Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily presented by Amazon Prime for March 19th, 2026. I'm Dave DuFour here with Espera Henne and Will Guillory. Coming up, the Lakers handle the Rockets two games in a row. Luca and LeBron look amazing. Will Guillory is here. We're going to talk about the Western Conference playoff race. Good morning, everybody. What's up? Dave DeFore here with Espera Henney.
Our guy, Will Guillory, hanging out for the whole show. What's up, Will? I'm doing well, man. I appreciate y'all for having me on. Yeah. Well, you were, you know, you cover the Rockets for us over at The Athletic and you were there in the house. for the Lakers just handing it to the Rockets in that fourth quarter. They got a sweep.
Chapter 2: What were the highlights of the Lakers' back-to-back wins against the Rockets?
Like they tend to do. That's right. They won the baseball series, the back-to-back there in Houston. They picked up the win last night, 124-116. What was it like being in the house for Luka and LeBron putting on a show like that? No, it's funny because you said there for the Lakers hammering them in the fourth quarter.
I didn't know if you were talking about Monday or tonight because it was basically the same thing. The Lakers running away with the game in the fourth quarter. I think it was a little bit different tonight. I felt like Monday was pretty much just a full-on meltdown by the Rockets, just the way they couldn't do anything on offense. Durant was just turning the ball over and over again.
Tonight, I felt like they did a lot of things better. I felt like they made some adjustments. They figured some things out. But in the fourth quarter, Luka just went nuclear. I mean, just completely lost his mind, hitting some crazy shots, throwing lobs up to Rui and LeBron there. And they just couldn't do anything with Luka there in the fourth quarter.
And I just thought it was a really impressive performance by the Lakers because it felt like the Rockets were taking control a little bit in that third quarter with some of the adjustments they made. But then Luka just shut the door and completely went crazy in the end. You know, I don't know if it was an adjustment.
I just want to say because the Rockets, every bucket they get is tough and sometimes they hit them. It is a dice roll with them, right? Like there's no and with the Lakers in that third quarter, I thought that they were sloppy. There were a lot of turnovers. I mean, you know, the shot clock violation.
They just I don't think they were playing their best basketball coming out of halftime and the Rockets hit some shots. That was to me what that third quarter was. I don't want to give them credit. I mean, look, I will also say and not to like keep banging on the Rockets drum here, but like it does feel like Groundhog's Day a little bit with the Rockets. Right.
And not just when it comes to the Lakers, but it feels like every single time we talk about this team, it's the fourth quarter problems. It's the clutch execution. It's how they're going to get over the hump when it comes down to the crunch. I don't know. We're almost done this regular season. Do you feel like there is any solution at all to the problem that they have going on in the clutch?
No, I mean, at the end of the day, I do think if we don't want to get too nerdy, but I do think in this game they made some adjustments where they were playing KD a little bit more off the ball. They were running some horns actions, getting him in the DHOs rather than just basically handing the ball to KD and hoping he could be Superman like they were on Monday. And he got so aggressive. Right.
Yeah. And he was attacking early. He wasn't letting the double teams come during that third quarter. He really got going in that third quarter. And like you guys said, I think in the fourth quarter they were running some of those same actions. But the ball just wasn't getting to Katie was finding Jabari Smith in a corner and found Tari Smith, Tari Eason a couple of times.
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Chapter 3: How did Luka and LeBron perform in their recent matchup?
And those guys just weren't making shots. I felt like, you know, Jabari Smith had a good game, but he went cold in the fourth quarter. Tari Eason. I mean, I just don't know what happened to Tari Eason movie. these past couple of weeks. This is a guy who was leading the league at three point percentage at one point. And I think it's been basically like a month since he made a three pointer now.
And like he, I thought he was doing a decent job attacking the rim early. But basically every time he puts up a jumper, you're expecting it to be a brick at this point, just the way he's been playing. It's unfortunate. Just cause when you like, just like you guys said, when it comes down to these fourth quarter situations, it feels like Alpy and KD have to, do everything.
