Rockets Will Have to Have Better Defensive Formula on Luke Kennard in Game 2

That can't happen again.

Apr 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) celebrates against the Houston Rockets in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Much was made about the Los Angeles Lakers' injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves heading into the Houston Rockets' postseason series in the first round. The Rockets reportedly viewed the Lakers as a favorable matchup and got their wish from the basketball gods after all. 

However, the Lakers weren't going to roll over and fold. The Rockets were still going to have to be at their best.

At the end of the day, the team was still facing LeBron James, who many view as the greatest player of all-time. He's often able to get the most out of his role players. 

At least, more often than not. Game 1 between the Rockets and Lakers provided further truth to that assessment.

Luke Kennard gashed the Rockets to 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from outside range. And James had 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting, in addition to 13 assists and eight rebounds. 

Former Rockets guard and current ESPN analyst Kenny Smith explained Houston's struggles with Kennard and James. 

"I just thought they didn't follow a gameplan or the gameplan. If you look at the gameplan, I would say we are gonna stay at home on everyone else other than LeBron.

We're not gonna make LeBron a great passer."

Smith continued, explaining how the Rockets could have limited Kennard, in particular. 

"So, the gameplan has to be Luke Kennard, we're running him off the line.

So how does he get open? If you're staying home and running him off the line, you're gonna eliminate some easy looks for Luke Kennard. I'm gonna make Luke Kennard put it on the floor, shoot mid-range jump shots and lay the basketball up.

LeBron, you're gonna shoot over the top, unless he's in transition. There was no gameplan that was followed, so LeBron got everyone involved, made everyone feel comfortable and then at the end made big, timely baskets."

Kennard has always been a good outside shooter. In fact, he led the league in outside shooting this season, as he made 47.8 percent of his threes.

All told, Kennard has won the outside shooting crown three times during his nine year NBA career. So it's not like he's an unknown player who randomly got hot.

But the Rockets' roster was built on long, defensive-oriented wings, most of which are elite athletes. Rockets coach Ime Udoka will have to have a gameplan in place for how to stop the Lakers' role players.