Luka Doncic is still out of action for coach JJ Redick and the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night. The six-time All-Star is still working his way back from a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, and there is no guarantee that he will be able to return for the NBA playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers are missing the offensive production from Austin Reaves this playoffs. Reaves has been out with a Grade 2 left oblique strain before the 2025-26 NBA season ended.
It appears the Houston Rockets are more dependent on the 37-year-old Kevin Durant than fans maybe even realized, but the Los Angeles Lakers are relying on their own aging legend to will them through the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers are at home on Tuesday night as they host the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Los Angeles enters Tuesday’s game with a 1-0 series lead after defeating Houston at home in Game 1 on Saturday night.
For years, LeBron James and Marcus Smart have shared the court. However, it’s often been on opposing sides. Smart, a longtime Celtic, faced off against James when he was a Cavalier for countless regular-season games and in the postseason during the 2010s.
The dynamic between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith is a mixture of professional respect and personal friction. A recent television moment sparked both conversations at the same time.
LeBron James has been one of the best players in the history of the game, some might say the best to ever do it. He has accomplished things that players have dreamed of doing, and he’s done it at the highest level for 23 years, and counting.
LeBron's career can't go on forever, can it? If it were to end tomorrow, it would be the greatest run of sustained excellence the league has ever seen.
When the Los Angeles Lakers began their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, they did so without two of their stars in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes has quickly built a strong relationship with teammate Luka Doncic both on and off the court, so much so that he has been trying to get a Slovenian passport to play for their national team during the summer.
Following the first matchup of any playoff series, both teams, win or lose, return to the drawing board and strategize what they can take forward in future contests.
The Los Angeles Lakers are holding out hope that Luka Doncic can join them at some point on the court during the playoffs. The Lakers are off to a solid start in the postseason as they currently own a 1-0 series lead against the Houston Rockets.
The Lakers went into this first-round series as the shorthanded team. No Luka Doncic, no Austin Reaves. Then Kevin Durant went down too, and suddenly Game 1 felt more level than anyone expected.
Luke Kennard has been everything the Los Angeles Lakers hoped for and more when they acquired him at the trade deadline. Kennard has fit in perfectly on the Lakers roster, acting as the team’s best shooting threat but also a reliable secondary ball-handler behind LeBron James.
Luka Doncic is set to lead the Los Angeles Lakers for years following his contract extension this past summer. There is arguably no better superstar to serve as the face of the franchise after LeBron James than Doncic given his age, talent and global appeal.
The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to stay afloat in the NBA playoffs despite playing with a short-handed roster. Both the Lakers and Houston Rockets were missing stars in Game 1 of their series, however.