There Is One Area the Houston Rockets Should Dominate in Their Series With the Lakers

The Houston Rockets will face the Los Angeles Lakers, beginning this Saturday in Los Angeles. After their loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Rockets knew they would start the playoffs on the road. Denver's win on Sunday secured a 4/5 matchup with the Lakers.

No playoff matchup is easy, as losing four games ends a team's season. Teams focus on one opponent over several games, getting to know each other well before Game 1.

Even with the playoffs not being easy, no matter who you are facing, the Rockets having the opportunity to face the Lakers was the best-case scenario, considering they could have been matched up with the Nuggets, a healthy team that has given them problems in most of their matchups.

The Lakers, unlike the Nuggets, are not at full strength heading into the playoffs. The last couple of weeks, the Lakers have been without both Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic. Reaves is out with a lower oblique injury, and Doncic has a hamstring strain.

Initial reports had both out for the first round of the playoffs, but there will be an update on Doncic before the start of game one. That means the Rockets will more than likely face a Lakers team without two of its three best players. LeBron James will have to take on majority not only the scoring duties but also rebounding.

The Lakers' home-court advantage was in part due to their back-to-back wins over the Rockets in March at the Toyota Center, but those games were with a healthy lineup. However, in the Rockets' win over the Lakers on Christmas Day and in the Lakers' two wins, one area has been in the Rockets' favor in all three games, and it's the one area they should dominate in this series.

The Houston Rockets' biggest advantage will come on the boards.

The Rockets have dominated in one area more than any other over the last two seasons: rebounding. During Ime Udoka's first season, the Rockets traded for Steven Adams, even though he was out for the season, mainly because of how dominant a rebounder he has been throughout his career.

The gamble paid off: the Rockets had their best rebounding season in over 50 years in 2024-25, in large part because Adams is one of the best rebounders of his generation. The Rockets again led the NBA in rebounding this season, even though the last few months were without Adams, who suffered a season-ending injury.

Even without Adams, the Rockets finished the season with the largest rebounding differential since the 1976-77 season. The Rockets won the rebounding battles most nights, and that was the case in all three games against the Lakers this season.

In the Rockets' only win over the Lakers this season, they won comfortably by 23 points, dominating the Lakers on the boards 48-25. Even in the two losses, the Rockets won the rebounding battle by a total of 16 rebounds.

In the final regular-season matchup, the Lakers were led in rebounding by Luka Doncic, who, along with Austin Reaves, is both ranked in the top four in rebounding for the Lakers. That means not only are two of their best three players out, but also two of their best rebounders.

Factor in that the Lakers are 29th in field goal attempts per game, bottom ten in pace and 3-point attempts, and that leads you to think the Lakers' margin for error on offense is small. Even though the Rockets are at the bottom of the league in pace and 3-point attempts, their offensive rebounding helps make up for those two areas.

By no means will this be an easy series for the Rockets. They have shown at times this season that they can lose a game they have no business losing, and it is a possibility in the playoffs, but the Rockets' dominance on the boards should lead them to a first-round series victory since 2020.

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