The 2026 Rockets Are On The Verge Of Embarrassment

It’s hard to fathom that a 41-year-old LeBron James has been the best player in this series so far. He has averaged 23.5 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists per game so far. His ability to get his teammates involved early and often has been the main difference.

Players like Luke Kennard, DeAndre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Rui Hachimura are playing with supreme confidence. Kennard and Smart had 23 and 25 each, with Hachimura chipping in 13 of his own. Los Angeles is playing complimentary basketball.

The Rockets, meanwhile, are a different story. The team is unable to generate open shots consistently, and the numbers are showing it. While the Lakers are shooting 52.24% from the field and 48.94% from three, Houston is going the other direction. They are shooting 39.01% from the field and 29.03%.

The top players have not shown up. Alperen Sengun is averaging 19.5 points and 5.5 assists per game and shooting just 38.46% so far. Kevin Durant’s game back wasn’t bad in terms of efficiency, but he had nine turnovers.

This is supposed to be a time when Sengun makes his mark in the NBA playoffs, but he’s still being outplayed by a 41-year-old. That must change, or this series will be a quick one.

The Point Guard Issue Was Never Addressed

Part of the reason the Rockers are shooting so badly from the field is the lack of open shots. Good point guards know how to get their shooters the ball in space, and they don’t have that. Fred VanVleet tore his ACL in September, and the team is severely lacking at that position.

Unreliable point guard play, however, should not be the case after seven months. Houston had more than half a year to figure out their point guard and did a poor job of it. Rather than using the early part of the regular season to mold guys like Amen Thompson into a playmaker, they just decided to put the ball in Durant’s hands all year.

For everyone who has watched KD play his whole career, they know playmaking is not his strong suit. He is capable of making nice passes here and there, but his ability to play off-ball is what makes him great. Ime Udoka treated Durant like he was Nikola Jokic, and as a result, he had 246 turnovers this year, which was the most he had since his last year in Oklahoma City.

The overreliance on Durant was on full display in Game One. Without Durant, the Rockets had 24 assists to 13 turnovers—a less than 2:1 ratio. The Lakers’ ratio was not much better as they had 29 assists to 18 turnovers. The difference was that Los Angeles generated better looks, which led to them shooting 60.6% in that game.

That enabled the Lakers to overcome the turnovers. Houston doesn’t have that same margin for error. Despite having six fewer turnovers, they shot 23 percentage points worse from the field, and that was the key. With their inability to generate consistent offense, Sengun and Durant have to be great one-on-one, which isn’t sustainable.

It’s a shame that Houston was not proactive after VanVleet’s injury. Whether it was signing someone or using games to develop their young talent, they had no plan in place at all.

End Of My Houston Rockets Rant

The Rockets spent all year trying to push the Durant button, and the consequences are showing up. They are not capable of generating easy offense, and as a result, are losing despite being the more talented team.

Something must change, or it will be an embarrassing series loss. Fortunately for Durant and company, the next two games are in Houston, so it’s a good chance to reset and tie it up.

Can the Rockets tie it up?