Episode Details

It wasn't long ago the Lakers had reached the 2nd spot in the Western Conference playoff race (by percentage points, but still second). Having fallen off that pace, if they have any hope of getting there again, the Lakers absolutely must beat the visiting Houston Rockets on Monday night, and then do it again on April 11 when Houston returns to town. 

The Lakers are yet to play the Rockets in the Luka Dončić Is a Laker Era, but certainly hope his career success against the Rockets carries over. Luka has averaged over 31 points and 10 rebounds in 18 career games against Houston, with nearly eight assists per night, as well. In three games last season, he lit them up for 41/10/9.3. Certainly the Lakers would happily accept that level of production. (Hopefully he has a grudge against someone in that organization.) 

But for LA, while the prospect of moving back up the playoff ladder is exciting, the big priorities remain first, stay out of the play in, and then try to earn home court for the first round. For the former, the enter Monday's game with a 2.5 game cushion over 7th place Minnesota, and with the latter, a one game lead (two, functionally, given the tiebreaker) on Memphis. Given the remaining schedule—the Lakers play Golden State on Thursday, have two games on the road against an OKC team still playing hard despite wrapping up the top seed in the conference, a Dallas squad getting healthier and the aforementioned second game against Houston. Even sprinkling in New Orleans and Portland in the regular season finale, there's just not much fluff in that slate. 

With that in mind, the excitement around tonight's game is about the clash of two teams that (for very different reasons) are sitting in a seed that wasn't expected earlier in the year. Plenty of people wonder if the Lakers and Rockets (especially the Rockets) really are true contenders this season, or if the records might be a mirage. It's exciting because it's the first look at how the new-look Lakers match up against Houston. But it's meaningful first and foremost because a win would give the Lakers that much more breathing room to absorb a loss or two down the stretch. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky with guest Jackson Gatlin

SEGMENT: Lakers vs. Rockets. Why are the Rockets playing well again? 

SEGMENT 2: Matchups to watch. 

SEGMENT 3: What to look forward to down the stretch. 

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