Two Storylines to Watch in the Rockets' First-Round Playoff Series vs. Lakers

The Houston Rockets' playoff opponent was made official on the final day of the regular season after the Denver Nuggets took down the San Antonio Spurs. With that game, the Los Angeles Lakers were locked into the Western Conference's fourth seed, meaning they'll host Houston in first round.

The Rockets finished one game behind the Lakers, but this series has more depth than a tightly contested four-five matchup. This matchup leans heavily in favor of Houston for a variety of reasons. Here are two of the biggest storylines to watch in the first round:

Lakers and Rockets on Different Trajectories

A lot has changed since the Lakers took down the Rockets twice in two games in March. At the time, Houston's fate appeared to be determined, but after hitting a major low point, the team bounced back in astonishing fashion.

The Rockets proceeded to win nine of their final 10 regular-season contests, including an eight-game winning streak in which they took down the New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors (with Stephen Curry).

In that stretch, Houston ranked second in offensive rating and sixth in turnover percentage, a shocking improvement. Without Fred VanVleet, this rotation lacked an stability on that end of the floor, turning the ball over at a high rate while lacking supplementary talent around Kevin Durant.

But the script has been flipped, and the Rockets have given the 37-year-old legitimate help. Meanwhile, the Lakers are trending in the opposite direction for reasons they cannot control.

Los Angeles lost Luka Dončić (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) on April 2 in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers will be without their top two stars, as they account for 56.8 of their 116.3 points per game.

It will be on a 41-year-old LeBron James to lead this team into the playoffs, but can he get it done at a much older age than his iconic 2018 NBA Finals run? Los Angeles has taken a major step back, as expected, ranking 18th in offensive rating (five games) since the injuries.

LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant: Final Playoff Meeting?

Speaking of James, the retirement rumors have been circulating for so long, but it always gets loudest after the regular season. For the first time in his career, he has regressed into the third option, but the NBA's all-time leading scorer is back in the driver's seat at a pivotal time.

Meanwhile, Durant is still one of the league's best scorers, averaging 26 points per game on 50-42-87 shooting splits. This series will be a battle between two of the most iconic stars of the previous decade. The 2010s were dominated by a few names, and those two were at the top.

James and Durant have met in the playoffs three times for a total of 14 games. At the time, Durant's teams featured Stephen Curry, but this year, the two best players in this series are definitely the Slim Reaper and King James, with Dončić and Reaves out.

This could be the final time Durant and James face each other in the playoffs, and potentially their careers, depending on James' retirement status. Cherish this, not just for the quality of basketball, but the legacies in this series as well.

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