The NBA playoffs are here, and the underdog Lakers face a tough challenge against the Rockets. Success will depend on strategic adjustments and player execution in high-pressure situations.
Key points
NBA playoffs are starting with the Lakers facing the Rockets
Winning a championship is difficult, especially in playoffs
Teams need to adjust strategies to counter opponents
Top players must perform under pressure for success
Underdogs can win by exploiting specific weaknesses
LakersRocketsNBA playoffs 2026
Folks, itās that time of the year. Roll up the sleeves, splash some water on the face and letās get ready for playoff basketball. The regular season is the start of the journey. A team grows, builds, develops and believes. A vessel to guide you on your path to know what you need come playoff time. Now comes the hard part: doing it against other good teams with the same hopes and dreams.
We donāt have to take much time to agree on one thing: winning a championship is very difficult. We can probably agree winning in the playoffs is hard. The work teams go through to diagnose and dissect a teamās sets, tendencies and lineups is no joke. To learn every play call, ATO, sub pattern and scheme. To deconstruct personnel and learn the counters to their counters. The effort (and slight delusion) it takes to try to find a way to win a series against a team that is ābetter than you.ā The job in that scenario is simple. Work to make that team play a different way, to not be what it has displayed all year long. That opponentās job is to navigate how to get back to what makes it good.
Never forget the back and forth of the playoffs. Itās not just teams and the adjustments they make, it comes down to the players asked to execute. There is a lot of trust put into top players because they are the pressure points. Defenses are working to make everything as tough as possible. Working to do it as a team because itās hard to do it individually. Those top players have the bonus of being able to make plays in spite of that. The ultimate goal is to get that defense to react or blink. Defenses mix coverages to keep players off balance. Players work to get to counters to get the defense to react.
The playoffs are always interesting because at some point in the series, it stops being about how good your team is ā¦ but how you can solve a very specific problem right now. Teams have their own formulas to win playoff series, the top teams have more margin for error but all you need is a chance. So letās talk about some teamsā potential paths to victory and some pressure points teams can find to flip a series on its head.
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Complete Houston-Los Angeles series preview
Series schedule (all times Eastern)
Game 1: Sat., April 18 at Los Angeles (8:30 p.m., ABC) Game 2: Tue., April 21 at Los Angeles (10:30 p.m., NBC) Game 3: Fri., April 24 at Houston (8 p.m., Prime) Game 4: Sun., April 26 at Houston (9:30 p.m., NBC) *Game 5:Wed., April 29 at Los Angeles (TBD) *Game 6: Fri., May 1 at Houston (TBD) *Game 7: Sun., May 3 at Los Angeles (TBD) *if necessary
The last time they faced each other was like a mini-playoff series, two games in Houston in March as both teams were playing well and the Lakers won both.
LeBron had 30 in the second matchup. Houston has size, length and physicality on defense. It has activity, but you can poke at them when you get them in rotation. The luxury of having Luka DonÄiÄ and his ability to draw two to the ball is not available now, so how will the Lakers find openings? What would stop Houston from working to switch, contain dribble penetration and stay at home. How many matchups can the Lakers win to force the Rockets to show help or double?
The Lakers enter off a 53-win campaign and have home-court advantage, but no DonÄiÄ or Austin Reaves. What they do have is LeBron James who, averaged 23 points, 9.2 assists and 6.6 rebounds in the month of April. During this late stretch sans Luka and Reaves, weāve seen the Lakers play the hits and use LeBron as a pressure point and playmaker. They move LeBron around the floor, get the right matchup, see how much help the defense is going to give and prosper off the advantage.
How does that apply to the Rockets series? The Lakers will need LeBron to draw attention from the Rockets and also be able to win multiple matchups. Who guards whom is always key this time of year. We know theĀ Rockets have size and length on defense. However, in a playoff series my mind always goes to how many people does a team think can truly guard someone? How many switches will it give? How much help will it show?
Against Houston, the Lakers used LeBron as a screener to get a switch. In a post-up against Amen Thompson, you see help coming from the nail, elbow and baseline. Keep an eye on how much the Rockets want to involve Reed Sheppard. It may not be an automatic switch if Sheppardās involved, which could open up a drive. The Lakers can work to get Sheppard to switch a different screen and then bring LeBron into the action. As strong as the Rockets defense is, itās crucial for the Lakers to find ways to get them in rotation.
