LAKERS-ROCKETS GAME 2: WHERE DOES SERIES GO NEXT?

April 21, 2026 at 7:45 am

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

As it often does in the playoffs, one game can flip the script.

After a stretch of bad injury news, the Lakers caught a break with Kevin Durant being a late scratch for Game 1, and they took full advantage, thoroughly outplaying the Rockets. What looked like a steep uphill battle suddenly shifted.

Now, with a 1–0 lead, the pressure doubles down on Houston. A team that entered the series as the favorite now faces a must-win Game 2 in Los Angeles to avoid falling into a 2–0 hole.

The more experienced Lakers looked ready, the better-prepared team with a clear plan in Game 1. The young Rockets, without their veteran primary option and led by a 21-year-old point guard playing his first extended playoff minutes, showed their age.

Will Ime Udoka and his young team adjust? Is the Lakers’ shooting sustainable, or just a Game 1 outlier? And did that opener reveal even more cracks for JJ Redick and LeBron James to exploit? Let’s dig in.

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

Today’s highlights:

The key question: Kevin Durant’s status

First look at rotations and potential Game 2 tweaks

Potential Lakers adjustments (VIDEO)

Potential Rockets adjustments (VIDEO)

1-The key question: Kevin Durant’s status

We can talk about any tactical adjustments, but the best one for the Rockets is simple: add their best player to the lineup. Durant is still dealing with a deep patellar tendon bruise in his right knee and will be a game-time decision for Game 2. Udoka highlighted that Durant’s knee injury is not just about pain tolerance, but also affects his movement and mobility, something to watch even if he’s ready to go in Game 2.

Kevin Durant participated in about half of today’s practice.

Ime Udoka tells me Durant’s status will be a game time decision.

In my Game 1 observations, I explained why Durant is so crucial, not only as the Rockets’ only proven shotmaker, but even more so to their formula of dominating with size and length.

In the first matchup, Sheppard, Okogie, Holiday, and Tate, players 6’4 or shorter, logged almost 83 minutes combined, accounting for more than one-third of the total available minutes. With Durant back and an increase in Eason’s minutes (more on that below), Udoka could replace more than half of those minutes and get back to the model that makes Houston unique, playing most of the game with lineups featuring players 6’7 or taller. Durant’s presence also allows Udoka to cut down the minutes with both of the Rockets’ key defensive liabilities, Sheppard and Sengun, on the floor.

2-First look at rotations and potential Game 2 tweaks

Durant’s potential return could, of course, have the biggest cascading effect on the Rockets’ rotation. But what else did we learn from Game 1?

As predicted in my series preview, Redick and Udoka are two coaches who rely on short rotations and heavy minutes for their key players, and, even in Game 1, both stuck to those principles. Both teams played four of their starters more than 35 minutes. Thompson and Smith Jr. both logged 43, while Hachimura played 42 for the Lakers. None of the Lakers’ bench players reached 20 minutes, with ninth man Bronny James playing fewer than four. Redick staggered his three ball-handlers, LeBron, Smart, and Kennard, with the latter two playing together when James was on the bench.

There was a clear drop-off in the level of play between the starters and the bench, for example, Smart vs. LaRavia defending Sheppard, or Ayton vs. Hayes, making it hard to be too critical of the Lakers’ heavy minutes for their starters. But while that experience could be a crucial early advantage, the heavy load could once again become their downfall against a younger Rockets core if the series extends to six or seven games.

For the Rockets, apart from the potential boost of adding Durant, the most obvious tweak would be starting Eason in place of Okogie in Game 2. Eason was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor, and while that is more of an outlier, his three offensive and ten total rebounds are not. With his length, he is a much more impactful defender than Okogie, especially as a primary option to guard LeBron.

3-Potential Lakers adjustments (VIDEO)

More actions involving both Sheppard and Sengun (or Capela): The Lakers were much more deliberate in exposing the opponent’s weak links in Game 1. From the opening possession, the focus was on attacking Sheppard, whether through Smart, who was excellent at driving and creating paint pressure, or LeBron, who punished Sheppard’s reluctance to switch onto him. Kennard also did a great job targeting Sengun’s foot speed, punishing his drop coverage with deadly pull-ups. The Lakers could lean even more into actions targeting both of the Rockets’ worst defenders, especially if Durant remains out, because those possessions consistently produced good results.

