The Houston Rockets’ First Round Struggles Should Not Come as a Surprise

The Houston Rockets saw their 2025-26 season end just like the 2024-25 season, that is, with a first-round loss this time to the Los Angeles Lakers and in six games instead of seven. The Rockets entered the series as the heavy favorite, having been without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for the last few weeks of the regular season.

The Rockets finish the season as one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and outside of Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, who, in VanVleet's case, had been out the entire season, and Adams, who had been out for months, had the players who had played major minutes for them most of the season. That was until a day or two before Game 1, when the news came down that Kevin Durant had suffered a knee injury during practice before the Rockets flew out to Los Angeles.

Durant, who had played the most games he had played in any season this decade, playing in 78 of 82 games and missing only one game due to injury, was now out for Game 1. Durant would go on to play in only one of the six playoff games, which played a part in the 'Rockets' playoff demise. Durant led the Rockets in points per game and, of course, was the most efficient player on the team, and it wasn't particularly close.

During the missing games, defintely made the 'Rockets' chances of moving on to the second round more difficult. The Rockets still should have had enough to defeat an also-shorthanded Lakers team, but as we know now, that was not the case. The Lakers got off to a 3-0 series lead, and despite the Rockets winning two straight, the series, in all intents and purposes, ended with the Game 3 end-of-game debacle.

Some of the same issues that happen throughout the season, even with Durant, happen again in this series, and that is why no one should be suprised the Rockets were sent packing on Friday.

The Same Shooting and Turnover Woes From the Regular Season Caused Issues for the Rockets in the Playoffs

The Rockets struggled with shooting and, at times, turnovers throughout the first round. The Rockets finished 15th out of 16 in points per game and 3-point shooting, and despite being slightly better in turnovers at number eight out of 16 playoff teams, the turnover bug came back to bite them in their historic Game 3 loss that saw them turn the ball over twice in the last 30 seconds of that game.

Just as they did in the playoffs, the Rockets struggled from 3-point range, especially after January 1st, when they ranked bottom in attempts. The playoffs are all about keying in on your opponents' weaknesses, and the Lakers did just that by clogging up the paint and forcing guys to beat them off the dribble or make open shots, and the Rockets couldn't do either.

Ime Udoka spoke to this after the game and realized changes have to be made, starting with bringing in more shooting. For the Rockets to finally get past the first round for the first time in over a half-decade, they have to add more ball handlers, especially more shooters. This offseason will be the most important one in a long time, and the front office, in all likelihood, has already looked to next year as soon as the buzzer sounded on Game 6 and the Rockets' season.

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