3 Rockets most to blame for Game 1 loss to Lakers

On Saturday evening, the Houston Rockets hit the road to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their first round playoff series, and they ended up laying an egg, scoring just 98 points en route to a loss. The Rockets were playing this one without Kevin Durant, who sat out due to a knee injury, although the injury luck still tilted in Houston’s favor due to the Lakers being without both Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic.

Here’s who’s most to blame for the defeat.

Alperen Sengun

Alperen Sengun was thought to have a golden opportunity to dominate in this series against the Lakers’ weak defensive interior, but that wasn’t the case in Game 1. Although he did lead the Rockets in scoring with 19 points, Sengun shot just 6-19 from the field and largely struggled to get any kind of rhythm on offense.

Sengun also didn’t provide much help on the defensive end of the floor, consistently surrounding points around the basket for Los Angeles and not performing up to his rebounding standards either.

If Durant is out again for Game 2, Sengun will have to be much better for the Rockets to tie the series.

Amen Thompson

Amen Thompson had a similarly inefficient shooting night for the Rockets, scoring 17 points on 7-18 from the field.

While there were moments when Thompson put his signature athleticism on display, he largely looked out of control at times on Saturday, hurling up some wild attempts at the basket and finding himself unable to take advantage of the Lakers’ questionable perimeter defense.

Thompson, like Sengun, will need to have a better Game 2 performance, especially if Durant remains out.

Reed Sheppard

The Rockets could have really used Reed Sheppard’s explosive perimeter scoring ability on Saturday with Durant sidelined, but they only got it in brief spurts, and it was an overall disappointing performance for the former lottery pick.

Sheppard scored 17 points in this one, but shot just 6-20 from the field, at times forcing contested threes from beyond the arc as opposed to helping the Rockets get into their offensive sets. Sheppard also predictably struggled on the defensive end of the floor, with Houston allowing Luke Kennard to torch them for 27 points on the evening.

Overall, Sheppard, Sengun, and Thompson will all need to have bounce back games on Tuesday in order for Houston to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole.

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