Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. NBA Playoff Basketball is going on!
LeBron James is advancing to his 9th conference finals in 10 years.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images.)
Ya know, I remember a few days ago when there were rumbles about how the Houston Rockets would give the Los Angeles Lakers fits with their small ball approach. James Harden even went as far to say that (paraphrasing) they could be 7 feet tall and it doesn’t matter if they don’t have heart.
I wonder where the heart was for the Rockets because they looked dead in the water in both Games 4 AND 5. Maybe the Danuel House, Jr. situation was a bigger distraction than initially thought. Anyway, there really isn’t much to analyze here. The Lakers jumped on the Rockets early and won a second consecutive game where they never trailed.
I mean, yeah, the Lakers made a franchise playoff record of 19 three-pointers. But their defense was flying all over the place. They countered Houston’s small ball with their own small ball (but let’s face it; there is nothing small about Markieff Morris, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James). Danny Green looked more like his old self, Alex Caruso gave the Rockets perimeter players fits, and Kyle Kuzma continued to improve on his hustle. Obviously, it helps to have a LeBron James (29-11-7) and Anthony Davis (who didn’t get going but still dropped 13 points and 11 boards). And for the second straight game, the 19-year-old rookie Talen Horton-Tucker gave some quality minutes and gave the Lakers a big boost.
So the Lakers advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2010. The #1 song in America when they were last there was OMG by Usher. So, yes, that was a long time ago.
They await the winner of the Clippers/Nuggets series.
Bullet Passes
Who knows where the Rockets go from here? Do they do some major roster adjustments? Is Mike D’Antoni coming back? They were so close in 2018 to the Finals but have had two second round exits since then.
This is the 9th conference finals in 10 years for LeBron James. That is REMARKABLE.
The Lakers apparently led the Rockets in 106 straight minutes. Yikes.
I really got nothing else. It felt like the Rockets were running on a hamster wheel the last two games. And the Lakers are peaking at the right time.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
Game 5: #1 LAL 119 vs #4 HOU 96 (LAL wins series, 4-1)
Watch This Play
This was pretty much a backbreaker. Behind-the-back dribble on Russell Westbrook and a drive-by jam on James Harden. LeBron moved in for the kill.
Behind-the-back into the jam. @KingJames is ready for this one 🥵
(📺: ESPN) pic.twitter.com/5wbdnrjHhq
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 13, 2020
One more team to fill out the Final Four! Hope everyone stays safe at the bubble.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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