3 reasons why Houston may stand a chance vs the Los Angeles Lakers

Reason #2: Houston has never trailed entering the fourth quarter

Game 1 was close until Houston pulled away due to the Los Angeles Lakers’ lackluster effort. The Lakers’ bench decided Games 2 and 3, but both games were fairly close throughout.

What was the difference? The Lakers have a deep bench; Houston does not. The Lakers pulled away in the fourth quarter only because the overtaxed Rockets starters just got tired. It makes sense. Houston only plays eight guys max. One of them, Danuel House Jr, was out for game 3 and will miss game 4 due to personal reasons.

In short, Houston will never be deep enough to win a 48-minute game against the locked-in version of the Lakers. At least it sounds that way at first glance.

That is not entirely true.

Markeiff Morris proved to be the difference in Game 2. Houston would have gone up 2-0 had he shot 1-5 instead of 4-5 from three-point range (they would have lost Game 2 by one point instead of winning by eight).

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1302779660720156672

Game 3 was vintage Rajon Rondo at his peak form! He scored 21 points and dished out 9 assists, thoroughly eviscerating Houston’s subpar transition defense. Houston may have had a chance to win Game 3 had it not been for Playoff Rondo.

His performance was masterful.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1303536451783589888

The score was tied heading into the fourth quarter.

The notion that Houston could be up 3-0 is absurd to think about. However, there is some truth here: the Lakers won Games 2 and 3 because of Morris and Rondo. Houston still has James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

How will they play with their backs against the wall?