Another small thing to point to is how much could LeBron get a true switch against Alperen ÅengĆ¼n. Iād imagine the Rockets may go drop, which opens up the shot or pocket pass. If the Lakers are able to get the Rockets to switch their bigs, does that also open up help on a drive?
Defense feels like the biggest element this version of the Lakers will have to bring to the table to have success. Itās been a question mark, itās shown improvement, but they have little margin for error in this series. They have to keep the Rockets off the offensive glass and shift in position in transition. There are non-negotiables in this series. They must work to get the Rockets to execute as much as possible in the half-court, mix in switching on- and off-ball to try to get them deeper in the shot clock and get them stagnant.
If one question is how much the Lakers want to switch vs. Houston, another has to be how much attention they want to send Kevin Durant. The Lakers tend to work to avoid handing an offense two on the ball, but they will send a double if they have rotations they can control. The Lakers worked to go switch and double against Durant in the regular season. Get the ball out of his hands, force the Rockets to think and make them pay. When will they decide to tap this button and what will that do to Houstonās execution?
Game 1: Sat., April 18, at Denver (3:30 p.m., Prime Video) Game 2: Mon., April 20, at Denver (10:30 p.m., NBC/Peacock) Game 3: Thu., April 23, at Minnesota (9:30 p.m., Prime Video) Game 4: Sat., April 25, at Minnesota (8:30 p.m., ABC) *Game 5:Mon., April 27, at Denver (TBD)*Game 6: Thu., April 30, at Minnesota (TBD) *Game 7: Sat., May 2, at Denver (TBD) *if necessary
Thereās a quote from Nuggets head coach David Adelman that stood out to me:
Familiar rivals. Different teams. Same main actors, but a different movie. Both teams rode different highs and lows during the regular season; Denver finished the season winning 12 straight; Minnesota won five of its last 10. All of the attempts at growth and versatility only to see each other at the bar once again at the birthday party.
If youāre Minnesota, you do in fact have to keep the main thing the main thing. And that is to establish Anthony Edwards. Itās almost become a spring ritual for Edwards to display just how important his playmaking and scoring is for a Wolves run. The goal has been to throw different coverages at him defensively. The good news for Denver is it experimented with different coverages during the regular season. You can argue about how solid the results were, but the attempts were important. Put yourself in a position to shape shift when it comes playoff time. The Nuggets displayed that against Minnesota and Edwards during the regular season.
The variety and urgency from Denver at times is what stood out the most. If it looked like Edwards was trying to find a rhythm in a 1v1 scenario, you see Nikola JokiÄ rotating from the baseline and a defender at the elbow to take away driving lanes. If Edwards wanted to clear a wing to take away that help, you see Christian Braun planted in the middle of the floor, JokiÄ waiting near the rim to help on any paint touch. If Edwards was moved to the post, you see JokiÄ rotating from the baseline. Heck, it got to a point where if Edwards crossed half-court, the Nuggets were sending bodies. It highlights the need for Edwards to quickly diagnose help and make the right decision, and then the door opens for (insert Timberwolves player here) to make the Nuggets pay.
If you are Minnesota, you have a baked in advantage to a degree. You know eventually Denver will want to try to take Edwards away. Itās on Julius Randle, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels, Ayo Dosunmu and Donte DiVincenzo to make the Nuggets pay in those moments. Itās not just about hitting 3s but having an aggressive mindset ā mix in drives to beat closeouts to keep an advantage, be timely and keep the Nuggets off balance. As much as itās on Edwards to make the right decision, there has to be a payoff. The more you allow Denver to recover, the tougher the climb will be. The ball canāt stick. Whether itās a short roll pass, a pop or a spray to the perimeter: either make the play or keep the advantage.
On top of the offense, Minnesota will have to be a lot more locked in defensively. Death, taxes and the Denver Nuggets being able to score. All inevitable. The backdoor cuts and elbow splits Denver uses as a base for its offense has to be taken off the table. The trio of JokiÄ, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon is enough to deal with during (and late in) games. Make them pay offensively, be active defensively and you can put yourself in a spot to win the rubber match.
