The Los Angeles Lakers will debut in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in a decade, putting an end to the longest drought in the franchise’s history.
This comes as the Los Angeles Lakers completely obliterated the Houston Rockets in a Game 5 win, 119-96 ending the series in a 4-1 fashion. The Rockets failed miserably after the success of their Game 1 victory, as LeBron James was too much to handle.
Like a lot of the teams in these playoffs, star duos shined throughout the series on both ends and is ultimately what has brought both teams to where they are currently. The Lakers duo includes Anthony Davis and James, who both put the series on their backs. LeBron himself put up a stat line average of 25.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists throughout the five game series while big man Davis followed with similar stats of 25.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
LeBron finished the night of Game 5 with 29 points in a dominant performance that sent the Rockets packing. As Davis continues to blossom into one of the best superstars at his age, LeBron demonstrates that there’s no slowing him down as father time fails to catch up to him once more.
The Houston Rockets duo of guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook ultimately failed in their first playoff run together, however this is nothing new for either of them. While Harden did manage to average 29.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists throughout the series, Westbrook managed to play far too inconsistently which ended up costing them.
The Rockets as a franchise have many questions up in the air for the offseason, as coach Mike D’Antoni has decided to part ways right after their loss to the Lakers. With so many failed attempts under Harden’s offense and Westbrook not making things any better, a new coach might not even be the solution, although only time will tell.
“I’m not a fan, in terms of winning championships, I don’t think that is ever going to win championships,” said the late Kobe Bryant to reporter Rachel Nichols when discussing Harden’s incredible ability to score back in 2019.
The Rockets are running out of time as they lack any trade pieces in the form of young talent and draft picks. Hitting the reset button on this team is definitely a possibility, although trade candidates for Harden and Westbrook would be incredibly challenging as they have massive contracts under their belts.
The Lakers will host the Nuggets this week for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, a match-up that could secure them a trip to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
