Lakers Cannot Afford a Repeat of Their Game 1 Performance

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Los Angeles Lakers’ leading scorers, watched Luke Kennard’s inferno and LeBron James’ mastermind from the sideline during the Game 1 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Saturday night’s home win buys Doncic and Reaves more time to recover, but it isn’t a blueprint the Lakers can afford to follow again. 

Crushed on the Glass and Loose with the Ball

Before it started, Head Coach JJ Redick said the keys to this series were going to be rebounding and turnovers. The Lakers lost both battles in Game 1.

The Lakers recorded 18 fewer offensive rebounds, 15 fewer second-chance points, seven more turnovers, and 15 fewer points off turnovers than the Rockets. That all amounted to Houston attempting a whopping 27 more field goal attempts than Los Angeles.

They should have lost this game, but Kennard bailed them out. He exploded for a playoff career-high 27 points on 5-for-5 three-point shooting. 

Kennard is an elite shooter, but the Lakers cannot put too much stock into this performance. They won’t win another game if their game plan is to get dominated on the glass, lose the turnover battle and expect their nine-point-per-game scorer to lead the offense.

Kevin Durant Is a Difference Maker

Game 1 looks different if Kevin Durant wasn’t a late scratch. Both teams were without their leading scorers, but with LeBron James leading the purple and gold, the Rockets had a bigger hole to fill.

Their lack of half-court offense cost them the game. The Lakers packed the paint and forced the Rockets to shoot 38% from the field. Yet, the game was still decided by single digits. Durant changes that.

He is the elite scorer the Rockets need. He is who they rely on to generate half-court offense for himself and others. The offensive numbers will not look the same when he returns from injury.

Even if things go from bad to average, that’s all the Rockets need to complement the areas they already have the advantage in. 

The Lakers have to adjust. They can’t fall for the trap that they set for themselves. They can’t rely on a Kennard heater to make up for their disadvantages. And they can’t ignore Durant is waiting to make his return.

If the Lakers don’t put up more of a fight in the possession games, they will lose this series before Doncic and Reaves step on the court.