Why Robert Horry Believes Lakers Will Beat Rockets in First Round
Robert Horry is familiar with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets, but even without key pieces, the seven-time NBA champion believes the Purple and Gold will move on.
Horry expressed optimism about the Lakers’ chances against the Rockets without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, likely for the entire series. It didn’t sound like a hot take. Horry, who helped the Lakers to three NBA titles from 2000 to 2002, has followed the Lakers closely as a Spectrum SportsNet television analyst. Horry, who also helped the Rockets win two NBA titles in 1994 and 1995, still monitors the Rockets and has worked and resides in the area at various times throughout the year.
Horry spoke to R.org on why he thinks the Lakers can still win the first-round series in seven games, his outlook on LeBron James in his 23rd season, and why he’s a strong supporter of Lakers center Deandre Ayton.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has been edited and condensed
Interview With Robert Horry
How do you look at the Lakers-Rockets matchup overall?
Horry: “The matchup is a pretty even matchup, if you put it on paper. I don’t think no one has the advantage at any position. So it’s going to be about who’s hot, who plays well and who executes. I think for me, it’s going to boil down to if the Lakers can keep home-court advantage,then they’ll be all right.”
Oh really. Why is that enough considering Luka and Reaves are out?
Horry: “With Luka and Reaves out, the Lakers would definitely have the advantage. But with them being out, they lose a lot of offensive firepower. But with the way Luke Kennard and Rui [Hachimura] have been playing, they’ve been playing really well. If the Lakers game plan involves DA, they’ll be fine. It has to be direct possessions. If they don’t do direct possessions with DA, they lose him. But hopefully they’re smart enough to understand that he can get them 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds]. That’s exactly what they need to beat the Rockets.
[Aleperen] Şengün is going to get his 20 and 10. So you need someone to negate that. But if you look at the Rockets’ roster, they’re all good players. Kevin Durant is going to get his 23 [points]. But there is nobody else that scares you. Shaq scares you. Kobe [Bryant] scares you. Dream [Hakeem Olajuwon] scares you. Clyde [Drexler] scares you. All of those people scare you. But KD is only one that scares you. Nobody else worries you.”
What do you make of this Rockets team with being up and down, but then winning nine of their last ten to end the season?
Horry: “I don’t pay attention to that because I don’t know who they played. I start to look at who they play. Who did they play in nine of their last 10 games? Some teams are resting players. So I don’t really care about that. I don’t care if teams had a winning record. They just had a week off. All of those records go out the window. It’s how you prep and how you prepare for the next game. I don’t think Ime [Udoka] was prepared last year with being a rookie coach. This year, he’s better prepared and understands that he can’t play five guys for an entire half. It’s going to be a little different.”
What do you make of their young roster overall?
Horry: “I like Jabari [Smith Jr]. Even though he went to that other school [Auburn], I think he’s a really good talent. He improved so much this year. I don’t know if a lot of it had to do with watching KD. They have similar bodies. I like Şengün and Amen [Thompson]. I love the way they play. But the one thing I don’t understand about the Rockets is why they didn’t get some type of point guard before the trade deadline. I know teams have to be willing to give up a point guard and you have to be willing to give up something for a point guard. But I feel like that is the one thing they’re missing from being a really good team.”
LeBron has been the main guy for most of his career. What do you expect that will look like given both his resume and that he’s in a much later stage of his career?
Horry: “Each year, your body gets a little bit more fatigued. I thought last season in the playoffs, they played LeBron too many minutes. You could tell he was fatigued. I always watch guys’ body language. But this year, he hasn’t really looked that fatigued as far as him huffing and puffing when he’s giving it his all. So I think he’ll be fine. He’s figured it out. You watch Luke Kennard bring the ball up. You watch Marcus Smart bring the ball up. I know they’re not AR and Luka. But LeBron knows he can still get off the ball. He doesn’t have to be on the ball all the time. That’s the one thing that he’s learned.
I think it’s the dumbest thing ever to say that LeBron is the third option. He was never a third option. He just always plays basketball the right way. He’s fine with that. I really like the way that Luke Kennard has organized the offense. He can take some of that pressure off of LeBron. Also, it helps that Marcus Smart is back.”
