Los Angeles Lakers: 3 areas to improve ahead of Game 2

3. Limit opponents points off turnovers

The Houston Rockets are most known for their prolific offense, but their defense looked just as sharp on Friday night, most notably their ability to create turnovers. The Los Angeles Lakers totaled 17 turnovers in Game 1, 13 of those being steals by the Rockets.

Houston’s pesky defensive presence provided a much-needed payoff on the offensive end as they scored an astounding 27 points off of those 17 Laker turnovers in Game 1. The quickness of Harden and Westbrook proved to be a significant issue for LA all night long as they were virtually unstoppable in transition.

For a Lakers team that was relatively good at securing the ball in the regular season, they looked abysmal against Houston. Postgame, LeBron James took a majority of the blame for the team’s turnover frenzy, saying he has to be better.

“We had 17 turnovers for 27 points versus a team that’s a 100-yard dash team; you cannot turn the ball over like that,” James said. “That starts with myself, being the primary ballhandler.”

All of the time off likely played a factor, as the Lakers showed rust throughout the game, looking sloppy as ever on several possessions. Taking better care of the ball and limiting Houston’s ability to score on turnovers will be an essential part of the gameplan for Game 2 on Sunday.