makes were both series highs.

Cranjis McBasketball
@Tim_NBA

BIG development for Houston that Sengun is reading the floor properly on LA’s baseline doubles. He has 4(?) assists tonight on those situations alone.

8:37 PM · Apr 29, 2026 · 3.73K Views
2 Replies · 1 Repost · 39 Likes

After two good scoring games from Alperen Sengun, the Turkish big man is also getting more comfortable as a decision-maker and passer out of double teams that threw him off his comfort zone earlier in the series. Sengun had a series-high eight assists and 15 passes leading to Rockets three-point attempts.

3-Austin Reaves returns in a tough situation (VIDEO)

The biggest story, and for the Lakers hopefully the most important development for the rest of the playoffs, was the return of Reaves after a prolonged absence due to a left oblique strain.

Before his return, I did a breakdown of what I’m watching for, and early on Reaves checked every box. He took over the role of the primary ball-handler and pick-and-roll operator, providing a downhill, paint-attacking, and playmaking dimension the Lakers were missing so badly. He made a couple of early off-the-dribble threes and was fouled on another. He got to the line 13 times. Pull-up threes and free throws were two other key missing pieces of the Lakers’ offense.

However, after a very encouraging first half, Reaves struggled in the second, making only one of his 10 shots, including a couple of open layups, and finishing the night with a subpar 4 of 16 line. He explained postgame that he felt his legs in the second half in his first game after a long layoff, and elaborated on the challenge of trying to find rhythm while being thrown into the fire in the middle of a very competitive playoff series.

Lakers Daily
@LakersDailyCom

Austin Reaves: “I wish I could get a little bit more of a rhythm before jumping into the fire like that. … It’s hard to emulate real basketball reps even if you’re doing it in practice, stay ready (games). It’s really hard to get that same feel.”

10:32 PM · Apr 29, 2026 · 7.51K Views
8 Replies · 9 Reposts · 326 Likes

The positive is that Reaves played 34 minutes and showed plenty of good early. The Lakers will need him to have any chance for further success in the playoffs. If it takes a game, even two, to get into rhythm, so be it. It’s why the 3–0 lead was so crucial, buying both Reaves and the Lakers time.

4-Another great Ayton game goes to waste (VIDEO)

Deandre Ayton’s play has been up and down all season, oscillating between impressive, high-scoring double-doubles and low-impact games where his presence was barely felt. This playoff series has been a continuation of that. Here are his stat lines by game:

G1: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block, 8–10 FG

G2: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 3–8 FG

G3: 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 1–3 FG

G4: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 0 blocks, 9–12 FG

G5: 18 points, 17 rebounds, 2 blocks, 9–14 FG

If you offered most Lakers fans the trade-off of Ayton outplaying Sengun in three games while not showing up in the other two, I think most would take that deal every time. The problem is that two of his impressive double-doubles came in Lakers losses.

Last night will sting especially, as it was one of his best performances as a Laker. He did a great job limiting Sengun’s impact in the paint after the previous two games. He dominated the offensive glass, collecting 10 offensive boards, and scored 8 of his 18 points on putbacks, giving the Lakers a surprising edge on the glass.

Ayton made several crucial plays, including a lane-clearing screen for a LeBron layup, a block on Sengun, and a putback during an 11–1 run in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers almost made a comeback. In the end, it wasn’t enough, but hopefully Ayton has at least one more game like this in him in this series. To be fair, even if not, he has already delivered more than most expected.

5-Kennard, bench struggles as rotations shorten

Like Ayton, Kennard is another player who exceeded expectations with his play in the first two games of the series, when he scored 50 points and was the Lakers’ leading scorer. Going into the series, I thought the Lakers would have a hard time surviving Kennard playing 30+ minutes, but he caught Amen Thompson and the Rockets by surprise with his off-ball movement and his drive and pull-up game.

However, Thompson seemed to take those early failures personally and made it his goal to shut down Kennard for the rest of the series.

Chris Mannix
@SIChrisMannix
Luke Kennard first two games: 17-26, 50 points

Last three: 7-24, 22 points
9:47 PM · Apr 29, 2026 · 5.88K Views
5 Replies · 7 Reposts · 49 Likes

Last night, Kennard had his worst game of the series, scoring just one point and missing all four of his shots in 31 minutes. If shots and makes continue to come this difficult for him, those 30+ minutes will become increasingly more problematic, especially with the Rockets targeting him more on the other end.

Udoka went with a Game 7-type rotation, backs against the wall, playing Thompson 46, Sengun 43, and Smith Jr. 42 minutes. That makes Kennard’s minutes even more challenging, as he, Smart, and Reaves are at a huge disadvantage in size, length, and athleticism.

