Odds Released for Lakers’ Chances of Beating Rockets in Round 2

The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

The Rockets were able to win a close one in Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, winning 104-102.

The Lakers easily advanced to the second round, as they rattled off four consecutive wins to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers in five games.

The odds for the series between the Lakers and Rockets have been released, and they certainly favor Los Angeles.

The Lakers finished the regular season with the best record in the Western Conference, but they went just 1-2 against the Rockets in the regular season.

Their most recent matchup came on Aug. 6 as one of the final eight games of the regular season in the Orlando, Fla. bubble. The Rockets defeated the Lakers 113-97.

While Houston clearly lacks size, it does have two All-Star playmakers in James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

Los Angeles can counter with its own All-Star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but it will be interesting to see how the Lakers counter Houston’s small-ball attack.

Game 1 is scheduled to take place on Friday at 9 p.m. EST.