Published September 04, 2020
The Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets will meet in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA Playoffs in one of the most interesting matchups.
The Lakers are coming off of a series victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers won the series in five games after the Trail Blazers stunned them early in the series.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the way for the Lakers in the series. Davis led the team in scoring with 29.8 points per game. Davis added 9.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists. James averaged 27.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game.
Houston will also have to contend with other potential top scorers like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma, who averaged more than 10 points per game in the Portland series.
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The Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder went to seven games in a thrilling series but it was James Harden and Russell Westbrook who led the way.
Harden is always going to be a dangerous player when he’s on the court. He is a pure scorer and will give the Lakers as much trouble as Damian Lillard did when the Trail Blazers guard was healthy in the series.
Harden averaged 29.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 8 assists per game in the seven games against the Thunder. Russell Westbrook, who only played three games, averaged 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Both teams are dying to make it back to the conference finals. The Lakers haven’t been to the second round of the playoffs since 2012. The Rockets have gotten to at least the second round of the Western Conference playoffs for the third time.
Something’s gotta give in this series.
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SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)
Game 1: Sept. 4 (9 pm; ESPN)
Game 2: Sept. 6 (8:30 pm; ABC)
Game 3: Sept. 8 (9 pm; TNT)
Game 4: Sept. 10 (TBD; TNT)
Game 5: Sept. 12 (TBD; ESPN)
Game 6: Sept. 14 (TBD; TNT)
Game 7: Sept. 16 (TBD; TNT)
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nba-playoffs-2020-lakers-trail-blazers-semifinals-preview