Lakers Face Lineup Dilemma as Reaves Returns and Kennard’s Playoff Woes Deepen

Key facts

• Austin Reaves returned from a strained left oblique in the Lakers’ Game 5 loss to the Rockets on Wednesday.
• Luke Kennard scored 1 point on 0-for-4 shooting in Game 5, with 2 assists.
• The Lakers were minus-2 in 17 minutes with Reaves and Kennard on the court together in Game 5.
• In the regular season, the Lakers had a minus-5.8 net rating when Reaves and Kennard shared the floor.
• Without Doncic, the Reaves-Kennard pairing posted a minus-15.2 net rating over 273 possessions.
• Kennard shot 8 of 11 from 3-point range in the first two games of the series but 1 of 11 in the next three.
• The Grizzlies were outscored by 18 points in Kennard’s 81 minutes during last year’s playoff sweep by the Thunder.
• The Lakers lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, with Game 6 in Houston on Friday.

A Return That Magnifies a Problem

HOUSTON — When Austin Reaves finally stepped back onto the court for Game 5 against the Rockets on Wednesday night, the Lakers had hoped his return would stabilize an offense that has sputtered without Luka Doncic. Instead, the 112-104 loss laid bare a dilemma that coach JJ Redick had deferred only days earlier: how to make Reaves and Luke Kennard work together without compromising the team’s defensive integrity. Redick, asked before the series how he would manage Reaves’ role after Kennard’s emergence in the playoffs, had replied, “We’ll cross that bridge when it happens.” With Reaves back and the Lakers clinging to a 3-2 series lead, the bridge has arrived — and the early returns are troubling.

The Numbers Behind the Pairing’s Struggles

The Lakers were outscored by two points in the 17 minutes Reaves and Kennard shared the floor in Game 5. That small-sample deficit echoes a regular-season trend: when the two guards played together, the Lakers posted a minus-5.8 net rating, with a high-powered offense undermined by porous defense. Without Doncic, the numbers are even starker. Over 273 possessions in which Reaves and Kennard shared the court without the star guard, the Lakers recorded a minus-15.2 net rating. The sample is modest, but the pattern is consistent: the pairing’s offensive gains are erased by defensive breakdowns.

Kennard’s Playoff Pattern Repeats

Luke Kennard’s Game 5 performance — one point on zero-for-four shooting, two assists, and a benching at halftime — fits a troubling postseason history. The 29-year-old guard has seen his regular-season minutes decline in three consecutive playoff runs, and his defensive limitations have been a recurring liability. After scoring 50 points on eight-of-11 three-point shooting in the first two games of this series, Kennard has made just one of his last 11 attempts from deep. The Lakers lost his minutes in each of the subsequent three games. Last year, the Grizzlies were outscored by 18 points in Kennard’s 81 minutes during a first-round sweep by the Thunder, where he made only two of nine three-pointers.

The Doncic Void and the Need for Offense

The Lakers’ offensive struggles are magnified by the absence of Luka Doncic, who remains sidelined with a strained left hamstring. Without their MVP candidate, the team has leaned on Reaves’ ball-handling, pick-and-roll playmaking, and pull-up shooting to generate points. When Reaves and Kennard share the floor, the Lakers have found some success with Reaves operating on the ball while Kennard runs off weakside screens, creating driving lanes and kick-out opportunities. But the defensive shortcomings are tolerable only if the offense is firing on all cylinders — and in Game 5, it was not.

A Series That Has Shifted

The Lakers opened the series with three straight wins, but the Rockets have clawed back with victories in Games 4 and 5. The series now heads to Houston for Game 6 on Friday night, with the Rockets aiming to force a decisive Game 7. Kennard’s playoff history suggests his shooting slump may persist. In the 2023 first-round series against the Lakers, his minutes dropped from 25.0 per game in the first three contests to 13.6 and 17.6 in Games 4 and 5 before he missed Game 6 with an injury. Across four postseason stops since 2019, the pattern has repeated: hot starts followed by defensive exposure and diminished impact.

What Comes Next for the Lakers’ Rotation

Redick must now decide how to deploy his backcourt as the Lakers try to close out the series. The team needs Reaves’ playmaking and scoring, but Kennard’s floor-spacing is critical with Doncic out. Yet if Kennard cannot make shots, his defensive liabilities become a net negative. The Lakers’ margin for error is thin. They need the Reaves-Kennard pairing to find synergy — or Redick may have to shorten his rotation. The pressure is on the Lakers to close out the series in Houston, and the clock is ticking on finding a formula that works.

The bottom line

• Austin Reaves’ return in Game 5 did not solve the Lakers’ offensive issues; the team lost his minutes alongside Luke Kennard.
• Luke Kennard’s playoff history shows a consistent pattern of declining production and defensive vulnerability as series progress.
• The Lakers’ net rating with Reaves and Kennard on the floor without Luka Doncic is minus-15.2 over 273 possessions.
• Kennard shot 1 of 11 from three-point range over the last three games after starting the series 8 of 11.
• The Lakers lead 3-2 but face a Game 6 on the road, with the Rockets gaining momentum.
• Coach JJ Redick must decide whether to adjust the rotation or trust the pairing to improve under playoff pressure.