And whenever they kick the ball out, you don't really trust these other guys to make shots consistently. And then you look at the Reed Shepard factor where you say, okay, Reed Shepard can give you a little bit more offense, but Reed Shepard is also a target for the other team, especially against this particular matchup with the Lakers where you have Luka and LeBron who can target mismatches.
And if you switch everything and you get Reed on a Luka or on a LeBron, It's basically an automatic bucket every time. So I think you just have some real issues with this Rockets team where they have guys who are really good on defense who can't make shots, or they have guys who are pretty good on offense and they can't defend.
And then at that point, they're just hoping LP and KD can kind of save them. And those guys played well tonight, but it just wasn't enough. You know, the thing with Tari Eason is that right now it feels like he's dribbling a lot, and I think it's because teams are guarding KD so aggressively.
You know, in these games where the teams, they need to win, they're throwing two, sometimes three at KD, and these other guys just aren't ready for that. Tari Eason is a two-dribble-at-most-make-a-decision guy. You can't have him – I mean, there's possessions where he's just dribbling around in the paint and he just feels lost. And I think that they've got too many guys like that.
And that winds up being the problem. Jabari is also like that, too. Yeah, for sure.
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Chapter 4: What adjustments did the Rockets make during the game against the Lakers?
Yeah. And it would be an issue if Tyree Eason was a 33% guy over the past month. But it's not a joke, guys. He hasn't made a three-pointer in the last nine games. It's like they would they would be happily take a 33 percent Tari Eason right now from three point. The guy cannot buy a three point to save his life.
And when you're at that point, just like you said, the more these guys are missing shots, the more the floor just constricts on Katie, the more teams are willing to send multiple bodies at him. And, you know, not to take all of the blame off of Katie because he just hasn't. dealt with these double teams very well. He's turning the ball over at a really high rate, especially that game on Monday.
He just had some awful turnovers. You know, backpedaling into the backcourt, violation, getting the eight-second count, walking up the floor too slow. So I think some of the double teams are really getting to him because he feels constricted. He feels like
he can't play that was kind of his message after the game he feels like he just can't really get involved in the game because he's getting double teamed so much and he's trying to make the right play he's trying to go early but you know the right play is to give it up when you draw two you got to give it up and trust your guys and the guys just aren't making enough plays around them
I did see Eme Odoka pregame say that he actually feels like the process out of the doubles is pretty good for KD. So I'm because I agree with you. It does feel like a lot of turnovers, a lot of trust and like relying on him to be the only playmaker for the team.
Do you feel like there's anything on the table of trying something else outside of just like, hey, he's going to get so much attention now? And he has to be the sole playmaker on the Rockets? Well, I would say the big difference between the Monday game and the Wednesday game was obviously getting Alper and Shangu back.
And when he's facing these double teams, if you're hitting Alpy in the pocket, you feel much more comfortable with him making the right play. Rather than on Monday, it felt like they were switching every single time. It was sometimes Finney Smith will come up. Sometimes Ahmed Thompson will come up, I think. You know, in this game tonight, they were much more often getting the ball to Alpine.
You saw tonight, I think he ended up with like 27 and 10 assists or something tonight. So he was able to make a lot of plays out of the pocket and they feel much more comfortable with him in those, you know, four on three situations where he can get to the basket. He can find guys in the corner. So they were doing a better job with it, just having Alpy around.
And I think, you know, a lot of their struggles over the past month or so has been Alpy just not really playing at an all-star level. You know, I wrote this in one of our recent stories, just that, you know, Alpy is a good player, but they need him and KD to be great for this offense to really, you know, be what it needs to be.
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Chapter 5: Why do the Rockets struggle in clutch situations?
When you look at the lineups they're playing, There's not a whole lot of plus defenders out there, but they're playing well as a unit, and you've got to give them a lot of credit for that. I mean, I'm going to give JJ credit for dominating. How about DeAndre Ayton and the way that he's been playing here lately, man? I mean, even in this game, you saw it.
I did think in the third quarter, part of the reason why the Rockets were able to get off to that hot start is because DeAndre Ayton was in foul trouble. He had three fouls to start. You could see he was kind of sagging off of Shingun a little bit when he was shooting, didn't want to pick up that fourth foul. But, man, when he – I mean, he was so aggressive, I thought, in that first half.
