After finding his way into a third option role on this Los Angeles Lakers team, LeBron James will now need to go back to the role he has played for his entire basketball life if the Lakers want to have any chance of defeating the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.
With Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique injury) both out to start the series at least, the pressure for James to be the primary creator for this team is immense against a tough and physical Rockets team led by one of his greatest rivals in Kevin Durant. But despite the tall mountain to climb, James is ready for the challenge.
“It’s the playoffs. You gotta be locked in,” he said after Thursday’s practice. “We’ve had some really good says over the last couple days and still have another one tomorrow and then a little bit of time off Saturday to prepare for Game 1.”
James also discussed what makes the Rockets so great outside of Durant.
“I think the last time we was in Houston I told you all how great he’s been since he picked up a basketball,” James said of Durant. “So that’s one part of it, obviously we know that’s the head of the snake. But it’s the Houston Rockets and they have some damn good players on their team. It’s not just a KD team. It’s the whole group. Like I said, KD is gonna do what KD does, he’s a Hall of Famer, we know that. So we have to prepare not only for him, but for the whole group…
“They possess some really damn good players on the floor, and we have to be ready for all of that. From KD, to Sengun, to the Thompson twin, Jabari Smith, Eason, Sheppard. Everyone who goes on the floor is a threat and we have to be ready for that.”
The Rockets present an interesting challenge for this Lakers team as they are known for their defense, physicality and work on the glass. It won’t just be about creating offense, but whether the Lakers can match Houston’s aggression and mentality and James will have to set the tone with that.
The Lakers did win the season series between the teams, hence why they have home-court advantage, but of course Doncic and Reaves were both available for those victories. James has seen everything there is to see in this league and will be ready to go, but this series could very well come down to how much he can uplift his teammates.
Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton, and Rui Hachimura will all need to be on point and the Lakers will also need contributions from others whom they haven’t relied on much of the season such as Jarred Vanderbilt, Nick Smith Jr. and Bronny James.
Facing off with Durant in the playoffs for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals could also provide some extra motivation as any time these two are on the court together they push each other to the limit. And James has continued to prove that despite all the miles he has put on his body, his limit is unlike anyone in history.
Marcus Smart says Lakers can’t get ‘punked’ by Rockets
The Lakers as a whole know what to expect from the Rockets and Smart spoke about this recently as well, warning his teammates that Houston will try to ‘punk’ them and they can’t let that happen.
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