Two Western Conference playoff-bound sides will collide on Saturday as the Los Angeles Lakers face off against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena.
Off the back of one victory apiece across two previous meetings this term, both teams have the opportunity to edge the season series with a win this weekend.
Match preview
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Having been in pole position to make it through to the playoffs for some time now, the Los Angeles Lakers finally clinched an automatic postseason berth by beating the Dallas Mavericks 112-97 at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday.
After trailing by four points at the end of the first quarter, JJ Redick's men turned on the style over the subsequent 36 minutes of action, outscoring their opponents by a combined 19 points to cruise to a resounding triumph.
Returning to Dallas for the first time since his exit, Luka Doncic delivered arguably his best performance in a Laker jersey, tallying 45 points on 16-28 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds and six assists.
Bouncing back in style from a 136-120 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers are now 5-2 over their last seven matches to sit third in the Western Conference standings with only two games left to play.
Saturday's clash will see the hosts take to their home court for the final time in the regular season, and they will be keen to round off on a winning note before closing out things against the Portland Trail Blazers.
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From missing out on the playoffs entirely in each of the last four seasons to claiming the number two seed in the West this time around, the Houston Rockets have arguably been the biggest surprise package of the current campaign.
Prior to a 134-117 defeat against the Los Angeles Clippers last time out, Ime Udoka's men saw off the threat of the Golden State Warriors for their 52nd win of the season as the club reached that milestone for the first time since 2019.
With their playoff position already guaranteed, the Rockets rested a number of key players in Wednesday's loss to the Clippers, which was only a second defeat in the last eight matches for the team from Houston.
In what has been a near-perfect season for the Rockets, the major area of improvement going forward is arguably their field-goal conversion rate, which ranks 23rd in the league for the team currently attempting the most shots per game.
Ahead of their season finale against another playoff side, the Denver Nuggets, Saturday's visitors are on the road for the final time this term and will be looking to avoid consecutive away defeats for the first time since early March.
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Team News
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Despite having now progressed to on-court activities, Maxi Kleber remains the Lakers' only injury concern for this one as he steps up his recovery from a foot surgery he had earlier this year.
Fresh from tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the ninth-most 45-point games in NBA history, point guard Doncic will be looking to put on a show once again.
Rockets duo Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson were both handed a rest against the Clippers, and it remains to be seen if either of them will be called upon to feature here.
Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr also missed the aforementioned game through back, ankle and groin injuries respectively, making them huge doubts for this weekend.
Los Angeles Lakers possible starting five:
Doncic, Reaves; James, Hachimura; Hayes
Houston Rockets possible starting five:
Sheppard, Green; Brooks, Thompson; Landale
We say: Lakers to win by 6+ points
The Lakers boast a cleaner bill of health for this one, and coupled with the advantage of playing on home court, we are backing them to get the job done.
Adepoju Marvellous
