One Rockets weakness Lakers may be able to take advantage of
TL;DR
The Los Angeles Lakers face the Houston Rockets in the NBA playoffs as underdogs. The Rockets' weakness lies in their high turnover rate, which the Lakers could exploit to improve their chances.
Key points
- Lakers are underdogs against the Rockets in the playoffs
- Rockets are strong in rebounding and offensive rating
- Houston ranked 27th in turnover percentage during the regular season
Mentioned in this story
The Los Angeles Lakers will be definite underdogs against the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. They will need an all-hands-on-deck effort to even be competitive, especially on the offensive end, and defensively, they will have to contain not only future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, but also two-time All-Star center Alperen Sengun and rising stud Amen Thompson.
The Rockets are arguably the best rebounding team in the NBA, and they're outstanding on the offensive boards and in terms of getting second-shot opportunities. They also rank eighth in offensive rating and sixth in defensive rating.
It seems as if virtually no one is picking the Lakers to win this series. But there actually does happen to be one weakness Houston has that the Lakers could be able to exploit:
Houston ranked 27th in turnover percentage during the regular season, which means that, when adjusted for pace, it was one of the NBA's worst teams in terms of taking care of the basketball. Even when one doesn't take pace into account (the team was 29th in pace), its 24th ranking in total turnovers is concerning.
The Rockets were a somewhat solid 13th in opponents' fast-break points, but they were 24th in opponents' points off turnovers.
This all means there's an opportunity for the Lakers — albeit a small one — if they trap and harass the Rockets enough to force turnovers in bunches while speeding up the pace of the game. When they defeated the Rockets in back-to-back road games last month, they forced 24 turnovers in the first game, which was a 100-92 victory. Two days later, L.A. only forced 12 Houston turnovers, but it scored a robust 23 points off those turnovers, allowing it to notch a 124-116 win.
L.A. wasn't great at forcing turnovers during the regular season — it ranked just 17th in opponents' turnover percentage — but it was a solid 10th in points off turnovers. When it went 15-2 in March, it was 13th in opponents' turnover percentage and fifth in points off turnovers per game.
Causing Kevin Durant and company to turn the basketball over quite often won't be enough for the Lakers to win this series, but it will be a good place to start if they can pull it off.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: One Rockets weakness Lakers may be able to take advantage of
Q&A
What is the Houston Rockets' turnover percentage ranking in the NBA?
The Houston Rockets ranked 27th in turnover percentage during the regular season.
How do the Lakers plan to compete against the Rockets in the playoffs?
The Lakers will need a strong team effort, particularly on offense, and aim to exploit the Rockets' high turnover rate.
Who are the key players the Lakers need to defend against the Rockets?
The Lakers need to contain Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, and Amen Thompson to have a chance against the Rockets.
