The Rockets are set to face the Lakers in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs. This series will be the fourth time in 18 years that Kevin Durant and LeBron James have competed against each other in the postseason.
It is arguably the most highly anticipated matchup in the West for the first round, despite the Lakers expecting to be without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for almost the entirety of the seven-game series.
Kevin Durant spoke to the media before Game 1 of the upcoming series, which is scheduled on Saturday, April 18, and expressed his opinions on facing LeBron James for the fourth time in the playoffs and what to expect from the Lakers, who are severely depleted and are expected to play like they have nothing to lose.
“It’s always great playing against great players. You always feel their presence on the floor, even when you’re not matched up with them,” said Durant on playing against LeBron James.
“But this is just like, all basketball players know, anybody who’s been around the game as deep as you guys are every day, it’s more than just one player. It’s much more than just two players or three players. You need a whole group of guys to go out there and win a basketball game, especially at this level, especially four times against a team like that.”
“So yeah, from the outside looking in, for casual folks who are not with us every day, yeah, this matchup is definitely fun. Two great players who have been in the league for a long time, but everybody involved in this series knows it’s much deeper than that.”
“They’re a deep team. They’ve got guys that can step up and fill some of the roles they were missing. Obviously, missing two of their best players, two of the best players in the league, and stuff to make up for, but they have guys who come to make a huge impact. So, we’ve got to work it out more,” said Durant on his assessment of the Lakers.
LeBron James has a 5-9 record against Kevin Durant in the postseason throughout his career. But the Lakers won their regular season series against the Rockets 2-1 this year. Moreover, Durant has particularly struggled against the Lakers this season.
He averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists against them with 56.1% shooting efficiency from the field. This is significantly below his season averages of 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists with 52.0% shooting efficiency from the floor.
The Lakers seemingly found the solution to stop Durant in the regular season. However, with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves not expected to return before Game 5 of the series, the Rockets are huge favorites to sweep the Lakers in the first round.
But the 37-year-old veteran has emphasized that the absence of Doncic and Reaves should not make them overconfident since the Lakers have very capable replacements on their bench.
Therefore, he anticipates that this may not be a one-sided series and the Rockets will still have a mountain to climb despite facing a team led by the 41-year-old LeBron James.
Do you think this series will be one-sided? Or will the Lakers pull off an upset and extend this series to allow Doncic and Reaves to bring some life back into the Lakers’ championship hopes? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
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