Breaking down the Houston Rockets restart schedule
August 6 vs Los Angeles Lakers
There is no question that the Lakers are the team to beat in the West so this date with the Lakers is a great opportunity for the Rockets to start getting into playoff form and should help them be better prepared if they do in fact end up meeting the Lakers at some point in the playoffs.
The Rockets have gone all-in with their small-ball mentality after trading Clint Capela away in the deal that brought Robert Covington to Houston, but the big question is whether or not Houston’s small-ball approach can be successful against teams with elite-big men, like Anthony Davis.
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The Rockets have had success using their small-ball lineup against the Lakers, knocking off the Lakers 121-111 on February 6 thanks to two clutch late-game 3-pointers from Robert Covington, who was making his debut for Houston.
This matchup with the Lakers will give Houston a chance to prove that they can play with the big dogs using small-ball and that their February 6th victory was not just a fluke. It will also allow the 6’5″ P.J. Tucker, who will be given the difficult task of guarding opposing teams big men, a chance to experiment with different methods he can use to shut down Anthony Davis over the course of a seven-game series.