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Over the past six weeks, Lakers coach JJ Redick has been consistently emphasizing the importance of concentrating on his own team’s development rather than worrying about their opponents. This approach was aimed at cultivating a strong mindset as the playoffs approached.
However, this strategy took a back seat as soon as the regular season concluded with the Lakers’ victory over the Jazz on Sunday night.
With the regular season now behind them, the Lakers, who finished with a record of 53-29, have shifted their complete focus to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets, with a close 52-30 record, are set to face the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, having secured the fourth and fifth spots in the Western Conference standings, respectively.
The highly anticipated Game 1 will take place on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.
Looking at the numbers, the Rockets ended their season with a sixth-place finish in net rating, boasting a plus-5.4, while the Lakers ranked 14th with a plus-1.5 rating. This statistical context adds an intriguing layer to the upcoming playoff clash.
They’re one of six teams that finished the regular season top-10 in both offensive rating (eighth) and defensive rating (sixth), which is typically a good marker for whether a team is a contender.
“Houston’s obviously a really, really good basketball team,” Redick said. “We’re going to prepare, and we’re going to fight and we’re going to go try to win a series.”
Redick added: “We’re going to do everything we can to get our guys in a great frame of mind and great physical shape over the next four or five days and be ready to play.”
An obvious storyline going into the playoff series will be LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant — a matchup between two of the greatest players of their generation.
It’ll mark the fourth time the legendary players meet up in the playoffs, and the first time in a non-NBA Finals series, after James’ Heat beat Durant’s Thunder in the 2012 Finals before Durant’s Warriors beat James’ Cavaliers in the ‘17 and ‘18 Finals.
For the Lakers, the top-of-the-line strategies for their series against the Rockets start with Durant, who’s in line to make his 12th All-NBA team, and Alperen Sengun, who averaged 20.4 points and 6.2 assists in his second All-Star season.
“Those are the two heads of the snake,” Marcus Smart said. “Making sure we keep those guys under control. Can’t let those other players get off as well. But the focus is those two guys and just going out there and making it as tough as possible for them.”
The Rockets’ physicality will also be a focus after they led the league in offensive rebounding percentage.
“For me, we know it and these guys know my motto: ‘The toughest team sets the rule’,” Smart said. “And the playoffs are a little bit different. Things are a lot tougher. They let you play a lot more and I think that works to my advantage and our advantage.”
In the backdrop of the playoff series will be the Lakers being without star guards Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique strain) to start the first round – and probably longer.
Not only will they be without two of their best players and ball handlers, but the spirit of their team took a hit when both suffered their regular season-ending injuries during the April 2 road loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
The Lakers went 3-2 in the five games they closed out the season without their star duo in what was both a mental and emotional test.
“This team needs great spirit and we need our remaining guys to be healthy,” Redick said. “That was our focus last week. It’s gonna be our focus this week: Building our capacity physically, making sure we don’t do too much, making sure we don’t do too little, making sure we get through the week healthy. And then the spirit, again, creating that belief. We’ve done that with this group over these last few games and we’ve gotta continue that going into Game 1.”
Resiliency has been a common theme for the Lakers in 2025-26.
They hope that remains the case.
“You’re playing one opponent in the playoffs and there’s a bunch of things that are gonna happen,” Redick said. “Some good, some bad. You may get down in a series. You may get down in the game, you may get down in the game on the road. And just you have to play with resiliency.”