The opening round of the postseason will be filled with great matchups. Basketball fans (and sports fans) will have NBA action all day through the opening weekend of the NBA playoffs, starting in the morning and ending at night time.
One of the closest matchups is the fourth seeded Los Angeles Lakers versus the fifth seeded Houston Rockets. The two teams were just one win apart.
The Lakers won 53 games, posting a 53-29 record, which was a three-win improvement over their 2024-25 campaign that saw them boast a 50-32 record. The Rockets posted a 52-30 season –posting a near identical record to their 2024-25 campaign.
The series is also even more closely matched, when you consider the injuries that have ravished both teams (and changed the overall excitement level of the matchup). Below are the injury reports for both teams:
Houston Rockets injuries:
Fred VanVleet — Out: Right ACL
Steven Adams — Out: Left ankle surgery
Kevin Durant — Questionable: Right knee contusion
Los Angeles Lakers injuries:
Luka Doncic — Out: Left hamstring strain
Austin Reaves — Out: Left oblique strain
For the Lakers, there have been questions regarding the availability of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Both players suffered Grade Two injuries in the Lakers’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Reaves suffered an oblique injury while Doncic suffered a hamstring injury.
It’s generally believed that Reaves will be out through the entire of the series. That’s been seemingly made clear from the start.
As for Doncic, his injury has prompted a “will he or won’t he play” guessing game that intensified when Doncic traveled to Spain for special treatment that included hamstring injections. And while it’s always possible that Doncic could give it a go if the series goes the full seven game distance, the belief and likely outcome is that he will miss the series.
It would be a surprise if he gave it a go at any point during the series. And speaking of surprises, as it pertains to injuries, Friday night saw a major surprise on the injury front, albeit for the Rockets.
Kevin Durant was given a questionable tag on the eve of the opening game of the series. As it turns out, Durant is dealing with a knee contusion of his own.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon explained.
“Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant is listed as questionable for Saturday’s Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers because of a right knee contusion.
A source told ESPN that Durant sustained the injury during practice this week, but the Rockets are optimistic his knee will not be a significant issue during the series.”
Durant would seem unlikely to miss Game 1. It’s the postseason. Players will always try to give it a go.
A questionable tag is also an indicator of the severity of the injury, or lack thereof. In the event that Durant is forced to miss time, Houston will need their young guns to step up, in Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard and/or Tari Eason.
Durant played 78 games during the regular season and finished second in total minutes and third in minutes per night.
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