• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

LA Sports Today

Los Angeles Sports News continuously updated

  • Football
    • Chargers
    • Rams
    • Wildcats
  • Baseball
    • Angels
    • Dodgers
  • Basketball
    • Clippers
    • Lakers
    • Sparks
  • Hockey
    • Ducks
    • Kings
  • Soccer
    • Galaxy
    • LAFC
  • College
    • UCLA
    • USC

The Lakers broke the Rockets again

January 14, 2021 by Lakers Outsiders Leave a Comment

Lakers
The Lakers just beat the Rockets so bad that James Harden publicly quit on his team (Cary Cataldo/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t exactly been a poster child for consistency to start this year. They have sleep walked their way through most games and, while they currently hold the best record in the entire NBA, haven’t seemed like they have hit their stride quite yet.

That may have changed over the last half of a week, however. The Lakers faced the Rockets in Houston in a pair of games on Sunday and Tuesday and completely eviscerated last year’s second round opponents, winning by an average margin of 17.5 points that frankly doesn’t accurately describes the level of domination exhibited by them.

The game on Tuesday was particularly backbreaking for the Rockets, who one would imagine wanted to get revenge for not only Sunday’s loss but a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the purple and gold in the playoffs. Instead, they fell behind early and never recovered, allowing the Lakers to have plenty of fun at their expense.

It feels almost impossible, but the Lakers broke the Rockets again. After the postseason loss, Houston moved on from general manager Daryl Morey and head coach Mike D’Antoni and traded Russell Westbrook to Washington for John Wall. After Tuesday’s loss, the Rockets seem once again closer to disaster than to contendership.

Rockets’ head coach Stephen Silas said the Lakers were “having fun at our expense,” reacting to LeBron James’ look-away 3-pointer and the team’s bench reaction. Wall preached about there not being any togetherness in Houston, likely taking a pot shot at James Harden who expressed his desire to be traded during the off-season and seems to have checked out already this year.

And then there’s Harden. The superstar guard’s feelings towards the Rockets were known through rumors and reports. But for the first time, Harden seemed to publicly verify their validity:

James Harden says Rockets are “just not good enough … I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can. I mean, this situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 13, 2021

Now compare and contrast that statement with what Harden said on Saturday, just before these two games against the purple and gold:

James Harden: “We got a lot of work to do. I think every team feels that way…We just haven’t had the opportunity to work together very often. As long as we continue to find chemistry, to find pace on both ends of the floor, we got a chance to do something special.” #Rockets

— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) January 9, 2021

Rightly or wrongly, teams that fancy themselves as title contenders this season are going to be held to the Lakers’ standards both externally and internally. The Rockets, for all intents and purposes, failed that mark by such a margin that their star is officially stating he’s giving up on the team and sending them to a remedial NBA season.

Between firings, blowing up a roster, and now public declarations of defeat, the Lakers have broken this Rockets team twice in the span of about four months. It feels good to be the villains again.

The post The Lakers broke the Rockets again appeared first on Lakers Outsiders.

Filed Under: Lakers

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • The 10 greatest Los Angeles Lakers teams of all-time
  • Lambeau crowd fans Aaron Rodgers' emotions in playoff victory over Rams
  • Lakers' biggest improvement leads to debate: Who's their best three-point shooter?
  • Dodgers Top-10 Pitching Prospects
  • Updates on Kirby Yates and the MLB Relief Pitching Market

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • Los Angeles Times
  • Los Angeles Daily News
  • Orange County Register
  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • LA Sports Hub
  • Los Angeles Sports Nation
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • MLB.com - Dodgers
  • MLB.com - Angels
  • Dodger Blue
  • Dodger Insider
  • Dodgers Nation
  • Dodgers Way
  • Halo Hangout
  • Halos Heaven
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Angels
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Dodgers
  • Think Blue LA
  • Think Blue PC
  • True Blue LA

Basketball

  • NBA.com - Clippers
  • NBA.com - Lakers
  • Amico Hoops - Clippers
  • Amico Hoops - Lakers
  • 213 Hoops
  • Clipperholics
  • Clips Nation
  • Forum Blue And Gold
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype - Clippers
  • Hoops Hype - Lakers
  • Hoops Rumors - Clippers
  • Hoops Rumors - Lakers
  • Lake Show Life
  • Lakers Nation
  • Lakers Outsiders
  • Lakerholics.net
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball - Clippers
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball - Lakers
  • Pro Basketball Talk - Clippers
  • Pro Basketball Talk - Lakers
  • Real GM - Clippers
  • Real GM - Lakers
  • Silver Screen And Roll

Football

  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Bolt Beat
  • Bolts From The Blue
  • Chargers Gab
  • Chargers Wire
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Chargers
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Rams
  • Our Turf Football - Chargers
  • Our Turf Football - Rams
  • Pro Football Focus - Chargers
  • Pro Football Focus - Rams
  • Pro Football Rumors - Chargers
  • Pro Football Rumors - Rams
  • Pro Football Talk - Chargers
  • Pro Football Talk - Rams
  • Ramblin Fan
  • Rams Gab
  • Rams Nation
  • Rams Wire
  • Turf Show Times

Hockey

  • Anaheim Calling
  • Elite Prospects - Ducks
  • Elite Prospects - Kings
  • Jewels From The Crown
  • Last Word On Hockey - Ducks
  • Last Word On Hockey - Kings
  • My NHL Trade Rumors - Anaheim Ducks
  • My NHL Trade Rumors - LA Kings
  • Pro Hockey Rumors - Ducks
  • Pro Hockey Rumors - Kings
  • Pro Hockey Talk - Ducks
  • Pro Hockey Talk - Kings
  • Pucks Of A Feather
  • Rink Royalty
  • The Hockey Writers - Ducks
  • The Hockey Writers - Kings

Soccer

  • Angels On Parade
  • LAG Confidential
  • Last Word On Soccer - LA Galaxy
  • Last Word On Soccer - Los Angeles FC
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Bruins Nation
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Conquest Chronicles
  • Go Joe Bruin
  • Reign Of Troy
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2021 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in