The Los Angeles Lakers have proven they can beat the Houston Rockets without Kevin Durant in Game 1. They have also shown they can take down their competitor when their star player is active in Game 2 as well. Game 3’s storyline will follow a lot closer to the first meeting between the two.
Shams Charania reported: “Houston’s Kevin Durant has been ruled out for Game 3 tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a left ankle sprain, sources tell ESPN.”
The Lakers and Rockets are heading in complete opposite directions right now. There has been optimism ahead of Game 3 that Austin Reaves could suit up for Los Angeles. JJ Redick confirmed his star guard will be making an attempt to play after being elevated to questionable on the latest injury report for the Lakers.
Redick told Dave McMenamin that after Reaves’ warmup, the team will make a decision on whether they feel comfortable putting the talented offensive guard on the court for Game 3. If that is the case, the Durant-less Rockets could be headed for Cancun sooner than later.
Kevin Durant’s ankle injury could be the nail in the coffin for Lakers-Rockets
Durant missed Game 1 due to a completely unrelated injury. Earlier in the series, it was his knee that was bothering him enough to keep him out of action. The fact that this latest absence is due to a separate ailment should be concerning for the Rockets.
Houston has struggled on the offensive end in the matchup against Los Angeles. A lot of it may simply just come down to confidence issues too, if Ime Udoka is to be believed.
The Rockets head coach may be unfazed despite the troubles, but those are certainly issues that raise alarms at this stage of the season. Should any head coach need to be motivating his team past their confidence issues in the first round of the NBA Playoffs?
Not having Durant will force the rest of the Rockets to figure it out by themselves. If it is anything like Game 1, that does not bode well for Houston.
The Rockets made a push to make the final score respectable in the opening matchup of the series. However, the Lakers were largely in the driver’s seat for that one, leading Game 1 for 93 percent of the contest.
2-0 is a challenging deficit to overcome. 3-0? That would all but punch the Lakers’ ticket to the second round. And to think, many believed this was supposed to be an easy out for the Rockets, not the other way around.
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