Even more discipline: The Lakers were the more composed team and, unlike the Rockets, looked like a team with a clear plan for most of the game, they still have a few short stretches to clean up. They had a rough end to the first half, committing five of their 20 turnovers in the final four minutes. Most came in transition, trying to play too fast, a rare stretch where they strayed from their game plan of making the game a methodical half-court grind. In general, the Lakers need to limit their turnovers. They probably won’t survive another game with 20, losing the possession battle as decisively as they did in Game 1, when the Rockets dominated both offensive rebounding and turnovers, resulting in 19 more scoring chances. The other part that falls into the discipline category is fouling. Hayes looked like the player who fell out of the playoff rotation last season, biting on several of Sengun’s fakes and committing unnecessary fouls. That was a shame, because he was actually very effective contesting Sengun’s shots otherwise. Lack of discipline and excessive fouling is also Vanderbilt’s issue, as he committed five fouls in 18 minutes.

Make Rockets role players decision-makers, passers and shooters: Lack of playmaking and passing, along with inconsistent shooting, is Houston’s biggest weakness. Their top three creators, Durant, Sengun, and Sheppard, are not elite decision-makers, and their supporting cast is even more limited in that regard.

Okogie, Eason, Smith Jr., and Holiday rank near the bottom for their positions in assist rate and assist-to-usage ratio, and we saw a few possessions in Game 1 where the Lakers forced them to put the ball on the floor and make decisions on the fly.

This is also why the Lakers should continue trapping Sengun when he receives the ball on the block and stick to their strategy of blitzing Durant if he returns. I’m also sure the Lakers will keep daring Houston to beat them from the outside after a 14-of-43 showing in Game 1. The more the Rockets miss, the more the Lakers will pack the paint and make finishes difficult, as Houston shot just 21-of-50 in the paint.

More LeBron bully ball: LeBron scored only 19 points in Game 1, but was in control for most of the game nonetheless. After acting as a facilitator in the first half, the Lakers went to him more on the block in the second, where he managed to bully even the Rockets’ best defenders. If Udoka sticks with Okogie as the primary matchup, or even other longer but lighter defenders, going to James in the post to score or draw double teams will likely be the Lakers’ go-to move when things get tight.

4-Potential Rockets adjustments (VIDEO)

Swap Eason and Okogie roles: I mentioned this one as the most obvious. Starting Eason would provide more size and length against LeBron. If you couple that with a potential Durant return, and we could see Udoka go super big with Sengun, Durant, Smith Jr., Eason, and Thompson, or lean into his best defensive, switch-everything lineup with Okogie in place of Sengun.

More aggressive ball pressure: Expect the Rockets to be much more aggressive on the ball, picking up full court with Thompson, Eason, and Okogie. Thompson learned the hard way, at times underestimating Kennard and getting burned by being late or going under screens, and will want to make a statement in Game 2.

Better process on offense: The Rockets’ offensive process fluctuated between bad and non-existent in Game 1. It mostly consisted of Sheppard pick-and-rolls and Sengun isolations, with the Lakers, as mentioned, smartly and selectively sending traps at Sengun. One of my key questions heading into this series was how the Lakers could survive with Kennard playing extensive minutes. He answered that in Game 1, scoring a game-high 27 points, while the Rockets rarely challenged him on the other end. The Lakers hid Kennard by having him defend either Okogie or Eason, and with Eason the more potent driver, that is another argument for an Okogie-Eason role swap. The Rockets don’t have a manipulator of LeBron’s stature to hunt Kennard, but that doesn’t mean avoiding him in pick-and-roll actions should be their strategy. Kennard was involved in the fewest pick-and-rolls as the screener defender among Lakers starters.

Here are a couple of rare possessions where they did, and especially Thompson attacking downhill against Kennard is a situation the Lakers will want to avoid.

The main threat for the Lakers will continue to be the Rockets’ dominance on the offensive glass. Despite that being a clear priority, Houston posted a 42% offensive rebound rate in Game 1 and topped that mark in two of the other three matchups this season.

For comparison, the league average offensive rebound rate was 29%, while the Rockets led the NBA at 37%. If Durant returns and the Rockets add even more size, the Lakers may struggle to overcome the possession deficit. They did that in Game 1 with incredible shot-making, posting a 68.2% effective field goal percentage, well above their 57.6% season average. That hot shooting shows up in their qSI, which hit a season-high 19.6 per Genius Sports tracking data, meaning they shot nearly 20 percentage points above expected efficiency based on shot quality. It’s a strong indicator that this was driven more by shot-making than the quality of looks, something that’s typically hard to sustain.

With everything that happened at the end of the season, the Lakers needed a break, and they got one in Game 1. If Durant doesn’t return, or is limited, they have to take advantage and land another blow. And even if he’s fully back, all the Lakers need is one win in the next three games to push the series to Game 6, nearly a full month since Dončić and Reaves’ injuries, which was the primary goal entering this series.

