Two People Are to Blame for the Rockets’ Game 2 Loss to the Lakers

The Houston Rockets are in desperation mode after going down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Just like that, their season is starting to crumble after losing to a team without its top two scorers.

Houston was favored to steal at least one game in Los Angeles with Luka Dončić (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique). But for the second straight game, LeBron James and Luke Kennard uplifted the Lakers and ran circles around the Rockets' defense. James put up a vintage 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Kennard poured in 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Now, the Rockets head home for a must-win game. Game 3 could put their season on life support if it isn't already. However, while the players haven't been performing up to par, the blame goes beyond whoever is on the court. Fans who have watched this team all season long knew this was coming and exactly who to blame:

Ime Udoka

It is understandable that without a true point guard (Fred VanVleet) on the floor, Houston's offense is expected to hit rough patches. But Game 2 was an utter disaster on that end of the floor. It is a miracle that the visiting team managed lose by just seven points, because defense is what kept it in the contest for most of the night.

When Kevin Durant was on the floor, the Rockets were that much better. In the first half, the 37-year-old notched 20 points, missing just one shot. However, it wasn't hard for the Lakers to adjust, and it showed. In the second half, Durant went 1-for-5 from the field and ended the game with nine turnovers.

Ime Udoka clearly couldn't adjust to Los Angeles' defense. The Lakers were doing what most teams had done to Houston all season long: aggressively double-teaming across half-court and applying pressure on pick-and-rolls. The Rockets finished with 15 turnovers, right around their regular-season average of 15.4.

There was no stability, and at times, Udoka is visibly frustrated with the on-court product. But a lot of that is his own doing. Durant is not the do-it-all talent that is James; he needs to score, but he's not a point guard. There should have been a plan a long time ago to mitigate mistakes even without VanVleet.

Rafael Stone

And as much as Udoka is to blame for failing to adjust during the playoffs, this all falls back to the front office being one of three teams to not make a single trade prior to the February deadline. Houston was linked to several point guards, including Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, but chose to go after nobody. As the rest of the NBA got better, the Rockets stayed stagnant.

Rafael Stone has done a tremendous job over the last few seasons, drafting the talent we see today and managing to keep most of the core after acquiring Kevin Durant. However, this season has been a flop on the part of the front office. The organization can't afford to waste what could be the final chapter of Durant's career, but after VanVleet tore his ACL, no personnel changes were made.

Reed Sheppard, although shooting 0-for-4 in Game 2, played just 11 minutes. Udoka clearly hasn't fully believed in him all season long, as voiced by the majority of the fanbase. However, if that is truly the case, then Houston lacks any starting point guard.

After the deadline, everyone predicted the Rockets' weaknesses to continue through the rest of the season and plague their postseason. That prediction is becoming a reality, and as much as on-court performance is a factor, the coaching staff and front office are also to blame.

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