Five things to watch for in Lakers vs. Rockets series
· Yahoo Sports
JJ Redick enters his second playoff series for the second straight year in his Lakers tenure at the helm, and he goes into Saturday's (5:30 p.m.) Game 1 against the Houston Rockets without his top scorers, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
The Lakers went 2-1 against the Rockets during the regular season, with back-to-back wins against Houston from March 16 to 18. The difference was having Dončić and Reaves in those games; fast forward now, and the backcourt duo is out indefinitely, according to Redick, all week.
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But everyone else on the Lakers squad was a full participant during the week.
The bulk of the Lakers' missing production now lands in the hands of 41-year-old LeBron James, who moves from the third option to now the driver's seat in year 23.
So here are five things to watch out for in the first round matchup.
REBOUNDING
Rebounding has been a huge emphasis in the Lakers' approach and preparation in their week of practice.
Why, you might ask? The Rockets are one of the best rebounding teams in the last 25 years, as multiple players have uttered this week; James and Jaxson Hayes were the two players who mentioned it to the media.
The Rockets were the No. 1 rated rebounding team in the NBA during the regular season, boasting the best offensive rebounding rate, averaging 15.0 offensive rebounds per game.
"Rebounding is a part of their DNA. It's part of each piece of the players' DNA," Redick said. "They've collected a bunch of guys that play like banshees and they crash."
In the Lakers' three games against the Rockets, Houston collected 44 offensive rebounds from their 86 total rebounds in the season series. Amen Thompson, one of the league's most freakish athletic rebounders, had 12 of those.
Keeping the Rockets contained on the glass will be a key to keeping the series going until Dončić and Reaves can make returns.
SECOND CHANCE POINTS
Because of their elite ability to crash hard on the glass, the Rockets had a lot of second-chance opportunities to get more buckets.
The Rockets ranked No. 3 in the NBA in second-chance points, averaging 17.8 second-chance points a game. Houston had 61 total second-chance points in the season series against L.A., with over 20 points in two of those contests.
KEVIN DURANT
In his 18th season, Kevin Durant has still shown why he's one of the deadliest scorers in NBA history. In 78 games, the 37-year-old posted 26 points a game on 41.3% from 3.
Durant finished fourth in total points, being the only scorer over 30 years old.
The defensive assignment on Durant will be a group effort, according to Jarred Vanderbilt, the Lakers' best on-ball defender.
"It takes everybody; it won't be one guy's assignment," Vanderbilt said. "Every time he's on the floor, everybody has to have their head on a swivel... It'll be all hands on deck."
Durant was a big part of the Rockets winning eight of their final nine games of the season. He put together an efficient stretch during that run, shooting 55% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range.
3-POINT SHOOTING
Understandably, the Lakers' 3-point shooting took a major dip when Dončić left the lineup, being the NBA leader this season in not just scoring (33.5 ppg) but also 3-point attempts (10.8) and field goals (22.8) per game.
In the last five games of the season without Dončić and Reaves, the Lakers ranked 29th in 3-pointers (27.2) but managed to shoot the third-best at 41.2% from 3.
The Lakers' 3-point shooting will have to be on a string and remain consistent with James garnering most of the attention on offense.
AYTON VS. ŞENGÜN
Alperen Şengün is the Rockets' leading rebounder (8.9 rpg) and second-leading scorer with 20.4 points per game in 72 games.
In two games against the Lakers, Şengün averaged 20.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game while shooting 69.0% from the field.
Ayton averaged 11.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 71.4% from the field against the Rockets.
The matchup between Lakers starting center Deandre Ayton and Şengün will be important in their success in the series.
During the week, Ayton said he was so excited for his first taste of Lakers playoff basketball that he wanted to do backflips. Ayton has been inconsistent throughout the season in his first season in L.A., but the first round gives him a fresh start to wipe away all that.