Lakers’ playoff X-factor vs. Rockets with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves injured

The Los Angeles Lakers face a daunting task in winning a series in the NBA playoffs without star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The Houston Rockets are the type of athletic, and long team that pose problems for the Lakers. During practice in the week leading up to Game 1 against the Rockets, head coach JJ Redick stressed that it’s going to take an all-hands-on-deck effort. Which brings up the question, who is the Lakers’ X-factor going into this series?

The are a couple of options to chose from as far as who needs to have a strong series in order for the Lakers to beat the Rockets. One obvious choice for the Lakers’ X-factor is Deandre Ayton. Whenever Ayton plays well, the Lakers tend to do well. During practice this week, Redick emphasized how much the team’s ceiling is raised when Ayton is engaged and active on the court.

Another obvious choice is Luke Kennard. Kennard has ended up being arguably the steal of the trade deadline with the impact he’s had for the Lakers. With Doncic and Reaves sidelined, Kennard has stepped into the starting point guard role and acted as dual scoring-playmaking threat.

But the top X-factor heading into the Lakers’ opening round playoff series is someone who wasn’t initially expected to make a major difference. That player is Bronny James.

Bronny James is Lakers’ X-factor vs. Rockets

Bronny James has also been a beneficiary of increased playing time with Doncic and Reaves out. And in the games that Redick has put him in the rotation, he’s looked every bit of being an NBA player. At the end of the regular season, Redick made it clear that he envisions a nine-man rotation for the playoffs. During media availability this week, James was one of the nine players who spoke after practice.

For the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, James has come a long way since then. From the constant negativity and bombardment of scrutiny he had to face simply due to who his dad is, he’s put his head down, put in the work and has now earned a spot in the Lakers’ playoff rotation.

His likely counterpart on the Rockets will be fellow second-year player Reed Sheppard. Sheppard has had a career year, albeit being a little up and down. He comes into the series averaging a career-best 13.5 points and shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range.

Sheppard is kind of the X-factor for the Rockets, and the task of keeping him from having a big series is going to fall on James. One of James’ strong traits is defense. He brings a hard-nosed, physical approach to the defensive end. Earlier this season, James’ ball pressure on Davion Mitchell was key to getting a win against the Miami Heat.

And then on the offensive end, James just has to do what he does best, and that’s keep the ball moving and help set teammates up with easy scoring opportunities. That and knock down the open 3-points shot when it’s there. It’s a role he played to perfection in the G League this season with South Bay.

Now obviously the level of competition between the G League and the NBA playoffs are two completely different stratospheres. But it’s the same kind of role James has found success with towards the end of the regular season.

With the Lakers reeling from three-game losing streak and needing a win to keep pace in the Western Conference standings, James responded with 10 points and three assists while shooting 2-of-3 from 3-point range in a road win against the Warriors.

In the final game of the regular season, with the Lakers also needing a win to try and move up to the No. 3 seed, James had 11 points and four assists while shooting 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

That’s the type of production the Lakers are going to need from James to have a chance in this series while short-handed. And he’s up for the challenge.

“He’s got to be ready.” Redick said during practice this week. “I think Bronny’s improved a lot, we trust him. The shooting piece I’m a believer in because of how well he shot it for the last two years in the G League … he’s improved a ton defensively in terms of his body positioning both on and off ball, and then we want him to continue to evolve as a disruptive defender.”

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