Rockets Host Lakers in Season Series Finale
Lake Show Finale. Four Quarters. Protecting Home.
The Rockets return home to commence a three-game home-stand on Monday night. Houston will commence the proceedings by hosting LeBron James and the Lakers for the final time this season on Monday night. Houston is 1-2 against L.A. this season, with both losses coming on the road. The Rockets will try and even the season series with a victory tonight. The Lakers have won two straight, and are coming off one of the best games of the entire NBA season, a thrilling double-OT win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. L.A. enters tonight with a 24-23 record, leading Houston by only one game in the loss column. Currently, the Lakers are tied with the Jazz for the final two Play-In spots out West. The Rockets can creep a little closer with a win tonight.
If Houston wants to start this home stretch on a positive note, they need to get off to a hot start. More importantly, this Rockets team needs to put four quarters of solid basketball together. Houston has struggled playing only one good half, or sometimes only a quarter, in recent games. if the squad can string four efficient quarters together they should have a good chance to beat L.A. on Monday night. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have both carried questionable tags for essentially the entire season. Neither has missed many games. LeBron didn’t play on the 23rd a few games ago. But AD hasn’t missed a game since December 15th, so expect both Lakers superstars to suit up for tonight’s matchup.
Alperen Sengun has had a brilliant season, but recently he’s performed a little below expectations. Look for Houston’s All-Star of the future to have a bounce-back game tonight. Jalen Green typically plays well against the Lakers. The guard has been scoring the ball well lately, although he’s really struggled shooting the three. Green has been superb from mid-range and attacking the basket, but when he settles for three, it usually results in a miss. Hopefully he’s attacking the rim tonight, but with a big AD defining the paint for the Lakers, this could be another game that sees Jalen settle for too many threes. Tari Eason is still on the injury report, but Jabari Smith Jr. is finally rumored to make his return after missing several games. Jabari’s return to the lineup, along with playing back in Toyota Center, should give the Rockets enough of a boost to even the season series with the Lakers tonight.
Toyota Center: Houston, Texas
Jersey Colors:
Los Angeles Lakers (24-23): Yellow
Houston Rockets (21-24): Red
Tip-Off: 7:00 PM CT
TV: Space City Home Network, NBA League Pass