LEBRON, AUSTIN, AND LAKERS LOOKING FOR ANSWERS!

April 30, 2026 at 11:51 am

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

LOS ANGELES — Of all the things that LeBron James said Wednesday night after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 99-93 loss to the Houston Rockets, the phrase he chose to repeat as an introductory clause to multiple answers should echo loudest.

“I mean, s—,” he said.

He said that before he said the Lakers needed to “flush” Game 5 from their memories. He said it before he talked about the ways Austin Reaves can make things better. He said it again when asked if, simply, the Rockets deserved a simple hat tip after beating his team twice in a row.

“I mean, s—,” he said. Over and over and over again.

James never trailed off after the clause, but if he had, it would have encapsulated the energy right now around the Lakers, who lead this series 3-2 but somehow feel like they are behind. The weight of the stakes is growing. It’s not just the pressure of closing out a Rockets team that’s certainly up for the fight. It’s the subconscious fear that a loss in Game 6 on Friday could mean a loss in Game 7 on Sunday, which would mean the first squandered 3-0 lead in league history.

Lakers coach JJ Redick has had to be a tactician this season, working with his staff on ways to highlight the roster’s strengths and hide its deficiencies. He’s also spent plenty of energy on his group’s psychological well-being, from role adjustments to looming offseason contract decisions. He’s called it the “human element.”

And the “human element” after losing two in a row in a playoff series is wondering if you’ll be able to win once again.

“It’s the first team to win four games in a series,” Redick said bluntly. “We happen to have won the first three. They happen to have won the last two. We’ve gotta be better.”

The obvious area that requires improvement is on the offensive side of the ball, where the Lakers have been simply awful basically since late in the first half of Game 3. In the last eight quarters, the Lakers have scored just 103.3 points per 100 possessions. They’ve turned the ball over on 21 percent of their possessions. Their assist-to-turnover is barely in the black.

“We had some opportunities to make some shots we didn’t make,” James said without any profane emphasis. “Obviously, they were generating good shots. As much as we got to defend, you also got to score in this game too. I don’t think we did that at a good rate.”

Having Reaves back will help — certainly more than it did in Game 5.

“S—,” James said, “he hasn’t played in a month.”

Rockets stay alive with a win on the road
After he missed nearly four weeks with a Grade 2 oblique strain, it shouldn’t be too big of a surprise that Reaves carried rust and heavy legs into his series debut. After making his first 3-pointer, Reaves made just one of his last seven. He finished with 22 points, six assists and four rebounds but clearly battled fatigue in the second half.

Still, Reaves physically held up for nearly 34 minutes. His paint attacking did generate good looks for teammates, both at the 3-point line, where the Lakers struggled, and in the paint, where Deandre Ayton finished with 18 points to go with his 17 rebounds.

“I mean, I haven’t played in a month, unfortunately. You know, I wish I could get a little bit more of a rhythm before jumping into the fire like that,” Reaves said. “I had a lot of fun out there and just trust myself and trust the work that I’ve put in. But it’s hard to emulate real basketball reps, even if you’re doing it — practice, stay-ready (games), whatever it might be. So it’s really hard to get that same feel. So ,yeah, I mean, got a little tired in the second half, but (it’s) something I gotta push through.

“I don’t have the liberty to play a couple of warm-up games. I’ll just get tossed back in the fire on Friday, and hopefully we’ll have a better result.”

The Lakers have time to figure it out, to get Reaves in a better rhythm and to get everyone settled in around him (Marcus Smart’s six turnovers and Luke Kennard’s zero made field goals were killers). They just don’t have much of it.

There are some positive signs. While the hurt from the turnovers was still there, the Lakers committed nine fewer than in Game 4. Ayton again was a problem for the Rockets on the glass. And the Lakers’ aggressiveness generated 27 free throws, with Reaves taking 13 of them.

But James has missed nine straight 3s after hitting a monster one late in Game 3. And he’ll be on short rest however long the series goes on, with the teams playing every other day until someone gets to four wins.

And the Rockets, after coughing up Game 3, have played with confidence and poise. Their role players have made jumpers, and the Lakers have been unable to match. They’re not short on belief that the series is well within their grasp. With Kevin Durant sitting, the team has relied on more balance and freedom offensively. In Game 5, seven of the eight Rockets who played made a 3. The other, Alperen Şengün, didn’t attempt one.

But just like how the Rockets can’t come back from 3-0 without first trailing 3-1 and now 3-2, they can’t come back from 3-0 unless they first make the series 3-3. And the Lakers know they’re going to need more than a four-lettered response.

“We got to play like our back’s against the wall, right?” Smart said. “We knew this was going to be a tough series. I think everybody knew that, and it’s turning out to be exactly what we expected.

