The Houston Rockets travel to California to face the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Wednesday to open the season.
The Rockets made some major changes in the offseason and a matchup against the Lakers is just the type of game they want to kick off their season to show their new style of play. Mike D’Antoni agreed to become Houston’s head coach in the summer and he’ll implement his eight-second offense with this talented offensive team. A Rockets team that has finished top-five in scoring the last five seasons. They’re a good bet to score over 110 points a game this season, but the real question is if their defense can hold up in these types of games. In fact, Houston finished 25th in total defense last year and they’re expected to give up even more points this season.
Now that the Kobe Bryant farewell season is over, the Lakers can start to rebuild their franchise. The young core has Los Angeles fans excited, as D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle are expected to make huge leaps this season. Much like Houston, this teams problem was their defense. In fact, the Lakers ranked 27th in total defense last year and showed very little on either end of the floor. Acquisitions like Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov are expected to start for the Lakers in this game and they’ll look to start a fresh regime with newly acquired head coach Luke Walton.
The Rockets come into this game as an seven-point favorite, with the total being at a monstrous 222 points. The only notable injury in this matchup is that of Patrick Beverley, as he underwent knee surgery just last week.
