Tonight’s matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets will have a lot less star power than the schedule makers and the NBA’s broadcast partners anticipated. Only a few moments after the Lakers announced that LeBron James would not play against the Rockets, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported that the Rockets are also expected to hold out star point guard Russell Westbrook for tonight’s game against the Lakers.
The Lakers will be without LeBron tonight as they look to improve their offensive performance, which has been a struggle so far in the seeding games. The Lakers are coming off their lowest scoring total of the season last night, with an 86-point output against Oklahoma City.
Without Westbrook in Houston’s lineup, the Lakers can focus all of their defensive energy towards trying to stop James Harden. The Rockets are also a little undermanned right now as they are still waiting on the return of shooting guard Eric Gordon to the lineup.
