Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets: Prediction and Injury Updates

Los Angeles Lakers have had a bumpy journey in the bubble. They are 2-2 in their first four games but have comfortably clinched the number one seed. They also won their opening-night matchup against the Clippers, making the head-to-head record between the two teams 2-2. However, the Lakers dropped two games to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Toronto Raptors. The Lakers failed to score even a hundred points, with Anthony Davis struggling in particular. AD has also dropped 30 points in both their bubble wins.

The Rockets are 2-1 in the bubble, but look much stronger than the Lakers. They won two big games against the Dallas Mavericks and the Milwaukee Bucks before dropping a close game to Portland. The Rockets have Russell Westbrook and James Harden both performing well but are plagued by the normal issues of small-ball basketball.

The Lakers will be without most of their starting players for this back-to-back. LeBron James has been ruled out with a groin injury, while Davis, Markieff Morris, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are probably. Alex Caruso is questionable.

The Houston Rockets will have most of their lineup with the exception of superstar point guard Westbrook, who has a quad injury and is listed as questionable.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets: Who wins?

The Lakers simply don’t have a chance in this game. Just without LeBron, they don’t have any offensive initiators. This will also be the first game LeBron has missed all season, so the Lakers really don’t have an identity on the court without James. All the players listed will be playing limited minutes to preserve their health for the post-season. Expect Kostas Antetokounmpo, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Devontae Cacok dominating the box-score for the Lakers, alongside Kyle Kuzma.

The Rockets have listed basically all their players as available except Russell Westbrook. They still have to play for the fifth seed, so have more at stake than the Lakers. The Lakers would prefer delaying a possible Rockets matchup in the playoffs to the finals, but if they finish as the fourth or the fifth seed, the teams may meet in the second round. However, if the Rockets finish sixth, they go into the other half of the bracket. A Rockets win has some meaning, but we already saw what happens when injured teams take on full-strength teams in Brooklyn vs Milwaukee.

Source: Dave McMenamin, Tim MacMahon