Comments

LakerTom says

April 21, 2026 at 7:45 am

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

As it often does in the playoffs, one game can flip the script.

After a stretch of bad injury news, the Lakers caught a break with Kevin Durant being a late scratch for Game 1, and they took full advantage, thoroughly outplaying the Rockets. What looked like a steep uphill battle suddenly shifted.

Now, with a 1–0 lead, the pressure doubles down on Houston. A team that entered the series as the favorite now faces a must-win Game 2 in Los Angeles to avoid falling into a 2–0 hole.

The more experienced Lakers looked ready, the better-prepared team with a clear plan in Game 1. The young Rockets, without their veteran primary option and led by a 21-year-old point guard playing his first extended playoff minutes, showed their age.

Will Ime Udoka and his young team adjust? Is the Lakers’ shooting sustainable, or just a Game 1 outlier? And did that opener reveal even more cracks for JJ Redick and LeBron James to exploit? Let’s dig in.

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

Today’s highlights:

The key question: Kevin Durant’s status

First look at rotations and potential Game 2 tweaks

Potential Lakers adjustments (VIDEO)

Potential Rockets adjustments (VIDEO)

1-The key question: Kevin Durant’s status

We can talk about any tactical adjustments, but the best one for the Rockets is simple: add their best player to the lineup. Durant is still dealing with a deep patellar tendon bruise in his right knee and will be a game-time decision for Game 2. Udoka highlighted that Durant’s knee injury is not just about pain tolerance, but also affects his movement and mobility, something to watch even if he’s ready to go in Game 2.

Kevin Durant participated in about half of today’s practice.

Ime Udoka tells me Durant’s status will be a game time decision.

In my Game 1 observations, I explained why Durant is so crucial, not only as the Rockets’ only proven shotmaker, but even more so to their formula of dominating with size and length.

In the first matchup, Sheppard, Okogie, Holiday, and Tate, players 6’4 or shorter, logged almost 83 minutes combined, accounting for more than one-third of the total available minutes. With Durant back and an increase in Eason’s minutes (more on that below), Udoka could replace more than half of those minutes and get back to the model that makes Houston unique, playing most of the game with lineups featuring players 6’7 or taller. Durant’s presence also allows Udoka to cut down the minutes with both of the Rockets’ key defensive liabilities, Sheppard and Sengun, on the floor.

2-First look at rotations and potential Game 2 tweaks

Durant’s potential return could, of course, have the biggest cascading effect on the Rockets’ rotation. But what else did we learn from Game 1?

As predicted in my series preview, Redick and Udoka are two coaches who rely on short rotations and heavy minutes for their key players, and, even in Game 1, both stuck to those principles. Both teams played four of their starters more than 35 minutes. Thompson and Smith Jr. both logged 43, while Hachimura played 42 for the Lakers. None of the Lakers’ bench players reached 20 minutes, with ninth man Bronny James playing fewer than four. Redick staggered his three ball-handlers, LeBron, Smart, and Kennard, with the latter two playing together when James was on the bench.

There was a clear drop-off in the level of play between the starters and the bench, for example, Smart vs. LaRavia defending Sheppard, or Ayton vs. Hayes, making it hard to be too critical of the Lakers’ heavy minutes for their starters. But while that experience could be a crucial early advantage, the heavy load could once again become their downfall against a younger Rockets core if the series extends to six or seven games.

For the Rockets, apart from the potential boost of adding Durant, the most obvious tweak would be starting Eason in place of Okogie in Game 2. Eason was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor, and while that is more of an outlier, his three offensive and ten total rebounds are not. With his length, he is a much more impactful defender than Okogie, especially as a primary option to guard LeBron.

3-Potential Lakers adjustments (VIDEO)

More actions involving both Sheppard and Sengun (or Capela): The Lakers were much more deliberate in exposing the opponent’s weak links in Game 1. From the opening possession, the focus was on attacking Sheppard, whether through Smart, who was excellent at driving and creating paint pressure, or LeBron, who punished Sheppard’s reluctance to switch onto him. Kennard also did a great job targeting Sengun’s foot speed, punishing his drop coverage with deadly pull-ups. The Lakers could lean even more into actions targeting both of the Rockets’ worst defenders, especially if Durant remains out, because those possessions consistently produced good results.

