Rockets' Youth Didn't Give them an Advantage vs Lakers

That was supposed to give them an edge.

May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Lebron James (23) handles the ball against Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) during the fourth quarter of game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets have one of the league's more formidable young cores throughout the league. It's a by-product of tanking and/or rebuilding, to be politically correct.

Houston's youth figured to give them an advantage against the Los Angeles Lakers, especially the iteration of the Lakers that Houston faced in the opening round of the playoffs. The Lakers were without Luka Doncic throughout the entirety of the series and had Austin Reaves for less than half of the series, as Reaves played in just the last two games of the series.

The Lakers' best player was 41-year-old LeBron James heading into the match. Especially on paper.

And they didn't have much youth at all, unless you're counting Bronny James, who doesn't play much (although he did outscore Houston's bench by himself on at least one occasion). Granted, Reaves is 27, but again, he was largely out for most of the series.

The Lakers were relying on players like Luke Kennard, who is 29 years old and a journeyman -- having played for five teams through nine years in the NBA. Marcus Smart was also a pivotal player for the Lakers throughout the series, who is 32 years old and in his 12th NBA season.

The Rockets had three players that were selected in the top-four of each of their respective draft classes over the last four years, in Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, who are 22, 23 and 21 years old. And Alperen Sengun, Houston’s two-time All-Star center is still just 23 years old.

Tari Eason was one of the Rockets' best players, capitalizing on an opportunity to cash in on restricted free agency this offseason. But even he had his lows throughout the series (and season, on a much greater scale). The Rockets struggled to defend Deandre Ayton, who averaaged 11.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 60.4 percent from the field, 60.4 percent effective shooting and 61.4 percent true shooting.

Ayton was asked about the Lakers' effectiveness against the Rockets and gave a rather interesting response.

"I'm just glad we were prepared and we played super physical. We were up to tempo, which, I heard Houston try to call us old or whatever, but we was moving fast. We was moving them puppies, man."

The Rockets made comments to the media about the Rockets' potential matchup advantages, specifically Jabari Smith Jr., who stated that the Rockets were clearly the better team between the two.

The Lakers are currently down 0-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.