Given the health statuses of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, it sounds crazy to call the Los Angeles Lakers one of the "happiest" teams in the NBA right now. But The Ringer's Bill Simmons did exactly that on Monday, on account of LA drawing the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.
"The happiest team (with their draw) is the Lakers," Simmons said. "They get to play that weird Houston team who loves nothing more than being up eight with four minutes left and then blowing the game."
The Lakers are likely thrilled about drawing the Rockets in the first round
Simmons also pointed out that the Lakers "didn't have a chance" against the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Denver Nuggets in a theoretical first-round series. In essence, the Lakers may have drawn the only team in the West playoffs that they are capable of beating without Luka and Reaves in the picture.
What's more, there's been some speculation that one or both players could return for the end of the Rockets series, provided the Lakers can extend the thing to six or seven games. This creates a mental barrier for Houston to deal with as it enters a series against a highly-focused LeBron James.
So, are the Lakers in a "good" spot, generally speaking? Of course not. The chips are stacked against them. But drawing the Rockets has made LA's game plan crystal clear, and Simmons is right -- this also give the Lakers by far the best (and perhaps only) chance to advance to the second round, at which point a Doncic and/or Reaves return becomes more feasible.
The Rockets' clutch issues will be magnified in the playoffs
Houston's inability to lock in during crunch time will only become a more glaring weakness when the lights are brighter during this high-profile first-round series. Simmons hilariously predicted that the Rockets are bound to blow a 12-point lead with five minutes left in one of the games, and Houston hasn't done much this season to make that forecast sound ludicrous.
Houston's overreliance on Kevin Durant and its lack of an experienced point guard to initiate offense will give the Lakers' defense plenty of avenues to exploit. Marcus Smart promises to have a field day in each game of this series, and you know that JJ Redick and the Lakers' staff have been scheming up ways to leverage the Rockets' one-dimensionality against them.
Add us as a preferred source on Google