“And now the fun begins.”

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LakerTom says

April 30, 2026 at 11:51 am

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

LOS ANGELES — Of all the things that LeBron James said Wednesday night after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 99-93 loss to the Houston Rockets, the phrase he chose to repeat as an introductory clause to multiple answers should echo loudest.

“I mean, s—,” he said.

He said that before he said the Lakers needed to “flush” Game 5 from their memories. He said it before he talked about the ways Austin Reaves can make things better. He said it again when asked if, simply, the Rockets deserved a simple hat tip after beating his team twice in a row.

“I mean, s—,” he said. Over and over and over again.

James never trailed off after the clause, but if he had, it would have encapsulated the energy right now around the Lakers, who lead this series 3-2 but somehow feel like they are behind. The weight of the stakes is growing. It’s not just the pressure of closing out a Rockets team that’s certainly up for the fight. It’s the subconscious fear that a loss in Game 6 on Friday could mean a loss in Game 7 on Sunday, which would mean the first squandered 3-0 lead in league history.

Lakers coach JJ Redick has had to be a tactician this season, working with his staff on ways to highlight the roster’s strengths and hide its deficiencies. He’s also spent plenty of energy on his group’s psychological well-being, from role adjustments to looming offseason contract decisions. He’s called it the “human element.”

And the “human element” after losing two in a row in a playoff series is wondering if you’ll be able to win once again.

“It’s the first team to win four games in a series,” Redick said bluntly. “We happen to have won the first three. They happen to have won the last two. We’ve gotta be better.”

The obvious area that requires improvement is on the offensive side of the ball, where the Lakers have been simply awful basically since late in the first half of Game 3. In the last eight quarters, the Lakers have scored just 103.3 points per 100 possessions. They’ve turned the ball over on 21 percent of their possessions. Their assist-to-turnover is barely in the black.

“We had some opportunities to make some shots we didn’t make,” James said without any profane emphasis. “Obviously, they were generating good shots. As much as we got to defend, you also got to score in this game too. I don’t think we did that at a good rate.”

Having Reaves back will help — certainly more than it did in Game 5.

“S—,” James said, “he hasn’t played in a month.”

Rockets stay alive with a win on the road
After he missed nearly four weeks with a Grade 2 oblique strain, it shouldn’t be too big of a surprise that Reaves carried rust and heavy legs into his series debut. After making his first 3-pointer, Reaves made just one of his last seven. He finished with 22 points, six assists and four rebounds but clearly battled fatigue in the second half.

Still, Reaves physically held up for nearly 34 minutes. His paint attacking did generate good looks for teammates, both at the 3-point line, where the Lakers struggled, and in the paint, where Deandre Ayton finished with 18 points to go with his 17 rebounds.

“I mean, I haven’t played in a month, unfortunately. You know, I wish I could get a little bit more of a rhythm before jumping into the fire like that,” Reaves said. “I had a lot of fun out there and just trust myself and trust the work that I’ve put in. But it’s hard to emulate real basketball reps, even if you’re doing it — practice, stay-ready (games), whatever it might be. So it’s really hard to get that same feel. So ,yeah, I mean, got a little tired in the second half, but (it’s) something I gotta push through.

“I don’t have the liberty to play a couple of warm-up games. I’ll just get tossed back in the fire on Friday, and hopefully we’ll have a better result.”

The Lakers have time to figure it out, to get Reaves in a better rhythm and to get everyone settled in around him (Marcus Smart’s six turnovers and Luke Kennard’s zero made field goals were killers). They just don’t have much of it.

There are some positive signs. While the hurt from the turnovers was still there, the Lakers committed nine fewer than in Game 4. Ayton again was a problem for the Rockets on the glass. And the Lakers’ aggressiveness generated 27 free throws, with Reaves taking 13 of them.

But James has missed nine straight 3s after hitting a monster one late in Game 3. And he’ll be on short rest however long the series goes on, with the teams playing every other day until someone gets to four wins.

And the Rockets, after coughing up Game 3, have played with confidence and poise. Their role players have made jumpers, and the Lakers have been unable to match. They’re not short on belief that the series is well within their grasp. With Kevin Durant sitting, the team has relied on more balance and freedom offensively. In Game 5, seven of the eight Rockets who played made a 3. The other, Alperen Şengün, didn’t attempt one.

But just like how the Rockets can’t come back from 3-0 without first trailing 3-1 and now 3-2, they can’t come back from 3-0 unless they first make the series 3-3. And the Lakers know they’re going to need more than a four-lettered response.

“We got to play like our back’s against the wall, right?” Smart said. “We knew this was going to be a tough series. I think everybody knew that, and it’s turning out to be exactly what we expected.

“And now the fun begins.”

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