I mean, it really set the tone for him. Yeah, I mean, he just looks like, like I said with other guys, he just feels very comfortable in his role and what they're asking of him, where his shots are coming from. I think with Aiden in the past, he was always kind of those guys where if he went two or three minutes without a shot, he would get a little antsy.
He would want to take one of his fadeaways. And I think he's kind of, he knows when he's going to get the ball, where he needs to get the ball. I think he's doing better defensively, being a physical presence, getting the boards. So, yeah, I think a lot of those guys are very just lockers. and what they need to do, how they need to play around Luka and LeBron.
Chapter 6: What is the current state of the Western Conference playoff race?
And, you know, when you have Luka really locked in, the beautiful thing about the way he plays is he's going to get his 40, but he's also getting other guys involved. He's finding those lobs at the rim. He's finding those corner three-point shooters. So you look at the box scoring, Luka's taking a whole bunch of shots, but those other guys still feel involved.
just because of the way he's playing. I think Luger was just masterful in the way that he was getting downhill. Every time they brought Alper and Shane going up in a pick and roll, he was punishing them. He was getting into the paint, either, you know, making plays for himself, finding a lob man, finding the corner three-pointer.
Like I said, they're just very locked in in what they're doing right now. Yeah. Guys, stick around after the break. We're going to get Will's takes on the rest of the West. I want to know what he thinks about the Spurs. Can they win a title? Okay, the Western Conference is the power conference. And Will Guillory covers two teams. He covers the Rockets and the Pelicans.
So he's seen in person maybe more Western Conference games than either one of us, for sure. I mean, that's only goes to Raptors games. Hey, listen, listen. I stay up for the West Coast. Two o'clock in the morning here on the East Coast. Will is in the building for these things. I mean, Will's been going to Pelicans games all year. All right, well, I want your take, man.
It's been a while since we talked. I feel like a lot of teams have evolved. We talked about the Lakers and their evolution over the course of the last six weeks or so, and really since Christmas, just a completely different team. But I feel like a lot of the West, we've seen that, right? Like the Nuggets, they're just starting to get healthy and they don't quite look right.
The Wolves have been up and down, you know, like they have been over the last few years. We've talked about the Rockets struggles, of course. And then there's the Spurs that it feels like they just kind of kick the door open.
on this entire playoff conversation and and maybe even title conversation with the whole nba cup beating the oklahoma city thunder and then coming back and doing it two more times i think really put a stamp and let everybody know that they were here what's your take on the spurs man like do you see them as a legitimate like they can make the finals and win it sort of team
In my mind, there's no question. I think they're playing that well. Obviously, we know what Wimby does on a nightly basis, but I think Stephon Castle has been unbelievable this season. Fox has been such a real calming presence for them at the point guard position. He's very comfortable.
when he needs to be aggressive, when he can kind of play the background and let Castle and Wimby do their thing. Their role guys are so good. Champagney, Dylan Harper off the bench. They bring Luke Cornett in so they can be a little bit bigger. I just think they do a lot of – things really well. Mitch Johnson has been so great for them with the adjustments he's been making.
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Chapter 7: What impact does Alperen Şengün have on the Rockets' offense?
I'm just letting you know this is the cure for tanking. It is. I agree. They have no reason to lose or incentive to lose. If you fix the incentives, yeah, you'll fix tanking. There's no reason to lose and they keep winning. I got to say, Jared McCain just had his fourth 20-point game for the Thunder last night. The guy who apparently the Sixers sold high on.
So I understand being hesitant to be like, hey, Zion just had this crazy healthy season. Let's trade him. I get it. Because, man, what if you trade him somewhere and he's... you know, any Zion be a level Zion Williamson. I understand. Okay. So we're going to see the same pals next year. That's going to be fun. All right. Well, thanks for hanging out with us guys.
Go and read well at the athletic and then listen to him here on the podcast. We're going to try to keep them in the loop way more since we're going into playoff mode. Now for us, Barah, Henny and Will Guillory. I'm Dave Dufour. And this has been the NBA daily. Thanks for hanging out with us.