Rockets Will Show Ayton He is No Capela

Lakers vs. Rockets, 9:30 ET

I actually can't remember the last time I wrote about an NBA game. Maybe it was right around the All-Star Break? I have put out some plays on X/Twitter, and I've given some futures, but I haven't done too many here on Outkick for a while. It isn't that we were doing poorly. Actually, most of the plays I've put out were winners. But, this season has, unfortunately, highlighted the bad things about the league. Bam Adebayo scoring 83 points should've been really exciting, but even that felt like a hollow victory for the league as the narrative shifted to how no one plays defense, and it was a stat-chasing exhibition. With the playoffs around the corner, I'm getting excited again. Last year, almost every single game in the playoffs was awesome. Honestly, it was like can't miss basketball for almost every single game. That's what I want. I think this game should be really good as the Lakers take on the Rockets and I think we have a clear pick in this one.

The Lakers are 42-25 with a 19-13 road record this season. They seem to be doing most things right even though they are getting a lot of flak for certain things. The complainers will say Luka Doncic is not as good as people make him out to be (they are wrong). They will say Austin Reaves is not quite as good as stats show (they probably are wrong). And, they will say it is time for LeBron to retire (he is still playing at a high level). The bottom line here is that people just like to complain, and when you have a marquee franchise, you're going to get a ton of complaints. To be clear, the Lakers do have some problems. DeAndre Ayton is this year's scapegoat, but I think there is some justification here. When Ayton is at his best, he is putting up double-doubles and scoring around 20 points per game. When he isn't, he is essentially seven feet of uselessness. Underdog NBA tweeted something out last week saying that the Lakers are 28-4 when Ayton has at least 10 points and 10 rebounds. Seems pretty significant, no? 

Mar 10, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) moves to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) and center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Rockets are 41-25, but they've been great at home, posting a 23-8 record this year. They came into the year with really high expectations after finishing well last year. The playoffs were a bit of a disappointment, but they still did well in the regular season. That, and they added Kevin Durant to give the team a go-to scorer that they lacked last year. The biggest question in this game, though, will be Alpren Sengun's status. He might miss his second straight game with a back injury. If he can't go, that means that the team will likely start Clint Capela, or Dorian Finney-Smith. Starting Capela would be absolute cinema because of a comment that leaked from Ayton earlier this year. He said he wasn't Capela - trying to put him in a better category. Then the internet did its thing and showed that Capela's stats are better than Ayton's. 

In over 35 minutes on the floor against the Rockets last game, Ayton had two rebounds. That's not very good for a center. In this game, I'd expect the Rockets to have some added motivation from those Ayton comments. That probably means Ayton will try and establish himself as well, but I think it is a bad situation for the rest of the team. The Lakers also don't seem to like Ayton, and he doesn't seem to like basketball or any team he is on ever. This is also the first road game for the Lakers after a five-game homestand. The Rockets are hosting the Lakers for two games in a row, so whoever wins this will likely lose the next one. I think the Rockets take this one and end the Lakers winning streak. Give me Houston -2.5. 

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