What the experts are saying about the Lakers vs Rockets series

The first-round NBA playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets will be a fairly intriguing one for the basketball world as a whole. While Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will be sidelined, at least to start the series, there will still be LeBron James in one corner and Kevin Durant in the other corner, and that always makes for, at worst, something that approximates must-see television. Just about everyone agrees that the Rockets are strong favorites to win this series, if for no other reason than the fact that the Lakers are crippled as if the basketball gods shot them in the legs.

But nothing is certain in the world of the NBA, and upsets, not to mention strange things, can happen. In this article, LeBron Wire is taking a look at what some of the experts across the nation are saying about this series and how they feel it will turn out. Let's start with Dan Woike, who covers the Lakers for The Athletic .

"The Lakers have had to undergo the worst kind of reinvention in the final five games of the regular season, figuring out how to play together without their two most important players," Woike wrote. "The good news, relatively speaking, is that option No. 3 is James.

The bad news: At 41, how often can he empty the tank to keep them afloat long enough to maybe — maybe — get Dončić or Reaves back on the court. "... Maybe the basketball gods will reward the Lakers for their March and provide them with some incredible medical news with Dončić and/or Reaves.