The Los Angeles Lakers have actually followed a pattern this postseason: lose Game 1, win everything else. Thats what occurred against the Portland Trail Blazers, as the Lakers lost their opener and swept the rest of the series, and so far, its what is occurring against the Houston Rockets. Houston took Game 1, but after a back-and-forth 117-109 victory, the Lakers tied the series 1-1..
LeBron James and Anthony Davis, held to 45 points in Game 1, combined for 62 efficient ones to support 21 rebounds and 13 helps..
The Rockets, on the other hand, could not take full advantage of an absolutely unbelievable shooting night since 22-of-53 shooting trips from 3-point range do not grow on trees, and now they will need to find out what modifications are needed ahead of an important Game 3 on Tuesday. They might have tossed the opening punch, but the Lakers absorbed it and struck back in kind. Here are the most crucial takeaways from Game 2..
Will the genuine Russell Westbrook please stand up?.
After 3 underwhelming video games versus Oklahoma City and a pedestrian opener against the Lakers, Russell Westbrook dropped a massive dud in Game 2 that he could regret for the rest of the series. The previous MVP shot only 4-of-15 from the field, and while his 13 rebounds were essential against the bigger Lakers, he was such a non-factor in half-court offense and defense that Houston picked not to play him for parts of the fourth quarter. Instead, the focus was on surrounding James Harden with shooting.
Hes still dealing with the quad concern that kept him out of the first four video games versus the Thunder. The Lakers sagged off him all night, begging him to take and miss jumpers. When he drove to the basket, he satisfied a sea of Lakers in the paint.
Houstons best bet at this point may simply be confessing that he isnt a 30-minute per-game gamer in this matchup, and that their best chance at creating late-game offense would be to area the floor as much as possible for Harden. All Houston truly needs out of Westbrook is ball-handling during Hardens rests and the periodic fast-break. He can supply that in 20-25 minutes without injuring the Rockets as much in other places.
The Lakers succumbed to their own trap, but ultimately went into the zone.
When wise teams have actually trapped versus Houston this season, theyve done so with function. They usually use Russell Westbrooks guy as the doubler on James Harden when he crosses half-court.
The Lakers went way too far in trapping themselves. They didnt simply trap off of Westbrooks guy, they caught off of shooters, and they didnt simply trap Harden, they trapped Eric Gordon. Their viewpoint for the majority of this video game was, basically to just hope and double Houstons shooters didnt beat them, however this is Houston, not some run-of-the-mill regular-season opponent. The Rockets are going to take every open shot the Lakers provide them, and they hit an incredible 20 shots from behind the arc in the first three quarters alone..
However in the 4th quarter? They found the ideal gimmick. A 1-2-2 zone permitted them to protect Harden without compromising the integrity of their defense in the corners. Houston scored just 17 points in the fourth quarter, but more importantly, the Rockets only made 2 threes. Some of that was variation, but a few of that was a much better plan. Houston will have an action for Game 3, however its another weapon for the Lakers to deploy on defense. Theyll require to throw numerous various take a look at Harden, and defend him straight up a bit. There isnt one response to a player like him unless you have an All-Defense-caliber guard. Now the Lakers have a better idea of what works, and more importantly, what doesnt..
Houston will not budge.
The Rockets devoted to the mathematics versus Oklahoma City. No matter how numerous shots Lu Dort made, or didnt make, they werent going to protect him from behind the arc. They relied on that over a long sufficient sample, the benefits of playing 5-on-4 defensively, particularly in the paint, would outweigh whatever shots a bad shooter made..
That is what the Rockets are doing to a number of Lakers. Rajon Rondo is the most egregious, however even after Markieff Morris made 4 3s in a row in the very first quarter, the Rockets didnt relent. They are dedicated to keeping LeBron James and Anthony Davis out of the paint at all costs. Due to the fact that of unrealistic shooting variation, the Lakers survived in this game. Morris isnt making four in a row once again..
Now, to their credit, both Rondo and Morris acted of things well in this game. Rondo, derided all year for his plus-minus numbers, was plus-28 in this matchup. His playmaking on both ends of the floor mattered, and Morris strength inside was crucial at the rim. Somehow, they are going to have to discover a balance between spacing, defense and playmaking, because right now, the Lakers are enduring on both ends by the skin of their teeth..
Anthony Davis is making Frank Vogels life much easier.
The fantastic dispute after Game 1 was whether the Lakers should remain big or go small. When they initially started JaVale McGee, it looked like if they chose on bully ball. McGee played just 8 minutes, and Dwight Howard didnt see the floor. With McGee suffering an ankle injury in the 2nd half, the Lakers appear to be all in on small-ball. With Anthony Davis on the floor, they still get many of the benefits of playing huge..
Davis underwhelmed in Game 1, and even with 24 center minutes, the Lakers failed to out-rebound Houston (the margin was 41-41), and the Rockets outscored them in the paint (42-40). In Game 2, with 16 less minutes shared with a true center, the Lakers pulled in six more rebounds than the Rockets (41-35), however more significantly, they doubled Houstons points in the paint (54-26). Davis was at the heart of that in Game 2. P.J. Tucker kept him out of the restricted area for most of Game 1. In Game 2, the far larger Davis owned the location around the basket on both ends..
This is the gamer that the Lakers require Davis to be. If he plays like a forward, relying mainly on his jumper and playing soft inside, the Lakers are not a championship group. But when he controls inside while also mixing in his forward abilities? Thats when the Lakers are special. They got the finest version of Davis in Game 2, and in this matchup, we need to see plenty more of him..
LeBron James keeps making playoff history.
After 17 seasons, nine journeys to the NBA Finals and 3 champions– in a period where every playoff round is best-of-seven– its not a surprise that LeBron is the NBAs profession playoff leader in points, basket made, free throws made and takes, in addition to ranking 3rd in assists. In Game 2 versus the Rockets, James contributed to his list of profession postseason accomplishments moving previous Miami colleague Ray Allen into second on the playoff 3-pointers list (386 ), and tying Derek Fisher for the most playoff wins in NBA history (161 ).
James is nearly certain to stand alone with the most playoff wins when he retires, hell have a tougher time with the 3-pointers record, which is held by Stephen Curry, who is three years younger than James and has actually made 470 playoff threes in less than half as numerous playoff games than James.
The Los Angeles Lakers have actually followed a pattern this postseason: lose Game 1, win whatever else. After three underwhelming video games versus Oklahoma City and a pedestrian opener against the Lakers, Russell Westbrook dropped an enormous loser in Game 2 that he could regret for the rest of the series. Houston will have a reaction for Game 3, but its another weapon for the Lakers to deploy on defense. Davis underwhelmed in Game 1, and even with 24 center minutes, the Lakers failed to out-rebound Houston (the margin was 41-41), and the Rockets outscored them in the paint (42-40). In Game 2, with 16 less minutes shared with a true center, the Lakers pulled in six more rebounds than the Rockets (41-35), but more significantly, they doubled Houstons points in the paint (54-26).
