Game Preview: Lakers vs Rockets

The Lakers and Rockets will battle it out tonight in Los Angeles, with both teams coming off losses and on the second night of a back-to-back. The Rockets lost to the Clippers yesterday, while the Lakers suffered yet another heartbreaking loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers lost 113-112 on the final play, which saw Russell Westbrook miss a layup after evident contact from Joel Embiid that went uncalled. The Lakers are 19-24 and are on a 3 game losing streak. They desperately need to pick up a win tonight.

Injury Report

Lebron James is questionable, while Troy Brown is probable. Anthony Davis and Lonnie Walker IV remain out. Kevin Porter Jr is out for Houston.

One to Watch : Jalen Green

The Rockets have an abundance of young talent and are continuing to build their future, which is mainly centered around their 2021 number 2 overall pick, Jalen Green. For the season Green is averaging 21.5 points per game and shooting 33% from 3. Green can get hot very quickly, so the Lakers will need to ensure they stick with him early and don’t let him him get comfortable.

Attack the Inside

The Rockets have the 3rd worst defense in the NBA and the Lakers are one of the best paint scoring teams in the NBA. They need to break down the Rockets by attacking the rim.

Clutch Time Execution

The whole season the Lakers have shot themselves in the foot during clutch time. It’s on both the coaching staff and the players. Ham has to do a better job of calling timeouts and drawing up plays coming out of these timeouts. The Lakers play too much good basketball for 44 minutes to then collapse they way they do in the clutch, and it needs to be rectified going forward if they want to make a run in the postseason.