Kevin Durant thought he saw the best version of the Lakers’ defense a month ago.
After the Lakers beat the Rockets on March 18 in Houston for the second time in three days, Durant said, “This is the best version of their defense that they’re gonna bring out against us … if we do play them again, we got film to watch and learn from.”
The accurate part of what Durant said at the time was that the Rockets had two games of film to learn from.
The inaccurate part: That the March 16 and March 18 regular-season matchups were the best versions of the Lakers’ defense.
Because the Lakers have been even better defensively in the first two games of their best-of-seven first- round playoff series, leading LA to a 2-0 lead ahead of Games 3 and 4 in Houston on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Through two games, the Rockets are shooting 39% from the field, 29% on 3-pointers and have a 104.9 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions), worse than the Nets’ league-worst offensive rating (108.2) during the regular season.
The Lakers followed up a strong defensive showing in Game 1 on Saturday, when they allowed 98 points to the Durant-less Rockets, with an even stronger performance in Tuesday night’s 101-94 Game 2 win against a Rockets team that had Durant back in the lineup.
“It gives anybody confidence,” the Lakers’ Marcus Smart said after Tuesday’s win. “When you’re able to tackle up against one of the greatest scorers in this game, and for him to say that, to have that type of view about you and opinion about you, speaks volumes. That just speaks not just me but this team and the things that we put in every day to help each other out and to make sure that we’re locked in, and we go out there and make it as tough as possible.”
Durant, fifth among the NBA’s all-time leading scorers, was efficient as a shooter in his return after missing Game 1 because of a right knee contusion.
He scored 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting in Game 2.
But Durant also tied a playoff career high with nine turnovers.
And he only had three points on 1-of-5 shooting in the second half Tuesday night, with the Lakers going all out on limiting Durant’s scoring opportunities.
“We’re just getting this thing started,” coach JJ Redick said. “He’s the type of player that can take over a series and just have to continue to have a great team defense and great activity.”
The Lakers showed in Game 1 that Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes, as well as Rui Hachimura, can hold their own against Rockets All-Star big man Alperen Sengun.
And that continued to be the case in Game 2, with Sengun shooting a combined 2 of 12 from the field when guarded by Ayton, Hayes and Hachimura and a combined 6 of 8 against all other matchups.
But with Durant back in the fold, there were questions about how viable the Lakers would be.
Turns out, their defensive strategies were similar to March, with the Rockets not showing they learned much from the film — or at the least aren’t applying the lessons learned in-game.
The Lakers mixed in switching, blitzing double teams and more traditional coverages against Durant, forcing the ball out of his hands and daring the Rockets’ non-stars to produce offensively.
The Lakers continue to win this bet.
The non-Durant Rockets shot 37.7% from the floor and 24% from 3 in Game 2.
Which is right in line with the 37.6% shooting the Rockets finished with in Game 1 (including 33.3% on 3s).
The Lakers didn’t enter the season, let alone the playoffs, with the expectations of being a defensive-oriented team.
But that’s exactly what they’ve been so far.
“We trust one another,” Smart said. “The word is ‘elevate’ for us, and that’s all we’ve been trying to do, elevate our play on both ends.”
And the Lakers have elevated themselves to a place few outside the locker room thought they would be: up 2-0 in the series, with an opportunity to take a commanding 3-0 lead, which would all but guarantee a second-round appearance.