Austin Reaves, out almost 4 weeks, may present the Lakers an enormous enhance in Sport 5.
The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t received a playoff collection since 2023, once they reached the Western Convention Finals because the No. 7 seed.
They misplaced within the first spherical in 2024 and 2025 however are one victory from the convention semifinals. Regardless of the absence of main scorers and important playmakers Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves resulting from accidents, the Lakers have taken a stunning 3-1 collection lead of their first-round matchup towards the Houston Rockets.
LeBron James, at 41 years previous, has been (largely) sensational, and the Lakers have acquired greater-than-expected manufacturing from Luke Kennard and Marcus Good, who had been thrust into the beginning lineup with Dončić and Reaves sidelined.
Can James pull the Lakers to one other victory? Sport 5 is Wednesday in Los Angeles (10 p.m. ET, ESPN). The winner of the Rockets-Lakers collection will play Oklahoma Metropolis within the convention semifinals. The Thunder swept Phoenix to advance.
Listed here are three issues to look at in Sport 5 of Rockets-Lakers:
1. Does James have a bounce-back sport?
Within the first three video games of this collection, James averaged 25.3 factors, 9.7 rebounds, 8.7 assists and a couple of.0 steals and shot 47.4% from the sphere and 43.8% on 3-pointers. It helped the Lakers to a 3-0 collection lead.
In Houston’s 115-96 Sport 4 victory, James had 10 factors on 2-for-9 taking pictures (0-for-3 on 3-pointers), 9 assists, 4 rebounds and eight turnovers.
James’ groups are 41-14 in closeout video games, in accordance with statmuse.com, and together with his staff one victory from clinching a collection, James has not misplaced two closeout video games consecutively since 2006. In these 55 closeout video games, James averaged 28 factors, 9.1 rebounds and seven.1 assists.
2. Harm updates for Lakers, Rockets
Rockets star Kevin Durant missed Sport 1 with a bruised proper knee and missed Video games 3-4 with a left ankle sprain and bone bruise and has been listed as out for Sport 5.
Reaves (strained left indirect) is getting nearer to getting again on the court docket. He was upgraded to questionable earlier than Sport 4 however didn’t play. He’s listed as questionable for Sport 5. There’s a likelihood he performs in Sport 5, and it’s unlikely Dončić (strained left hamstring) performs within the Rockets collection.
Reaves (23.3 factors, 5.5 assists per sport) would give the Lakers one other ballhandler and playmaker to assist James.
3. Can the Rockets make the collection fascinating?
Profitable Sport 5 and going again to Houston with an opportunity to tie the collection and drive a Sport 7 would flip up the strain on the Lakers, who jumped to a 3-0 collection lead. They performed properly sufficient to win Sport 3 with out Durant and took Sport 4 with him on the bench. Within the final sport, Houston discovered defensive success by switching and forcing turnovers, and its beginning 5 produced 95 of the staff’s 115 factors, led by Amen Thompson’s 23 and Alperen Sengun’s 19.
It received’t be straightforward towards James and the Lakers in Los Angeles, however the Rockets are proficient sufficient and younger sufficient to not dwell on what has amounted to insurmountable odds for a staff trailing 3-0 in an NBA playoff collection. No staff has come again from a 3-0 deficit to win a collection. Groups trailing are 0-159.
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Jeff Zillgitt has lined the NBA since 2008. You possibly can e mail him at jzillgitt@nba.com, discover his archive right here and follow him on X.