The Lakers will face the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, which means LeBron James will go head-to-head against Kevin Durant for the first time in the postseason since the 2018 NBA Finals. Since they're short-handed without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, they will almost certainly be sizable underdogs, but they should also have a real shot at advancing, especially since they will have home-court advantage.
Game 1 of the series will take place at 5:30 p.m. Los Angeles time at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, April 18, and it can be seen on ABC.