The Los Angeles Lakers are one win from the next round of the NBA playoffs, and Game 4 against the Houston Rockets is set for Sunday, April 26, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC. Los Angeles leads the series 3-0, and a victory would end it before the bracket moves on.
If the Rockets force the series deeper, Game 5 would be played Wednesday, April 29. Game 6 is scheduled for Friday, May 1 if needed, and Game 7 would come Sunday, May 3. The next round of the playoffs is estimated to begin between May 2 and May 4, so the Lakers could be heading into the next stage almost immediately after closing out Houston.
That next opponent would come from the Oklahoma City Thunder-Phoenix Suns series, with Oklahoma City holding a 2-0 lead heading into Game 3. The NBA does not reseed its playoff bracket, so Los Angeles would face the winner of that matchup regardless of upsets. The Thunder also swept the Lakers 4-0 in the season series, a detail that hangs over any possible second-round meeting.
The Lakers have reached this point without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, both of whom have been described as out indefinitely. Reaves was listed as questionable for Game 3 but did not play. Coach JJ Redick said there was still no timeline for either player. “Austin has started a return-to-play [plan,] but we don’t have any timeline update for him,” Redick said. He added that Doncic is expected to begin court work soon, but said there is still no update on when he might return.
That leaves Los Angeles trying to finish off Houston while waiting for help that is not coming soon. If the Lakers close it out Sunday, they would have only a brief pause before the next round begins. If not, the lakers vs rockets schedule stretches through May, and the pressure shifts back to Houston for one more fight.
