The Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up their 2025-26 campaign on Sunday night with a 131-107 victory over the Utah Jazz, giving them a 53-29 record on the year, which is good for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Now, the Lakers will begin gearing up for their first-round playoff series, which will see them square off against the Houston Rockets.
With both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves set to miss this series for the Lakers, though, the degree of difficulty will be increased significantly. LeBron James is still on the court leading the way for Los Angeles, but if you ask Stephen A. Smith, he thinks that this won’t be a contest with Doncic and Reaves both on the sidelines.
Stephen A. Smith Believes Lakers Are in Trouble vs. Rockets
The Lakers’ playoff hopes were flipped on their head recently when both Doncic and Reaves suffered injuries in their ugly loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the beginning of the month. Both guys are set to miss the entirety of L.A.’s first-round playoff series, and while they could return down the line, that’s going to require their team to win a series without them.
Taking on this Rockets team is going to be a very difficult challenge for James without his two co-stars on the court. Led by Kevin Durant, Houston features a roster full of tall, versatile players. While they don’t have a true point guard to initiate their offense, the Rockets are capable of scoring in bunches and playing lockdown defense on the other end of the court.
There’s no doubt that James is capable of starring for L.A., but the rest of the roster alongside him is full of question marks. Will anyone be able to step up alongside him in Doncic and Reaves’ absence? It’s a tall ask, and while there’s a chance it could happen, Smith believes that the Lakers could find themselves getting swept right out of the playoffs.
“You can talk about vintage LeBron playoffs all you want to,” Smith said on “First Take.” “Let me be very, very clear. Lakers are going home very early, at the most five (games), and I anticipate they might get swept. They don’t have enough … Without Luka and AR, the Los Angeles Lakers ain’t getting past 5 games. It might be a sweep.”
How Can the Lakers Beat the Rockets in the Playoffs?
GettyLos Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James
The starting lineup around James appears set to feature Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart in the backcourt, with Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton playing alongside the legendary forward in the frontcourt. Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Jaxson Hayes (assuming he’s healthy) will be the first guys off the bench. With this group, James has to take full control of the offense if L.A. wants any shot of winning.
On offense, the Lakers are going to need to knock down their open threes in order to open up the paint for Ayton. Defensively, Los Angeles needs to pressure Houston at the point of attack, with Smart being the perfect candidate to harass whoever brings the ball up the court for the Rockets. Ultimately, though, it’s tough to see this team doing enough to overcome Durant and company, as James simply doesn’t appear to have enough help to get by Houston’s deep roster.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Lakers Hit with Harsh Truth Ahead of Rockets Playoff Series appeared first on Heavy Sports.