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No matter how low you are with the Lakers after a disappointing Game 1 of their series against the Houston Rockets to start the second round of the NBA playoffs, it’s hard not to think that they can at least play better in the future.
The Lakers shot 28.9% of three in the series-opening loss, and even as disappointing as shooters this year, they’re likely to at least manage to shoot closer to the league average from distance at some point. They also played Rajon Rondo in the 25th minute because Alex Caruso was in foul trouble, something that weakened their defense and led to several turnovers and missed shots. The Lakers were also tied with the Rockets in rebounding and were outscored in the paint despite having a much larger lineup across the board.
Be all of it happening again in Game 2? It could, but probably not, and with a few other tweaks, like the Lakers giving Anthony Davis the ball on the move and in the air more like a vertical threat offensively, just to name one, the second game in this series could be a different story from the first.
But that said, the Rockets didn’t play the best game they were capable of either, something their head coach, Mike D’Antoni, discussed with The Athletic’s Sam Amick:
“Oh, we can replicate what we did (in Game 1),” D’Antoni said. “I do not doubt it. I don’t know if they’ll let us replicate it, but (James’s comment) is a good compliment. (But) we didn’t play very fast last night, to be honest with you. Defensively, we did. We were flying. But offensively, we can accelerate our speed much more. And we will have to do that. You know, again, take the compliment. It’s great. But tomorrow it will come towards us like a freight train and we have to be ready to roll. “
D’Antoni’s comments were made in response to James comparing the Rockets to the old Rams NFL “Greatest Show on Turf” teams, and how the Lakers had talked about how fast they were both on pace and with speed. hands, splicing the passes. lanes, but it was different to play against him.
However, the point is that D’Antoni is right. While the Rockets were a complete blight on defense, they only played at a rate of 98 possessions on Friday, which is lower than their playoff average (100.32 per game) and regular season norms (104.4). It might not sound like much, but it’s the difference between the second-fastest team in the league (which was in the regular season) and the fourth-slowest. It gives them more opportunities for easy 3s and for drastic momentum changes.
The Rockets also only shot 35.9% from three. That’s a little higher than their regular season average (34.5%) and exactly the same as their playoff average, but it’s not like they’ve exploded with more than 40 percent shots to blow the Lakers off the court and stretch your defense beyond all recognition. This was the definition of a mediocre shooting night for them, especially when you consider that the Lakers held them to 12 fewer attempts from distance than they averaged before this series.
So yes, it is true that the Lakers did not play their best game in the first meeting between these two teams, especially on offense. They’ll probably be better at that end in Game 2. But their defense was pretty decent in Game 1, although it wasn’t perfect, or as good as they are capable of being. They’ll just need to make sure any offensive improvement doesn’t come at the expense of energy on the other side, because if they let the Rockets really get going, things could quickly get ugly.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.
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