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The Los Angeles Lakers head to Houston, Texas up 2-0 against the Rockets and a chip on their shoulder. Speculation about the Lakers’ ability to perform in the playoffs swirled after Austin Reaves and Luke Doncic went down with late season injuries; however, another cohesive win led by Lebron James and Luke Kennard, the Lakers can surely put that speculation to rest.
Kennard found himself in a starting role in round 1 against the Rockets, where he has been nothing short of fantastic. The shooting guard has accumulated 50 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals in the two games against the Houston Rockets.
Lebron’s leadership and experience is written all over the Lakers’ recent wins without two of their most prominent offensive forces. The 41-year-old tallied 47 points, 16 rebounds, and 20 assists to complement Kennard.
However, just because the Lakers look like a commanding presence in the playoffs now, doesn’t mean their wasn’t an adjustment period following the superstar’s injuries. After Tuesday’s win, Kennard got honest about the team dynamic once Doncic and Reaves went down…
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After Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves went down on the same day against the Oklahoma City Thunder, things began to look grim for the Lakers. They lost 139-96, lost by 6 to he 12th place Dallas Mavericks, and lost to the Thunder (again) 123-87.
It was obvious the Lakers were needing a new strategy to piece together a playoff run without Luka and Reaves. And Kennard quickly became their missing piece.
Following Game 2 against the Rockets, Kennard spoke to the media about the Lakers regrouping after losing Luka and Reaves:
“We just kind of flipped the switch,” Kennard said in a press conference. “We told each other, ‘This is what we got right now. We got to believe in what we have. We got to push each other, elevate each other, and play as hard we can.”
“We just kind of flipped the switch. We told each other, ‘This is what we got right now. We got to believe in what we have. We got to push each other, elevate each other and play as hard as we can.’” – Luke Kennard on LAL regrouping after the Doncic/Reaves injuries
Elevate. That’s exactly what Kennard has done for the Lakers thus far.
“He’s a sniper, we understand that, but he does so much more,” LeBron said of Kennard. “He does so much more and I think that’s what keeps defenses off balance. Sometimes you fall into the fact that he shoots 50 (percent) from 3, and you think that sometimes that’s all he can do, but he is so much more than that.”
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Although Luke Kennard is a nine-year veteran, his playoff masterclass is causing commotion amongst NBA fans.
The most interesting storyline of this series: Luke Kennard has been misused his entire career
So it took 9 seasons for an NBA coaching staff to figure out how to use Luke Kennard properly?
Amazing what happens when a coach elevates a guy to play to his strengths instead of just pigeon-holing him into what they “think” he is.
At least JJ did some homework…
NBA reporter Melissa Rohlin and former professional basketball player Sam Dekker both make comments via X about Kennard’s misuse throughout his career.
Dakker states, “So it took nine seasons for an NBA coaching staff to figure out how to use Luke Kennard properly? Amazing what happens when a coach elevates a guy to play his strengths instead of just pigeon-holing him into what they “think” he is.”
Sports Center even made a post jokingly comparing Kennard to Luka.
While @TexansCommenter compared the shooting guard to Larry Bird.
Luke Kennard vs the Rockets
During Game 2, Kennard even received “MVP” chants from Lakers fans while he was shooting free throws at the line.
Luke Kennard is getting “MVP” chants in LA 😅
Never thought I’d live to see the day where Luke Kennard fires up a heat check. Love the aggression.
Luke Kennard and the Lakers look to carry this hot streak into Game 3 on Friday, April 24th at 5 P.M. PST in Houston.
McKenna Van Gundy McKenna Van Gundy is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. She spent two years as a sports contributor for her University's newspaper, covering games and writing feature stories on players and coaches. She currently works for the NFL as a digital programming associate and lives in the greater Los Angeles area. More about McKenna Van Gundy
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