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Los Angeles Lakers: 3 advantages the Lakers have over Houston

By Ed Schrenzel

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 06: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball while defended by P.J. Tucker #17 of the Houston Rockets in the first half at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 6, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 06: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball while defended by P.J. Tucker #17 of the Houston Rockets in the first half at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 6, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

2. Elite Defense

The Los Angeles Lakers put forth a strong and sometimes spectacular defensive performance against the Blazers, who were the top-scoring team in the qualifying games in Orlando prior to the playoffs. Portland was held to just 103 points per game for the first four games and under 43% shooting for the whole series.

While no team relies upon or takes as many three-point shots as Houston does, Portland is also an excellent long-range shooting team. The Lakers had to defend against the bombs of marksmen Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. That provided the team plenty of needed practice on how to guard Houston’s Harden, Eric Gordon, Ben McLemore and Danuel House.

In the first round, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Alex Caruso each played outstanding perimeter defense for the Lakers. If they can duplicate that effort against Houston, and hold them in check, it will be tough for the Rockets to win.

One possible down note is that the Lakers expect Rajon Rondo to return to the lineup. Although he can contribute to the offense, Rondo is probably their worst perimeter defender. Vogel should carefully monitor his minutes and not use him in high leverage situations.

On the other side of the ball, the Lakers finally displayed some adequate long-range shooting of their own. As a team they shot a decent 34%, which wasn’t too much worse than the 36% Houston hit against OKC.

Individually, KCP emerged from a terrible slump to connect on nearly 41% of his three-point attempts, and Green shot 35%. James hit 46% and Davis 39%, but neither can be expected to duplicate that accuracy. However, since Houston will be forced to double and triple-team in the paint, wide-open looks should be created on the perimeter, giving the likes of Caruso, Kyle Kuzma, JR Smith and Markieff Morris a golden opportunity to improve on their outside shooting.

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