The 2026 NBA Playoffs are in full swing and it’s clear the Los Angeles Lakers won’t be going down without a fight, even despite their various injuries to stars like Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. After defeating the visiting Houston Rockets in Game 1 of this first-round series over the weekend, the two sides run it back again at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night. Kevin Durant (knee) remains a game-time decision, only adding more intrigue to this matchup as the Rockets attempt to even the series at one game apiece.

On DraftKings Sportsbook, Houston enters as a 4.5-point favorite on the road with -192 odds to win on the Moneyline. The game total is set at 207.5 combined points.

Here are the top Rockets vs. Lakers prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for this Tuesday night NBA Playoffs matchup.

Best Rockets vs. Lakers player prop bets

Jabari Smith Jr. 15+ points (-115)

Don’t look now, but Jabari Smith Jr. is quietly in what might be one of the best stretches of play in his four-year career. Over the last 10 games of his regular-season sample, the 22-year-old averaged 18.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, shooting 39.0% from deep in the process. Over that span, he posted 15+ points in all but one game with four performances of 20+ points as well. Going back a little further to the start of March, he scored 15+ points in 15 of 20 total appearances. While not the focal point of the Rockets’ attack, Smith Jr. remains a key cog in the machine. Yes, his shooting can prove streaky at times, but when he’s online, he can pitch in plenty on the offensive side of things.

Here’s the deal. Durant could end up sidelined once again tonight, which wouldn’t bode well for Houston. In three games without the superstar though, Smith Jr. has averaged 17.0 points per game. That’s also excluding his performance in Game 1, recording 16 points despite an ugly 5-for-14 shooting night. If Durant doesn’t play, the odds that the younger forward reaches this prop improve significantly. Even if he does, though, Smith Jr. can benefit from the Lakers’ defense keying in more on the former MVP and leaving shooters — including Jabari himself — open from deep. After reaching 15+ points in 49/78 games this season, Smith Jr.’s prop line here is a very reliable pick that I’m hammering in this spot.

LeBron James under 34.5 PTS + AST (-122)

Look. LeBron James is certainly capable of putting up a wild stat line on any given night, but it simply doesn’t happen at the same rate as it used to. The 41-year-old’s 20.9 points per game are his lowest average since his rookie campaign, and his assists mark is still down slightly from the last couple of years at 7.2 a night. Yes, some of the downturn comes as a result of playing alongside Luka Doncic on a near-nightly basis as the latter led the NBA in scoring during the regular season. Still, James can’t quite summon a load-carrying performance as regularly as he did in his younger years, at least not in the scoring column.

In 11 games without Doncic this year, James averages 22.2 points and 10.3 assists. Only four of those performances saw him score 25+ points and he reached 30 in only one of them. The basketball IQ is unmatched and he remains a stellar playmaker even with high usage, but this Rockets defense poses a real challenge in multiple regards. James finished Game 1 with 19 points and 13 assists, good for 32 PTS + AST. On the full season’s sample, he stayed under this line of 34.5 in 48/61 outings. He did the same in 7/11 without Doncic in the regular season. Do with that information what you will since the ball will be in James’ hands on almost every possession, but Houston brings plenty of rangy wing defenders and grit. The visitors should blitz James and send double teams often, so it’s unlikely he has a big scoring night tonight and Los Angeles is unlikely to shoot 60.6% from the field and 52.6% from three again to prop up his assists like in Game 1.