ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Lakers 4/18/2026 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 1)

I was at that game, the Summit went insane, everyone was chanting his name all the way to the parking lot. Gone are the days . . .

 

Rockets came out flat, but Lakers also played out of their ass. They shot a ridiculous percentage and made shots at a way higher than normal clip. Hachimura hit way more shots than normal. Smart had some ridiculous rough layups/shots that he doesn’t normally make. Kennard … didn’t even miss? lol

Rockets will play better and Lakers will not keep up this efficiency.

 

It's insane how stone and the rockers were leaking all the pictures of Banchero coming to Houston and eating with Stone and how old tweets of Banchero saying he thinks kpj and JG will be a good backcourt... the draft outfit Banchero was wearing was a shout out towards Houston culture and when the magic drafted him he was visibly upset/angry.

 

That's when the Rockets should've unleashed their secret weapon from 3 point range... Capela

 

Stone even said how he was surprised how big Banchero really was and how he was at least 6’10” barefoot lol. You don’t reveal this info before the draft especially when the team in front of you didn’t have a chance to interview and practice him. Moron

 

There was only one stretch where the Lakers kept turning the ball over and the Rockets hit some shots right before the half to close the gap to within 2 points. Other than that, every Rocket player was ass last night. Tari especailly.

 

Ehh most of it's just Ctrl V the super long NBA.com urls.

I actually enjoyed rewatching those plays even though last night was miserable - reminds you of how much goes on that we miss in the moment

 

Tari was 7-7 with 16 points in 20-something minutes man.....

 

Banchero refused to workout for the magic because they wanted to bring him in last minute because stone was now making their FO second guess themselves and Banchero was happy and wanted to play here along with him thinking it's a waste of time since they rolled out the red carpet for Jabari.

 

I guess I was more focused on the way he kept fouling the Lakers to the line in the 3rd quarter when we were already down by 10 and they were in the penalty. That negated any offense he brought in and why he was still a -6 on the floor.

The point is, no lineup was winning last night as about every Rocket is to blame.

 

Which teammate did he collide with. We need to know who to cut or trade this off season

 

The rockets dodged a bullet. The real prize in that top 3 was Chet

 

Nook said there are still fans in the organization that want Banchero hell, even Nook himself said Banchero will work well on this team with Amen.. the issue is legitimately Sengun

 

We all know it was Tari Jk… but chances are…

 

Tate’s dumbass who was supposed to be the steady veteran and grown up single handily pushed the lead to double digits and kept the game out of reach at the end of the 3rd quarter. He was acting like an absolute clown out there.

 

Even the Suns have a more obvious Game plan than the Rockets this time around.

 

Rockets did not play with intensity. Did someone forget to tell them it was the "playoffs?"