The other problem is that Redick, like he did in last year’s playoffs, is starting to lose trust in his bench. Apart from Reaves, no other bench player played double-digit minutes last night. Redick’s decision to stick with Kennard as a key high-minute rotation player is understandable given the Lakers’ struggles to generate offense. And to be fair, LaRavia and Vanderbilt haven’t shown enough to be trusted as shooters or decision-makers on that end. But if this continues to be a low-scoring, trenches-type battle, playing them could give the Lakers a more even footing against the younger, bigger, more athletic Rockets. Definitely a decision for Redick and his staff to think through ahead of Game 6.

Comments

LakerTom says

April 30, 2026 at 12:00 pm

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

The Lakers missed on their second match point, falling 99–93 to the Houston Rockets at home.

With the series now at 3–2, they’ll have another chance to close it out on Friday. But this one will be even tougher, on the road against a young Rockets team that is starting to find comfort and gain confidence, even getting cocky and thinking they are the better team.

After the Lakers surprised everyone by jumping on Houston and winning the first three games, it may have looked like the Rockets would collapse and the Lakers would cruise into the second round.

But this series was never supposed to be easy, and now we see why. The Rockets, even without Kevin Durant, are an athletic, long, and physical team that makes most opponents uncomfortable—and they’re starting to do exactly that in this series.

The bad news is that even with Austin Reaves making his anticipated return, the concerning trends from the last couple of games continued to linger. The main problems remain unsolved.

The good news is there’s still no need to panic. The Lakers still have two more chances to close this out and avoid becoming the first team to lose a 3–0 lead.

digginbasketball is a reader-supported publication. Join now for full playoff coverage and complete offseason access.

Today’s notes:

Offense still in free fall

Shooting regression on both sides

Austin Reaves returns in a tough situation (VIDEO)

Another great Ayton game goes to waste (VIDEO)

Kennard, bench struggles as rotations shorten

1-Offense still in free fall

The Lakers defense has been good enough for them to win for most of this series. Well, at least to win a normal type of game, not this 90s-style, low-scoring, most possessions in the mud type of game the Rockets have turned it into over the last couple of games. After the hot, what some of us warned was an outlier shooting in the first couple of games, the Lakers offense just can’t find ways to score at even an average rate anymore.

Iztok Franko
@iztok_franko

Lakers offense struggling badly, decline every game in the series since hot shooting start. Highest turnover rate in the playoffs.

G1 115.2 pts per 100
G2 113.5
G3 108.8
G4 102.4
G5 102.2

Jason Gallagher @jga41agher
Hot Take Alert I think Luka Doncic was really important to the success of the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
11:59 PM · Apr 29, 2026 · 34 Views

There are two main issues that keep showing up. The first one is turnovers. The Lakers had 15 of them last night, and 15 or more in every game of the series. They remain the team with the highest turnover rate in the playoffs.

The second one is the shot profile, more specifically the inability to generate, and now also convert, three-point looks. The Lakers have the lowest three-point frequency among all teams in the playoffs, an issue they somewhat compensated for early in the series with shotmaking. In the last two games, however, they made only seven and five threes, which is very hard to overcome in a modern NBA game.

After having early series success hunting Reed Sheppard, they haven’t been able to really punish the Rockets’ weaker defenders and force either rotations or Ime Udoka to replace Sheppard and Sengun with better defenders. The duo played 35 and 43 minutes last night.

Iztok Franko
@iztok_franko

Where Lakers most miss Luka atm is his weak links hunting. He is one of the best at forcing uncomfortable adjustments and punishing guys.

Lakers did great going at Sheppard early in the series. But he and Sengun had averaged 31 and 39 minutes bc they are not punished on D.

Iztok Franko @iztok_franko
Lakers offense struggling badly, decline every game in the series since hot shooting start. Highest turnover rate in the playoffs.

G1 115.2 pts per 100
G2 113.5
G3 108.8
G4 102.4
G5 102.2
12:57 AM · Apr 30, 2026 · 3 Views
2-Shooting regression on both sides

The Lakers shot the ball at an unsustainably high rate over the first three games, making 35 of 76 threes, or 46%. Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, and LeBron James all shot 44% or better, with the first three even above 50%. In the last two losses, the Lakers made just 31% of their threes, with Kennard, Smart, and LeBron going a combined 10 of 42. Smart and LeBron have been inconsistent outside shooters all season, so this kind of variance is expected.

For Smart, more problematic has been the drop-off in overall decision-making. He had six turnovers last night after impressing early in the series with his drive, dish, and score game. LeBron has shot 12 of 35 on non-rim jump shots over the last two games.

The Rockets, on the other end, after going just 29 of 101, or 29%, from beyond the arc over the first three games, made 26 of 70, or 37%, in the last two. For the Rockets, it’s not only shot variance. They seem to be getting more comfortable generating open threes within the flow of their offense. Their 40 attempts and 14 makes were both series highs.

Cranjis McBasketball
@Tim_NBA

BIG development for Houston that Sengun is reading the floor properly on LA’s baseline doubles. He has 4(?) assists tonight on those situations alone.

