Despite an 0-2 deficit, Houston's playoff hopes ignite at home. A healthy KD and focused defense could flip the series, inching closer to a Round 2 berth.
While going down 0-2 on the road against a depleted Lakers team might have Houston fans feeling hopeless, this series still isn’t over. It’s far from that.
Everyone rooting for the Rockets would’ve loved to see a sweep this series, but that’s just not how they do things. Nothing easy, even when it arguably should be.
LeBron James seems to turn back the clocks once again and go into takeover mode. Durant goes down in practice and misses Game 1, now being questionable for Game 3. It was picture perfect for the Lakers home crowd.
But that’s just it, the games have been in LA. They’re supposed to win those matchups. Houston barely managed to finish above .500 on the road, as covered on Roundtable. I’d expect them to play much better at home for Game 3 and 4.
Jabari Smith Jr. has made some timely shots already in this series, he just hasn’t been able to put the ball in consistently. After shooting 40-percent from the field and 33.3-percent from deep, let’s hope those percentages can go up in more familiar territory.
Similarly, the Lakers’ role players will likely shoot a little bit worse away from home. That’s just wishful thinking though, at the end of the day.
Simply playing in a different arena obviously won’t be enough to change the outcome of the games. Ime Udoka needs to do what he can to have his team lock in and play connected like they have in the past. Alperen Şengün will have to play like an All-Star.
Let defense lead to offense to get some easy buckets and shake the rust off as a team. Get the home crowd involved and ride that momentum. If they get a healthy KD and a focused unit, they can even this series up and look to advance past the first round. Tune in as the Rockets’ season is on the line this weekend.