What has Marcus done to make the Lakers a better defensive team?
Horry: “The biggest thing is the communication. Good defensive teams have someone telling everyone else what to do. He’s telling people what to do and putting people in the right position. He’s always pointing out and being in the help position. When you have guys telling them what to do, even if they know what to do, it’s a reminder. There’s nothing wrong with reminding guys of the places to be and how to play defensively. Marcus is that guy.
When you also have someone playing up top who can point backward and dedicate themselves defensively, it’s much easier, especially when you have guys that are not known for their defense. They have guys who can get lost watching the ball.”
I watch Spectrum all the time, so I noticed that you’ve been a strong advocate for DA. When he’s had bad games, you’ve said it’s more on the Lakers to get him going. What do you see that gave you that opinion?
Horry: “If you watch when he plays with Marcus Smart and he knows the ball is coming to him, how many times do you see him fumble the ball? I tell people all the time this. Let’s play basketball. If I take all of the shots and all of a sudden, I throw the ball at you when you least expect it, you’re probably not going to catch it. When DA comes off the pick-and-roll, and he has his hands up, give him the ball. That means he’s open. When he puts them down, and you throw it to him, he’s going to fumble the ball. There’s a lot of bigs like that. There are a lot of players like that. Don’t get me wrong. Some of it is DA’s fault, too. You should always keep your hands ready because you never know when a ball is coming. You should learn that with Luka. You should learn that with the other guys who are ball-dominant and are going to look for their shots first.
But for some guys, it doesn’t resonate with them. People forget that he’s used to getting the ball and demanding the ball all the time. So he’s used to when his hands are up, that means he’s going to get the ball. It becomes a hard habit to break. That’s why I think when you don’t understand the big aspect of the game, get him rolling and get him involved. I played with a lot of guys. I’m not going to name names. But if you get them involved early, they’re going to be so active on the defensive end. We always said, ‘Get the big a little sugar and it amps them up.’ You got to give the big a little sugar to amp them up and have them play 24/7 for you.”
You don’t have to name names. But I know you played with Hakeem and Shaq.
Horry: (laughs) “They got the ball all the time. They got it, regardless. If you didn’t get the ball to them, they were going to tell you about it. (laughs)”
With DA, given his role and how the dynamic is different, what do you see with his engagement level?
Horry: “It’s so weird. Players have connections with certain players. When I was on the Lakers, Ron Harper and I had a great connection. Shaq and I had a connection. You can tell that DA and Marcus Smart have some type of connection better than anybody on the team. With him on the floor, it makes a big difference. Everybody has their safety blanket. That’s his safety blanket. If Marcus Smart is in the game, put DA in the game because he’s going to look out for him. You’re going to get him right. I played with players and they start talking. I’m like, ‘Dude, will you shut the eff up?’ I won’t listen to him because I don’t respect him in that they can tell me what to do. But there are certain players that you know you look at and they can say three or four words, and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, I got you.’ It’s a respect factor. I don’t know this. I’m just assuming. But I feel like there is a respect factor between DA and Marcus Smart because he tries to get him involved and look out for him.”
How many games do you think it will take for the Lakers to win this?
Horry: “I think the Lakers will get it in six. But if they don’t get Game 1, it’s going to be tough. The playoffs are always a chess match. Knowing Ime Udoka, he’s going to be saying a couple of words to LeBron to try to get him thrown out or get him off his kilter. One time, he said something to ‘Bron and they were about to go at it. I know Ime. He’s always trying to play a chess game. If the Rockets win Game 1, it’ll be hard for the Lakers to overcome that. Then it becomes a confidence thing instead of a home-court thing.”
How do you look at the uncertainty on when or if Luka and Austin come back?
Horry: “Let me just say this. It’s tough to get into any type of game condition right away from that. You don’t want a hamstring like that, and then you come back and you’re tired and fatigued. That can lead to another injury again. As far as Luka, I don’t see him coming back. It’s hard to come from a hamstring injury like that. With AR, it might just be a pain factor. If he wants to come and play through the pain, then that’s fine. But if he can mess it up even more, then he should be careful. So who knows.”