JJ Redick Breaks Down the Lakers Composed Game 1 Win Over Rockets
The Los Angeles Lakers were without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for Game 1 against the Rockets, their two best scorers both sidelined since early April. Most people expected a struggle. What they got was the opposite.
The Houston Rockets were also missing Kevin Durant, and the Lakers took full advantage, shooting efficiently, defending with length, and never letting the Rockets get comfortable.
Los Angeles came away with a 107-98 win at Crypto.com Arena, shooting 60.6% from the field while holding Houston to 37.6%. Luke Kennard came off the bench for a career playoff-high 27 points. Deandre Ayton added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
After the final buzzer, head coach JJ Redick sat down with reporters and broke down exactly what he saw in the post-game press conference posted by Lakers Nation on YouTube.
What Drove the Lakers Win
Redick was asked what stood out most about the performance. His answer was less about X's and O's and more about mindset.
"I just thought we were really poised as a team. We had a great next play mentality. It wasn't a perfect game. None of these games are going to be perfect. Got contributions from a lot of people in a lot of different ways and made enough winning plays despite the turnovers and the offensive rebounds."JJ Redick
The turnovers and the 21 offensive rebounds Houston grabbed are the two things this team will need to clean up. But in Game 1, the poise held.
Kevin Durant's Absence and Lakers Playoff Mentality
A lot of Redick's defensive preparation over the past week had been built around slowing down Durant. When that news changed hours before tip, the question was whether it would throw the game plan off.
"Yeah, I don't think it affected our mentality. Again, this is all we've talked about for two months is just our playoff mentality. You can't worry about who's in or out of the lineup. It's our game plan. It's our standards. It's how we play, and we've built towards that. And I thought our guys just responded well and met the moment."JJ Redick
"I mean, that's the biggest thing. You've got to meet the moment in every game, and they were able to do that. There's a lot that you have to do with Kevin, and you just kind of scrap that and move on to all the other stuff we worked on."JJ Redick
Lakers Offensive Intentionality Against Rockets Pressure
Earlier in the week, Redick had used the word "intentionality" to describe what he wanted from the offense. Against Houston's pressure, that word got tested early. He felt his team had passed.
"Yeah, we did a good job. I think the guys that were handling versus pressure overall did a nice job of getting us organized, and we ran a lot of the stuff we wanted to run, and we got a lot of good stuff. When we did shoot the ball, we were efficient. We missed some free throws."JJ Redick
He quickly pivoted to what the real test will be over seven games.
"But, you know, again, this is going to be can we take care of the ball. You know, over the course of seven games, can we take care of the ball and can we limit their offensive rebounds."JJ Redick
Offensive Rebounding Against the Rockets
Houston's offensive rebounding is one of the hardest problems to solve in this series. Redick explained that Houston's crashers typically come from the perimeter, with Amen Thompson often stationed in the dunker spot on paint shots. Teams like Golden State and Phoenix do the same thing, crashing within a compact shell, and it makes boxing out genuinely difficult.
"I think, you know, we've just got to continue to be physical, and we had a number of really good possessions. If they're missing, there's naturally going to be - I mean, if you go to at halftime, they had, I think, seven offensive rebounds and 26 missed shots, and so that's well below their season average for offensive rebound rate. So we did a good job in the first half. I think that the turnovers from the second quarter on is really where we kind of got lucky with the game."JJ Redick
Contesting Houston Paint Shots Without Fouling
Houston got more paint attempts than the Lakers but converted at a low rate. Redick credited the length and discipline of his defenders for that.
"Yeah, I mean, I think there's still things we can clean up just in terms of our, particularly early offense, you know, our compact shell. And, you know, we did a good job of, I know they took free throws, but, you know, we did a good job of contesting those six to eight-foot shots without fouling and using our length. I thought, you know, DA [Deandre Ayton], Jaxson Hayes, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, all those guys, Jake, you know, just getting a contest is super important."JJ Redick
The Lakers lead the series 1-0 heading into Game 2, still at home. Ball security and limiting second-chance points are what Redick keeps coming back to. If this team keeps executing the way they did in Game 1, Houston is going to need a very different approach.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/lakers/onsi as JJ Redick Breaks Down the Lakers Composed Game 1 Win Over Rockets.
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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 3:00 AM.