3 Takeaways From Lakers' Disappointing Game 5 Loss vs. Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers failed to seal the deal against the Houston Rockets in Game 5, with quite a few issues to address ahead of Game 6.

LeBron James | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Heading into Game 5 against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Lakers were in the ideal position to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs, while taking advantage of the Kevin Durant-less squad in front of the team’s avid fanbase.

Unfortunately, even though star guard Austin Reaves returned after a nine-game absence, the Lakers were unable to capitalize on the opportunity to end the Rockets’ season, as they failed to go blow for blow and ended up losing by six when the final buzzer sounded in the fourth quarter.

Here are three takeaways from the Lakers’ loss to the Rockets in Game 5.

No. 1: Lakers’ Offense Completely Stalled

LeBron James and Josh Okogie | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Despite getting Reaves back in the fold, who finished with 22 points in 34 minutes off the bench, the Lakers couldn’t produce offensively in the same way they were able to do in the first three games of this series.

Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard, two players who have helped shoulder the load in the absence of Luka Doncic and Reaves, combined for 12 points, going 3-for-11 from the floor and being basically non-factors in the scoring department.

LeBron James had a solid offensive performance, scoring a game-high 25 points. In contrast, Deandre Ayton had arguably the best all-around performance on the team, finishing with 18 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks, but it was nowhere near enough to get the best of the Rockets. 

All five of Houston’s starters scored 12 or more points, headlined by Jabari Smith Jr’s 22 points.

The Lakers shot 42 percent from the floor and an ugly 27 percent from beyond the arc, as not much went right on offense.

No. 2: Turnovers Were a Problem AGAIN!

Marcus Smart and Tari Eason | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

In Game 4, the Lakers turned the ball over 23 times, with James accounting for eight of those turnovers. The Rockets capitalized on those mistakes, scoring 30 points on those turnovers, which proved to be the difference.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles didn’t turn the ball over as much, but the impact was felt with 15. The Rockets scored 18 points on those miscues, with Smart finishing with six turnovers in one of his worst performances of the playoffs thus far.

No. 3: Lakers’ Resilience Didn’t Show Up

JJ Redick | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

One impressive attribute the Lakers have had in this first-round playoff series has been the team’s effort and resilience, which simply wasn’t seen in Game 5.

Ayton had an admirable performance and played with effort throughout the entire game. Still, he was one of only a few who seemed to show up on Wednesday, resulting in the team losing a second straight game in this series and giving hope to Alperen Sengun and company.

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With the Rockets staying alive, the series shifts back to Houston for Game 6 on Friday, with all the pressure now on the Lakers to not be remembered in NBA history for the wrong reasons.

No team in league history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit, but Houston has just made things that much more interesting with consecutive wins and the prospect of forcing a Game 7.

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