LOS ANGELES, California (KTRK) — The Houston Rockets are ready for liftoff with the 2026 NBA playoffs right around the corner.
The No. 5-seeded Rockets will take on the No. 4-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in a best-of-seven series. Houston wrapped up their regular season on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies, finishing 52-30.
You can catch the Rockets vs. Lakers Game 1 playoff matchup at 7:30 p.m. on ABC13 on Saturday, April 18.
Eyewitness Sports breaks down the upcoming playoff matchup between the Rockets and the Lakers.
The breakdown
Heading into Game 1 of the West First Round, Houston will be facing off against a short-handed Lakers team.
Lakers star backcourt, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, will be unavailable to play in the first-round series against the Rockets due to injuries. For Houston, the team has dealt with the injury bug throughout the regular season, including the absence of starting point guard Fred VanVleet and backup center Steven Adams.
Nonetheless, all eyes will be on the All-Star matchup between Rockets forward Kevin Durant and Lakers forward LeBron James. Durant and James will encounter each other in the postseason for the first time in seven years since the 2018 NBA Finals. In total, the two all-time greats have had multiple playoff battles in their illustrious NBA careers. Durant, 37, and James, 41, both are still playing at an elite level and continue to defy Father Time.
As of April 2026, Durant became the oldest player in the NBA to achieve 2,000 points in a season and surpassed 6x-NBA Champion Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list. James, while being the oldest active player in the NBA as of the 2025-2026 season, is the NBA’s All-Time leading scorer.
The future of the Houston Rockets lies in the hands of the young core: Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith.
The trio is poised to taste the postseason again after their first postseason appearance in last season’s first-round exit against the Golden State Warriors. Additionally, with Rockets guard Reed Sheppard inserted into the starting lineup at times during the regular season, the overall No. 3 pick in the 2024 NBA draft looks to hit the ground running and contribute more to the team’s success in pursuit of a deep playoff run.
Concerning the Lakers, it will be a next-man-up mentality without Doncic and Reaves, two of their top scoring options, in the rotation. Aside from James, the Lakers will look to rely more on their supporting cast, including Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura, and DeAndre Ayton.
All in all, Houston will look to take advantage of the injury-depleted Lakers and look to steal Game 1 on the road.
As of Monday, the times and dates for the rest of the Rockets-Lakers playoff series have yet to be determined.
This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.