Almost every season, the Rockets are among the main contenders for the championship, but something always prevents the team from showing itself properly. The management of the club invited Russell Westbrook from Oklahoma to lead the team to the final and compete for gold medals together with James Harden. Michael D’Antoni’s wards passed the Thunder in the first series of the playoffs, although they had to try hard. In the second round, Houston faced the Lakers and so far things are not going well. The rivals held three meetings, although the Rockets celebrated the victory only in one of them. The team is aiming to equalize the score in the series and since there are no special problems, a real battle awaits us.
The Los Angeles team is also disappointing with its performance, although it still holds seventh place in the Western Conference. The team is far from optimal shape, although only Carlos Vela and Eduard Atuesta are in the infirmary. In the last meeting, Bob Bradley’s charges lost in the Los Angeles Galaxy derby (0-3). On the 53-rd minute, Mark Kaye received a direct red card, which started it all. The rival began to press with all his might and achieved his goal. After such an offensive defeat, the Los Angeles players clearly seek to rehabilitate themselves, so they will do everything possible to score three points in the next meeting.