The Lakers closed out their first round series with the Rockets 98–78 on the road last night as their #5 playoff defense shut down Houston’s offense and dominated the 3-point shooting, offensive rebounding, and turnover wars.
Led by LeBron James 28 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and team-best +26, the Lakers jumped off to a solid 25–18 first quarter and dominating 49–31 halftime lead, which they essentially held for the entire second half. James also got solid help from the Lakers’ role players as Hachimura continued his lethal 3-point shooting, Reaves relentlessly got to the rim, and Ayton, Smart, and LaRavia all chipped in with key contributions
Defensively, Deandre Ayton shut down Alperen Sengun, holding him to 5 of 12 from the field, 4 turnovers, and a team-worst -27 plus/minus. Ayton also totally dominated the defensive glass with a game-best 16 rebounds.
Marcus Smart was again the Lakers’ defensive Swiss Army Knife, recording 3 charges, 2 steals, 1 block, and 6 defensive rebounds. Overall, the Lakers had 5 players (3 starters and 2 reserves) with plus/minuses over +20.
The Lakers were 6.5 to 1 underdogs to win their playoff series with the Rockets and were ironically underdogs in all 4 of the games they won, including Game 6. 6.5 to 1 odds essentially meant a 15% chance to win.
Despite beating the Rockets, the Laker will be 2 times greater underdogs to win their semifinal series with the Thunder, who are 12 to 1 favorites. 12 to 1 odds essentially give the Lakers an 8% chance of winning the series.
Regardless of how the Lakers do vs. the champion Thunder, the players and coaches all deserve giant flowers for the great job upsetting the Rockets. Time every Lakers fan needs to appreciate what a monster win this was.
Comments