What Inside the NBA Said About Rockets Forcing Game 6 vs Lakers

The Houston Rockets continued to keep their season alive with a remarkable Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on the road. While the Rockets were once down 3-0 in this first round series, the momentum and storylines regarding this matchup have completely changed.

Anything involving the Lakers always gets more attention, and the Rockets were getting crushed nationally after blowing the Game 3 lead. Suddenly, there is some tension among the Lakers faithful and the national media has started to think the Rockets have a legit change to do something that has never been done before.

History is obviously not on the Rockets' side, but they could be the team equipped to make this ultimate comeback. It comes down to Game 6 in Houston for the Rockets to keep this quest going and send it to a Game 7 in LA. After the Game 5 win on ESPN, the award winning show Inside the NBA had instant reaction and breakdown to the game.

The recognizable cast of Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson Jr. made their thoughts known about the Rockets and also had an interview with Reed Sheppard who was one of the stars of the game.

Inside the NBA on the Rockets Staying Alive

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; TNT broadcaster Ernie Johnson Jr. after the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

“The Lakers still didn’t play with enough effort and energy for me,” O’Neal said.

That was a common theme for criticism of the Lakers, while the Rockets were able to demonstrate that. Given their season was on the line, that makes sense, but the Lakers blew an opportunity to just end this at home. The three-time NBA champion with the Lakers was not pleased with what his former team did.

Barkley made multiple good points about what the Rockets are doing.

“You got to give the Rockets a lot of credit for three and a half quarters. Everybody was eating, everybody was touching the ball,” Barkley said. “When the Rockets were moving the ball and everybody was touching it, they were tough.”

Barkley also mentioned how everyone getting a chance to make a shot and gain confidence helped them on the defensive end. Typically, players will be more motivated when they’re involved. All five starters for Houston were in double digits.

He gave a similar assessment to Shaq on the Lakers.

“They didn’t play with desperation to get this thing over with,” Barkley said of the Lakers.

The Rockets have a chance to keep this series going, and the difference in age between the teams can play a role.

“They’ve outplayed them three straight games. If they don’t make mistakes, they’ll get good shots. LeBron’s wearing down. The longer the series goes, his efficiency is coming down. It’s affected Kennard and Smart because they’re not getting wide-open shots anymore. Their numbers are coming down too,” Barkley said.

The former Rocket understood why coach Ime Udoka played the last 30 seconds of Game 3 right after it ended. Barkley believes it could have given them confidence knowing Udoka probably told them how close they were.

Barkley asked Sheppard in the interview about that point of everyone getting involved and how that has multiple positive effects.

“When everyone’s touching the rock and you get a couple of shots to go in, that makes you guard better and everyone’s more impactful in the game,” Sheppard said.

One of the main talking points and highlights of the game was obviously Sheppard making those two plays at the end of the game. First, the mid-range jumper after being shoved by LeBron James followed up by the massive steal on James with the wide-open dunk.

This has been made into the storyline of Sheppard getting revenge on James after his costly turnover in Game 3. Johnson asked Sheppard about that out of the gate, and even he had to admit it was a nice feeling.

“It was good to get that one back for sure,” Sheppard said.

Smith enjoyed seeing that sequence from Sheppard in the highlights.

“Got you back from the other night. Talk that talk now,” Smith said.

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