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Durant missed Game 1 with a tendon bruise in his right knee and is now set to miss Game 3 with a sprained left ankle he suffered in Game 2. Reed Sheppard is an option to move into the starting lineup with Durant out. The injury is certainly a blow to the Rockets and a break for the Lakers.

Durant, who missed Game 1 with a tendon bruise in his right knee, is now dealing with a sprained left ankle. With the Rockets in a 0-2 hole, they can ill afford to be without their best offensive player in Game 3. Reed Sheppard would return to the starting lineup if Durant can’t play.

While Durant otherwise had a nice game offensively as he led the Rockets with 23 points on 12 attempts from the field, his nine turnovers in Game 2 were glaring. The 37-year-old small forward returned for Game 2 after missing the first game of the series with a knee tendon bruise. Durant and the Rockets will have to regroup and try to hold serve as the series shifts to Houston for Game 3 on Friday.

Durant missed Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Lakers with a knee tendon bruise. The 27-year-old small forward is back for Game 2, according to Charania. Durant will face off in the playoffs against LeBron James for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals.

Due to a right knee contusion, Durant did not play in Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Lakers. The veteran forward’s ability to participate in half of Monday’s session is not a good sign, even with Udoka saying that Durant will be a game-time decision for Tuesday’s Game 2. Reed Sheppard moved into the starting lineup in the series opener and struggled, shooting 6-of-20 from the field in 36 minutes of action. If Durant remains out, they’ll need more production from Sheppard and Alperen Şengün to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole.

Smith finished Saturday’s defeat with playoff career-highs in points and rebounds, recording his first postseason double-double. He shot 3-of-9 from beyond the arc in Game 1, with the percentage being a few points lower than his mark during the regular season (36.3 percent). Smith is one of many Rockets who benefit from Kevin Durant’s presence on the floor; the veteran scorer did not play on Saturday due to a right knee contusion. If Durant can return for Tuesday’s Game 2, it would be unsurprising if Smith offered a more efficient stat line.

With Kevin Durant (knee) unavailable, Sheppard returned to the Rockets’ starting lineup for Game 1. While the second-year guard has proven himself a competent scorer, he struggled on Saturday. Sheppard shot 5-of-14 from three and 1-of-6 from two, and the eight assists were countered by four turnovers. Regardless of what happens with Durant moving forward, the Rockets will need a more efficient Sheppard if they’re to play deep into the playoffs.

After scoring a career-high 41 points in his final outing of the regular season, Thompson was held to less than half that number on Saturday. While he didn’t have a terrible night shooting the basketball, the Rockets’ guard’s inability to consistently hit jumpers can put him in a challenging spot when the opposition is locked in defensively. The Lakers were able to make Thompson play in a crowd for most of Game 1, limiting his effectiveness as a scorer. Getting Kevin Durant (knee) back for Tuesday’s Game 2 will help the entire Rockets’ roster, not just Thompson.

With no Kevin Durant (knee) in the fold for Game 1, this felt like a spot in which the Rockets would run even more of their offense through Şengün. While he did attempt 19 shots, there were moments when Şengün was not as involved in the offense as he should be. The final stat line was solid, but the Rockets are going to need more from him, regardless of Durant’s availability for the rest of the series. Houston will look to even the series at one game apiece on Tuesday night.

Three of the four best players in this series won’t be available for Game 1, as Kevin Durant has joined the Lakers’ Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves on the sidelines due to a knee contusion. Sheppard returns to the starting lineup, and he’ll shoulder a heavy workload along with Thompson and Şengün as playmakers within the Rockets’ offense.