There’s a strange tension hovering over the first-round playoff series between the Rockets andLakers.
Like a night sky devoid of stars, you know some sort of storm is coming, you just don’t know when it will hit.
Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and now Rockets’ superstarKevin Durant were all out for Game 1 on Saturday, but it feels inevitable that one, two, or all three return at some point in the series.
Houston was supposed to walk into this first-round matchup and impose their will. They entered the series asheavy favorites.They had the health advantage, the deeper roster, and the defensive prowess to dispatch of the Lakers easily. Someanalysts even predicted a sweep.
On paper, it wasn’t a fair fight.
And then, about an hour before tipoff, everything flipped.
Durant — arguably the one player Houston couldn’t afford to lose — wasruled out of Game 1with a knee injury.
According toESPN Insider Shams Charania, Durant has been diagnosed with a deep bruise in his right patellar tendon and his status for Game 2 on Tuesday is “up in the air.”
Without Durant in the lineup in Game 1 the Rockets looked lost. Despite winning the battles regarding rebounds, turnovers, and possessions,they still came up short, 107-98.
“There’s a lot that you have to do with Kevin [Durant] and you just kind of scrap that and you move on to other stuff we’ve worked on,” said Lakers’ head coach J.J. Redick of adjusting their game plan on the fly with Durant out in Game 1. “I thought our guys responded well and met the moment.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
