We’re at the point in the series where the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers are familiar with one another.
There’s not much that either team can do to surprise the other. Truly, it comes down to which team can successfully impose their will and identity into the proceedings.
We know that the Lakers want LeBron James and Austin Reaves to run the offense, attack the defense, and find open shooters. In Games 1 and 2, that strategy (sans Reaves, of course) worked like a charm. The Lakers collectively turned into prime Ray Allen and Houston’s impotent offense couldn’t keep pace.
The Rockets, on the other hand, want to muck up the game and make it physical. The 99-93 final score in Game 5 in basically Ime Udoka’s wet dream. And as we’ve discussed a few times this season, the Rockets can play without Kevin Durant easier than they can without Amen Thompson or Jabari Smith Jr. After all, without KD, the Rockets can just revert to the team they were last year. Almost every player on the roster had a front row view for that squad. And the two guys that didn’t, Josh Okogie and Dorian Finney-Smith, play that style of basketball already.
I’ve heard a lot of “Houston is better without Durant” talk lately. And while it’s clear that this team is playing better on both ends in the last two games, it bears reminding that last year’s Houston team had a humongous offensive hole in late-game situations. With KD out, that outlet is gone. And if felt like Houston started to figure out how to operate in the clutch with Durant as the season went on. The New Orleans and Golden State games come to mind.
With another win, the Rockets get us closer to the scenario I laid out before Game 4:
The Line (as of this post)
Looking ahead because we can
If necessary, Game 7 on Sunday in Los Angeles