Thursday’s potential playoff preview between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers won’t feature two of its usual All-Star heavyweights.
The Rockets are expecting Russell Westbrook (right quad contusion) to sit out, while the Lakers officially declared LeBron James as out on their injury report, citing a sore right groin.
Guard Alex Caruso is questionable for the Lakers with left neck muscle spasms, while a series of other players — including superstar big man Anthony Davis — are listed as probable with various injuries.
The Lakers (51-16) have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and are in a back-to-back sequence of games after playing Wednesday, so they have every motivation to play it safe. After all, the 2020 NBA playoffs will begin in less than two weeks.
The Rockets (42-25), meanwhile, have much more incentive to try and win Thursday’s game, since they’re not on a back-to-back and are tied in the loss column with Utah (43-25) and Oklahoma City (42-25) in a tight battle for the No. 4 through No. 6 playoff seeds in the West.
If the Rockets, Jazz, and Thunder finished tied in the standings, Houston would be No. 4, Oklahoma City at No. 5, and Utah at No. 6. That would mean a Rockets-Thunder battle in the first round, with the top-seeded Lakers likely looming for the winner in the second round.
Nonetheless, the Rockets have to balance the seeding race with the need to be as healthy as possible once the playoffs begin, and that’s the logic that will likely lead to them resting Westbrook. With Houston not playing again after Thursday’s game until Sunday versus Sacramento, it could give Westbrook an opportunity to rest for four full days between games.
With fellow guard Eric Gordon already out with a sprained left ankle, the Rockets could be quite thin in the backcourt for Thursday’s nationally televised game. Either Austin Rivers or Ben McLemore will replace Westbrook as a starter alongside James Harden, and veteran DeMarre Carroll could be a candidate to receive spot minutes off the bench.
Thursday’s tip-off between the Rockets (42-25) and Lakers (51-15) is set for 8:00 p.m. Central, with a national broadcast on TNT and a regional telecast (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
