Rockets Playoff Preview: Lakers Pose Challenges, But Enough to Overcome Houston?

The NBA postseason is finally here, and for the Houston Rockets, it couldn't be arriving at a better time. They've been on a roll to end the regular season, having won nine of their last 10 contests, including an eight-game winning streak that saw the Rockets take down multiple playoff contenders.

But the postseason is a different kind of basketball. It's grueling and intense, but the Rockets are entering the playoffs with more experience after last year's early exit. Despite winning 52 games and capturing the second seed in the Western Conference, Houston fell to a battle-tested Golden State Warriors squad.

However, this season, the expectations are different. The Rockets have Kevin Durant, coming off a regular season in which he averaged 26 points per game on 52-40-87 shooting splits. Rather than spending the year having to adjust to Ime Udoka and his young core, it seems as though Houston's supplementary players have been trying to adjust to the 37-year-old.

The Rockets enter the playoffs as they could have been after Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams went down with season-ending injuries at different points in the NBA year. They'll face the Los Angeles Lakers, who are the weakest they've been amid Luka Dončić (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) being out.

The Lakers are 3-2 since two of their three stars went down on April 2 in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It will be on a 41-year-old LeBron James to lead Los Angeles, and it's clear that the odds are stacked against this team.

But if there's any player in league history who can bear the load of taking a significantly undermanned unit far into the postseason, it's James. He's done it before, but can he do it again at this age?

As expected, the Lakers rank 18th in offensive rating since Dončić and Reaves went down. The two combine for 56.8 of their 116.3 points per game, while James has been an impressive third option, putting up 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists a night.

Meanwhile, the Rockets have hit their offensive peak since late March, ranking second in efficiency over their last 10 games. While Durant has been fantastic, per usual, three other players averaged over 18 points over that 9-1 stretch. Amen Thompson, Alperen Şengün and Jabari Smith Jr. have become more comfortable in creating opportunities while limiting turnovers.

This first-round matchup should come easy for Houston, but in the playoffs, you can't afford to underrate your opponent. Los Angeles is undermanned, but it also poses challenges as a team with more experience.