In a bit of a scheduling oddity, the Los Angeles Lakers must face the Houston Rockets in back-to-back contests, both of which are on the road. The Lakers pulled out a gritty 100-92 win in the first game thanks in large part to their defense as they struggled offensively, especially Austin Reaves.
He shot just 5-of-18 from the field and missed all eight of his 3-point attempts, but it didn’t matter as the Lakers shut down the Rockets in the second half. The defense locked in, limiting Houston to just 35 points in the final two quarters and only 12 in the fourth, while forcing the Rockets to shoot just 41.2% from the field and commit 15 turnovers.
Now with another game on Wednesday, the Lakers know the Rockets will make some adjustments to try and change the outcome. Reaves isn’t too worried about that however as he understands that Houston’s style of play won’t change overnight, and whatever tweaks they make to the game plan, the Lakers will be ready to adjust to them.
“Their identity is not gonna change, obviously. Xs and Os they might tweak some things here and there, but they’re still gonna play the way that they play every single game and that’s as hard as they possibly can,” Reaves said on Spectrum SportsNet. “They’re gonna look to get offensive rebounds, create extra possessions, swarm the ball. Hopefully I make some shots next game, but we shoot it good as a team and we’ll make our adjustments to whatever their adjustments are and it’ll be another good one.”
As Reaves said, Houston is a team that is built on physicality. They are the best offensive rebounding team in the NBA and thrive on dominating the paint and that isn’t going to change between these games. They will however, likely make some tweaks to help open up their offense down the stretch and even Rockets superstar Kevin Durant spoke on their issues with stagnation in the fourth quarter.
Reaves having a better offensive night will certainly help the Lakers offset whatever changes the Rockets make, but most important is that the team is prepared for another battle against a team they could very well see in the playoffs.
JJ Redick praises Lakers defense in second half vs. Rockets
The Rockets are a very physical team that can overwhelm opponents with their style, but head coach JJ Redick praised the Lakers for not laying down in the face of adversity, matching Houston’s energy, and locking in defensively in the second half.
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