Even more discipline: The Lakers were the more composed team and, unlike the Rockets, looked like a team with a clear plan for most of the game, they still have a few short stretches to clean up. They had a rough end to the first half, committing five of their 20 turnovers in the final four minutes. Most came in transition, trying to play too fast, a rare stretch where they strayed from their game plan of making the game a methodical half-court grind. In general, the Lakers need to limit their turnovers. They probably won’t survive another game with 20, losing the possession battle as decisively as they did in Game 1, when the Rockets dominated both offensive rebounding and turnovers, resulting in 19 more scoring chances. The other part that falls into the discipline category is fouling. Hayes looked like the player who fell out of the playoff rotation last season, biting on several of Sengun’s fakes and committing unnecessary fouls. That was a shame, because he was actually very effective contesting Sengun’s shots otherwise. Lack of discipline and excessive fouling is also Vanderbilt’s issue, as he committed five fouls in 18 minutes.

Make Rockets role players decision-makers, passers and shooters: Lack of playmaking and passing, along with inconsistent shooting, is Houston’s biggest weakness. Their top three creators, Durant, Sengun, and Sheppard, are not elite decision-makers, and their supporting cast is even more limited in that regard.

Okogie, Eason, Smith Jr., and Holiday rank near the bottom for their positions in assist rate and assist-to-usage ratio, and we saw a few possessions in Game 1 where the Lakers forced them to put the ball on the floor and make decisions on the fly.

This is also why the Lakers should continue trapping Sengun when he receives the ball on the block and stick to their strategy of blitzing Durant if he returns. I’m also sure the Lakers will keep daring Houston to beat them from the outside after a 14-of-43 showing in Game 1. The more the Rockets miss, the more the Lakers will pack the paint and make finishes difficult, as Houston shot just 21-of-50 in the paint.

More LeBron bully ball: LeBron scored only 19 points in Game 1, but was in control for most of the game nonetheless. After acting as a facilitator in the first half, the Lakers went to him more on the block in the second, where he managed to bully even the Rockets’ best defenders. If Udoka sticks with Okogie as the primary matchup, or even other longer but lighter defenders, going to James in the post to score or draw double teams will likely be the Lakers’ go-to move when things get tight.

4-Potential Rockets adjustments (VIDEO)

Swap Eason and Okogie roles: I mentioned this one as the most obvious. Starting Eason would provide more size and length against LeBron. If you couple that with a potential Durant return, and we could see Udoka go super big with Sengun, Durant, Smith Jr., Eason, and Thompson, or lean into his best defensive, switch-everything lineup with Okogie in place of Sengun.

More aggressive ball pressure: Expect the Rockets to be much more aggressive on the ball, picking up full court with Thompson, Eason, and Okogie. Thompson learned the hard way, at times underestimating Kennard and getting burned by being late or going under screens, and will want to make a statement in Game 2.

Better process on offense: The Rockets’ offensive process fluctuated between bad and non-existent in Game 1. It mostly consisted of Sheppard pick-and-rolls and Sengun isolations, with the Lakers, as mentioned, smartly and selectively sending traps at Sengun. One of my key questions heading into this series was how the Lakers could survive with Kennard playing extensive minutes. He answered that in Game 1, scoring a game-high 27 points, while the Rockets rarely challenged him on the other end. The Lakers hid Kennard by having him defend either Okogie or Eason, and with Eason the more potent driver, that is another argument for an Okogie-Eason role swap. The Rockets don’t have a manipulator of LeBron’s stature to hunt Kennard, but that doesn’t mean avoiding him in pick-and-roll actions should be their strategy. Kennard was involved in the fewest pick-and-rolls as the screener defender among Lakers starters.

Here are a couple of rare possessions where they did, and especially Thompson attacking downhill against Kennard is a situation the Lakers will want to avoid.

The main threat for the Lakers will continue to be the Rockets’ dominance on the offensive glass. Despite that being a clear priority, Houston posted a 42% offensive rebound rate in Game 1 and topped that mark in two of the other three matchups this season.

For comparison, the league average offensive rebound rate was 29%, while the Rockets led the NBA at 37%. If Durant returns and the Rockets add even more size, the Lakers may struggle to overcome the possession deficit. They did that in Game 1 with incredible shot-making, posting a 68.2% effective field goal percentage, well above their 57.6% season average. That hot shooting shows up in their qSI, which hit a season-high 19.6 per Genius Sports tracking data, meaning they shot nearly 20 percentage points above expected efficiency based on shot quality. It’s a strong indicator that this was driven more by shot-making than the quality of looks, something that’s typically hard to sustain.

With everything that happened at the end of the season, the Lakers needed a break, and they got one in Game 1. If Durant doesn’t return, or is limited, they have to take advantage and land another blow. And even if he’s fully back, all the Lakers need is one win in the next three games to push the series to Game 6, nearly a full month since Dončić and Reaves’ injuries, which was the primary goal entering this series.

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