{"id":715416,"date":"2026-04-21T21:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/715416\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T21:09:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:09:29","slug":"rockets-vs-lakers-game-2-prediction-nba-playoffs-picks-odds-best-bets-tuesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/715416\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets vs. Lakers Game 2 prediction: NBA playoffs picks, odds, best bets Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\tGambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our\u00a0editorial standards<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n

We have a trio of Game 2 matchups Tuesday night for the NBA<\/a> on NBC slate and the nightcap is in Los Angeles where the Lakers host the Rockets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Lakers took Game 1 behind the collective excellence of their team and an untimely Kevin Durant injury that completely changed the Rockets\u2019 offensive dynamic.<\/p>\n

Houston is still favored for Game 2, laying 4.5 points from oddsmakers on the road in a critical spot.<\/p>\n

Rockets vs. Lakers prediction, best bets<\/p>\n

The Lakers and Rockets seem to be competing to see which team can win a series with the fewest star players.<\/p>\n

First, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves went down at the tail end of the season, then Durant was stunningly ruled out for Game 1 with a knee injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Durant\u2019s status is up in the air for Game 2 \u2014 he participated in half of Monday\u2019s practice<\/a>, according to head coach Ime Udoka \u2014 but the Lakers gained some confidence after winning the opener.<\/p>\n

Luke Kennard and LeBron James stole the show, but Deandre Ayton quietly also put up an impressive performance for the Lakers in Game 1.<\/p>\n

\"LeBronDeandre Ayton and LeBron James #23 celebrate after a big shot in Game 1 against the Rockets. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Ayton scored 19 points and pulled down 11 boards in the win and was noticeably more involved on offense. It makes sense: with the Lakers down their top-two scorers, the defense focused on containing LeBron James, which opened up opportunities for the rest of the Lakers.<\/p>\n

Ayton wasn\u2019t just a beneficiary of soft defense. James and Marcus Smart found Ayton in spots on the floor that allowed him to get up quick shots or roll to the rim and finish Clint Capela style<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Betting on the NBA? <\/p>\n

Ayton was 5-of-6 from the floor when guarded by Alperen Sengun in Game 1, and that trend holds true throughout their regular-season matchups.<\/p>\n

Ayton will get the touches because the Lakers have few offensive options, and he can be a nightmare in the paint.<\/p>\n

His points prop is just 13.5 points for Game 2. I think we\u2019ll see another Domin-Ayton performance in L.A. on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

The Play: Deandre Ayton Over 13.5 points (-106, FanDuel<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Why Trust New York Post Betting<\/p>\n

Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He\u2019s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":715417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,212,1586,194,150,6,214,11,56381,66,215,216],"class_list":{"0":"post-715416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-betting","10":"tag-deandre-ayton","11":"tag-houston-rockets","12":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nba-betting","15":"tag-nba-playoffs","16":"tag-nba-playoffs-2026","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-sports-betting","19":"tag-sports-picks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116444752730407047","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}