8:37 PM · Apr 29, 2026 · 3.73K Views
2 Replies · 1 Repost · 39 Likes

After two good scoring games from Alperen Sengun, the Turkish big man is also getting more comfortable as a decision-maker and passer out of double teams that threw him off his comfort zone earlier in the series. Sengun had a series-high eight assists and 15 passes leading to Rockets three-point attempts.

3-Austin Reaves returns in a tough situation (VIDEO)

The biggest story, and for the Lakers hopefully the most important development for the rest of the playoffs, was the return of Reaves after a prolonged absence due to a left oblique strain.

Before his return, I did a breakdown of what I’m watching for, and early on Reaves checked every box. He took over the role of the primary ball-handler and pick-and-roll operator, providing a downhill, paint-attacking, and playmaking dimension the Lakers were missing so badly. He made a couple of early off-the-dribble threes and was fouled on another. He got to the line 13 times. Pull-up threes and free throws were two other key missing pieces of the Lakers’ offense.

However, after a very encouraging first half, Reaves struggled in the second, making only one of his 10 shots, including a couple of open layups, and finishing the night with a subpar 4 of 16 line. He explained postgame that he felt his legs in the second half in his first game after a long layoff, and elaborated on the challenge of trying to find rhythm while being thrown into the fire in the middle of a very competitive playoff series.

Lakers Daily
@LakersDailyCom

Austin Reaves: “I wish I could get a little bit more of a rhythm before jumping into the fire like that. … It’s hard to emulate real basketball reps even if you’re doing it in practice, stay ready (games). It’s really hard to get that same feel.”

10:32 PM · Apr 29, 2026 · 7.51K Views
8 Replies · 9 Reposts · 326 Likes

The positive is that Reaves played 34 minutes and showed plenty of good early. The Lakers will need him to have any chance for further success in the playoffs. If it takes a game, even two, to get into rhythm, so be it. It’s why the 3–0 lead was so crucial, buying both Reaves and the Lakers time.

4-Another great Ayton game goes to waste (VIDEO)

Deandre Ayton’s play has been up and down all season, oscillating between impressive, high-scoring double-doubles and low-impact games where his presence was barely felt. This playoff series has been a continuation of that. Here are his stat lines by game:

G1: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block, 8–10 FG

G2: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 3–8 FG

G3: 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 1–3 FG

G4: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 0 blocks, 9–12 FG

G5: 18 points, 17 rebounds, 2 blocks, 9–14 FG

If you offered most Lakers fans the trade-off of Ayton outplaying Sengun in three games while not showing up in the other two, I think most would take that deal every time. The problem is that two of his impressive double-doubles came in Lakers losses.

Last night will sting especially, as it was one of his best performances as a Laker. He did a great job limiting Sengun’s impact in the paint after the previous two games. He dominated the offensive glass, collecting 10 offensive boards, and scored 8 of his 18 points on putbacks, giving the Lakers a surprising edge on the glass.

Ayton made several crucial plays, including a lane-clearing screen for a LeBron layup, a block on Sengun, and a putback during an 11–1 run in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers almost made a comeback. In the end, it wasn’t enough, but hopefully Ayton has at least one more game like this in him in this series. To be fair, even if not, he has already delivered more than most expected.

5-Kennard, bench struggles as rotations shorten

Like Ayton, Kennard is another player who exceeded expectations with his play in the first two games of the series, when he scored 50 points and was the Lakers’ leading scorer. Going into the series, I thought the Lakers would have a hard time surviving Kennard playing 30+ minutes, but he caught Amen Thompson and the Rockets by surprise with his off-ball movement and his drive and pull-up game.

However, Thompson seemed to take those early failures personally and made it his goal to shut down Kennard for the rest of the series.

Chris Mannix
@SIChrisMannix
Luke Kennard first two games: 17-26, 50 points

Last three: 7-24, 22 points
9:47 PM · Apr 29, 2026 · 5.88K Views
5 Replies · 7 Reposts · 49 Likes

Last night, Kennard had his worst game of the series, scoring just one point and missing all four of his shots in 31 minutes. If shots and makes continue to come this difficult for him, those 30+ minutes will become increasingly more problematic, especially with the Rockets targeting him more on the other end.

Udoka went with a Game 7-type rotation, backs against the wall, playing Thompson 46, Sengun 43, and Smith Jr. 42 minutes. That makes Kennard’s minutes even more challenging, as he, Smart, and Reaves are at a huge disadvantage in size, length, and athleticism.

The other problem is that Redick, like he did in last year’s playoffs, is starting to lose trust in his bench. Apart from Reaves, no other bench player played double-digit minutes last night. Redick’s decision to stick with Kennard as a key high-minute rotation player is understandable given the Lakers’ struggles to generate offense. And to be fair, LaRavia and Vanderbilt haven’t shown enough to be trusted as shooters or decision-makers on that end. But if this continues to be a low-scoring, trenches-type battle, playing them could give the Lakers a more even footing against the younger, bigger, more athletic Rockets. Definitely a decision for Redick and his staff to think through ahead of Game 6.

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