Game 1: Sat., April 18, at New York (6 p.m., Prime Video) Game 2: Mon., April 20, at New York (8 p.m., NBC) Game 3: Thu., April 23, at Atlanta (7 p.m., Prime) Game 4: Sat., April 25, at Atlanta (6 p.m., NBC) *Game 5:Tue., April 28, at New York (TBD) *Game 6: Thu., April 30, at Atlanta (TBD) *Game 7: Sat., May 2, at New York (TBD) *if necessary
The Hawks are one of the more interesting teams to think about within a playoff context. There is a world where they feel tailormade for an opponent to be physical with them in the half-court and bog them down, as an opponent can attack them off the bounce, force help and attack their defense. Their defense can be hurt by having to rotate in pick and roll. The issue is that is a hard formula to sustain against these Hawks. They can get everything back in transition at a momentās notice (aka once you stop scoring). They have a flow and tempo offensively in which they always work to get back to. You have to keep them down. They are not last yearās Pacers, but you can tell they drew inspiration from them.
That leads to an interesting series against the Knicks where we have a little chicken-or-the-egg situation. Is it the offense that will keep consistent pressure on the Knicks defense? Is it the Hawks being able to have a playoff gameplan that elevates their defense just enough to kick-start their transition game? We will find out soon enough, but one things feels clear: They have to figure out Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns on both ends if they want to advance.
There have been various questions about the Knicks defense throughout this season. When they are active, physical and communicating, we have seen them play at a high level. When they are not, sips tea. That noise becomes louder when it comes to the playoff question of how Towns and Brunson will defend when they are in actions together. Itās a great spot to attack mainly because you know itās an automatic switch. The Hawks poked at that matchup, using Dyson Daniels as a screen to open things up for their guards. With the Knicks working to switch Brunson more, ATL could have an initial screen from Daniels get Brunson to switch before bringing Okongwu into the action. KAT is in a drop, Brunson is working to switch to the roll but thatās too much space for CJ McCollum. If Daniels gets cross-matched on KAT in transition, quick angle flips could get him out of position and leave room for Nickeil Alexander-Walker to pull up.
To the KAT-on-Daniels deal, it will be interesting to see a) how the Knicks want to match up and b) if the Hawks can diagnose and cycle through it. Playing with tempo and flow is one thing, being intentional in the half-court is another. You tell me which one is more important (spoiler: Itās the blend of both, we can talk about it later). The Knicks were fine putting KAT on Daniels, and they were fine with KAT going with a drop to a late switch. Atlanta pivoted to Jalen Johnson as a screener, the Knicks did not switch, and KAT was able to help off Daniels. Even when the Knicks went double big, they were fine with Mitchell Robinson on Daniels and switching. Can Atlanta find subtle off-ball movements to create mismatches where KAT sticks with Daniels and the rest of the Knicks have to work to figure it out? Can the Hawks take some options off the board for the Knicks in the half-court?
The flip side: How do the Hawks want to guard Jalen Brunson and KAT? In their last regular-season matchup, they had a big on Towns, and if youāre not aware ā¦ that is indeed the secret sauce to unlock the Brunson/KAT two-man game. Hold the pickles. The main issue for the Knicks is how much teams want to put a wing on KAT to both contain the drives and switch defensively. KAT is at his best against 5s where he can hurt teams with his rolls, pops and drives. Early in their last matchup, the Knicks were able to get KAT rolling, have Brunson attack a late switch and beat the defense when it tries to keep a screen on the side.
Having a big on KAT and having his screens not be an automatic switch unlocks him and the Knicks offense. You can now use Mikal Bridges as a ball-handler, which opens up Brunson getting a swing vs. a rotating defense. You now unlock KAT as a driver as you work to rotate to his pop. Can the Hawks lock their coverage(s) to get the Knicks back into a box in the half-court?
For the Hawks the emphasis has to be on trapping the Knicks into their style of play. Get them to play a little quicker with less intention. Make it up and down. On top of that make tiny tweaks in the half-court on both ends. Take something off the board defensively; donāt give them automatics. Have something in your back pocket if things break down.
The beauty of Game 1s: They are fun to talk about in the leadup, and everything you say doesnāt matter once the ball tips (heartbreaking to hear as a video coordinator after working on a playoff book). The feeling-out process will begin, and we will know what each team is attempting to take away and we will see who finds the answers first. You never know who could make an impact. You can live with your gameplan until you canāt. Just know once Saturday comes, the beautiful game continues and the timer starts.
