Basketball

Five things we learned about the Lakers in their series win over the Rockets


Here are five things we learned about the Lakers in their easy 4-1 second-round series win over the Rockets.

1. This is an elite, versatile playoff defense

Damian Lillard and his Blazers weren’t believable contenders because of their flawed defense, not potent offense. Portland had the third-best offensive rating (113.2) this regular season, only spiking that efficiency (122.5) in the pre-playoff portion of the Orlando bubble.

Then the Blazers met the Lakers in the first round and produced points at a rate worse than the decimated, league-worst Warriors. Golden State — you know, the 15-50 version that featured second-round rookie Eric Paschall as its leading scorer — had a 104.4 rating. The Blazers, in five decreasingly productive playoff games, only scored 104.1 points per 100 possessions.

The Rockets felt like a step up for the Lakers defense. Houston had the sixth-best offense, three slots behind Portland, but James…





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