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Life is funny. The one thing that made the Los Angeles Lakers underdogs is kind of the reason they won the series opener with the Houston Rockets.
Kevin Durant’s absence sapped more star power from this Round 1 matchup — already down Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves — but unlike L.A.’s injured studs, Durant has a good shot of playing in Game 2 tonight.
My Rockets vs. Lakers predictions and NBA picks bank on a better showing from Houston tonight, with or without KD on April 21.
UPDATE: Added a prediction for who will win tonight.
Rockets: I bet the Lakers’ moneyline in Game 1, even before the news of Kevin Durant’s knee injury. If there was going to be a game in which L.A. came out swinging, it would be the opener. And boy did it. But balance is restored in Game 2 as Houston’s role players get on track and the Lakers’ support staff plummets back to earth.
With the way the Los Angeles Lakers shot the ball in Game 1, it may not have mattered if Kevin Durant was healthy or not.
Los Angeles finished a blistering 61% from the floor, including 10-for-19 from beyond the arc. A well-rested LeBron James conducted a crisp L.A. attack that recorded an assist on more than 72% of its total buckets.
The Houston Rockets' offense, on the other hand, was lost and untethered without the gravity of Durant. The Rockets were a chilly 38% from the floor, with an 11-for-33 mark from beyond the arc. Los Angeles was able to be more aggressive when it came to double-teaming Houston’s secondary stars, and the Rockets missed KD’s ability to create when things broke down. Couple that with playoff nerves on the road for some younger standouts, and you can see how things fell apart.
I expect it all to come closer to the middle in Game 2 as a potential letdown for the Lakers, who got a Luka-like effort from reserve-turned-starter Luke Kennard on Saturday.
Los Angeles won’t connect at the same clip, and Houston will tighten the bolts on offense, with or without Durant. Head coach Ime Udoka is emphasizing spacing and more screen action — both on- and off-ball — after iso-heavy sets stagnated the Rockets in Game 1.
I’m holding out hope Durant returns for the sake of this bet, but I’m confident Houston will still perform better than Game 1 if he doesn’t.
Amen Thompson scored 17 points in Game 1 as one of Houston’s lone bright spots. He dropped 26 and 19 points in the previous two matchups with Los Angeles, and if Durant returns, he’ll enjoy a lot more space in Game 2. Thompson is projected for as many as 19 points.
LBJ did it all for L.A. in the opener but didn’t need to take or make triples, with the Lakers playing with the lead. Game script has Los Angeles trailing tonight, and with some of the Lakers’ role players coming back to earth, James will jack up his share of long-range looks to close that gap.
Let’s try this one more time. I had a fun all-GOAT same-game parlay pegged for Game 1 leaning into LeBron vs. KD. Then Durant went and spoiled it all by banging up his knee in practice. He’s trending toward playing in Game 2, so I’m calling for these two HoFers to pace their team in points and knock down shots from downtown.
Houston is 22-8 SU off a loss this season, with those bounce-back spots producing a 12-17-1 Over/Under count. Find more NBA betting trends for Rockets vs. Lakers.
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