The Los Angeles Lakers open yet another playoff series with a loss. Though coming in with confidence and a long rest, they got throttled by the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals series, 112-97.
While it’s still early and there’s no reason to panic just yet, the inability to contain scorers is continuing to cast doubts on the Lakers’ chances for a deep playoff run. Yes, they encountered and overcame the same issues against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. It’s a fair argument, but you have to consider this too: the Rockets are a better defensive team with a much aggressive offensive attack.
Also, Saturday’s defeat is the Lakers’ third against Houston in four meetings this season, and all three are by 10 or more points.
Probably acting as the voice of voiceless Laker fans, who are mostly left to debate online, two beloved Los Angeles sports figures offered some critique on the Lake Show’s poor showing: Lakers legend Magic Johnson and retired NBA All-Star Baron Davis, who’s a proud L.A. native.
For Davis, it’s all about head coach Frank Vogel’s occasionally strange rotation, which was present in Game 1:
Prior to Game 1, Rajon Rondo hadn’t played in an NBA game since early March. He was slated to join the team at the start of the seeding games, but fractured his right thumb midway into training camp and underwent surgery.
It’s hard to argue against Davis’s critique. It was indeed confusing why Rondo playing big minutes right away.
As expected from someone who’s out for seven months, he did not look good in his first game back. Though the numbers are decent (8 PTS, 4 AST, 2 STL), Rondo only had a plus-minus of -10 and wasn’t able to lift the team’s offense.
Magic, on the other hand, blasted the Lakers’ effort, and raved about James Harden, who went off on the lethargic Laker defense:
James Harden was spectacular scoring 36 points against the Lakers and we had no answer for him 🤦🏾♂️
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 5, 2020
Harden racked up 36 points on 12-for-20 shooting, and looked comfortable as ever. He was swishing jumpers, shaking off defenders, navigating through the court, and making all kinds of correct reads.
This picture pretty much summed up the story of Game 1:
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 5, 2020
Well, the only thing Laker fans can hold on to right now is whether you lose by one, 15, or 100 points, it’s still just a single loss on a best-of-seven game series. We’ll soon find out if LeBron and AD can once again gather the crew to rise above this new challenge.