The Lakers can write a hearty book of all the role players who have stepped up in big moments throughout the franchise’s history. When you win 17 NBA titles, that list is pretty long, in fact.
While Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard are not quite at the levels of the elites in Lakers lore, what they’re doing right now for this Lakers team deserves at least a chapter in that book.
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A month ago, they were the fifth starter and the sixth man who excelled in their roles while also having limitations. On Tuesday, they combined for 48 points to move the shorthanded, underdog Lakers to a 2-0 series lead.
Kennard even received MVP chants at the free throw line in the final minute. Even if they came in jest, it’s a perfect snapshot of this moment. A pair of undersized guards have stepped up in back-to-back playoff games and have the Lakers halfway to a series win.
So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
39 minutes, 28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 8-20 FG, 2-5 3PT, 10-14 FT, +6
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After taking the role of table-setter in Game 1, LeBron was far more aggressive as a scorer in this one. His two threes to open the second quarter were huge momentum boosts at the time.
At times, particularly late in the first half, his offense out of the post wasn’t quite as efficient, but he spent the third quarter and second half targeting Alperen Şengün and methodically picking apart the Rockets’ defense.
It’s been stated time and time again, but he’s 41 years old and leading a team to a playoff win. This is absurd.
Grade: A+
43 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls, 5-10 FG, 3-6 3PT, +0
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Rui continues to have some adventurous moments, like his blown layup in the fourth quarter that immediately led to a Josh Okogie three.
And yet, he still comes up with some really big shots. His jumper over Kevin Durant late in the fourth was a huge shot to push the lead back to six points. He again had an efficient night and while the complaints will come about his rebounding, we’re in year four of Rui now. That just isn’t ever going to be a regular part of his game.
Grade: B+
27 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-8 FG, -5
At the start of this game, Ayton felt like he was a little disengaged offensively. Then Jabari Smith Jr. blocked his layup attempt and told him about it and that woke him up. He immediately tried a poster dunk on the next play and then eventually threw down a ridiculous alley-oop.
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He also played well defensively on Şengün. The change to Jaxson Hayes closing the game felt more like a decision made because of Hayes’ ability to switch on to Kevin Durant more than an indictment on Ayton’s play.
Grade: B
Marcus Smart
35 minutes, 25 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3 fouls, 8-13 FG, 5-7 3PT, 4-5 FT, +3
After leaving a lot on the table from range in Game 1, Smart made up for it and then some on Tuesday. He came out of the gate drilling threes, helping LA grab control of the game early.
There was still the typical chaotic bad that comes with Smart, including being involved in a string of turnovers in the second quarter. But he’s such a great playoff performer when all the little things matter so much, like him getting a hand on a pass late to force a turnover before finding LeBron for his monster dunk to effectively seal the win.
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And yet, my favorite play of the night came minutes into the game when he poked the ball loose from KD, dove on the ground for the steal and found LeBron, who was eventually fouled.
Grade: A+
Luke Kennard
42 minutes, 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 8-13 FG, 3-6 3PT, 4-4 FT, +2
While it may not have had quite the same pop or highlight moment as his Game 1 performance, I’d argue this was actually an even more impressive outing for Kennard. Considering that the Rockets certainly had him higher on the gameplan, for him to still finish with 23 points on 8-13 shooting is incredible.
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The non-LeBron minutes rely heavily on Kennard to score or create. For now, he’s keeping those lineups afloat as the Lakers were +1 with LeBron off the floor.
That we’re at this point with Kennard is really just hard to believe. With Smart, there’s a pedigree of playoff performances to reference when he has a night like this. With Kennard, this is genuinely unchartered waters.
Grade: A+
Jaxson Hayes
21 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 fouls, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-5 FT, +12
After a below-average Game 1, Hayes had a great outing in Game 2. Gone were the silly fouls and mental lapses when defending Şengün. As a result, he rightfully closed the game to help the Lakers shut off the Rockets’ water. He did a solid job rotating out onto Durant either by himself or when trapping.
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And his extra effort late helped the Lakers gain another possession to ice the game away. It took two seasons, but this is safely Hayes’ best postseason game as a Laker.
Grade: B+
16 minutes, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 5 fouls, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, +8
This was a pretty brutal night for LaRavia. There was a stretch in the first half where he turned the ball over, then picked up three fouls in under 30 seconds. He absolutely could not handle the Durant assignment throughout the game, which raises some questions about how playable he is.
Hopefully, this was just a one-off bad game because the Lakers are going to need him on the floor to eat up minutes, if nothing else.
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Grade: F
14 minutes, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, +8
Vando continues to offer basically nothing offensively and can’t make the Rockets pay for leaving him open in the corners, but he did a good job of making up for it defensively. He had a couple of nice possessions defensively on Durant and was active on the glass.
In a game where they needed to grind out a win, Vando felt right at home in his minutes.
Grade: B
It was just one shift in the first half for Bronny without anything of note.
Through two games, JJ Redick is putting on a coaching masterclass. Defensively, he mixed up coverages throughout the game to confuse Durant and the Rockets, oscillating between switching him or trapping him and swarming him with bodies to force the ball out of his hands. It led to nine turnovers from Durant.
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Offensively, he adjusted to the Rockets focusing so heavily on Kennard by putting him in the weakside corner in pick and rolls with LeBron, clearing the lane for he and Ayton to connect on lobs or for LeBron to have a wide open lane to the rim. He also did a nice job of changing LeBron’s post-ups in the second half from the elbow with players all around him to a cleared out side of the floor, forcing help to come and leaving someone open.
This has been a drastically different and better performance from Redick compared to last postseason.
Grade: A+
Tuesday’s DNPs: Maxi Kleber, Dalton Knecht, Nick Smith Jr., Adou Thiero
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Tuesday’s inactives: Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
