The 2026 NBA Playoffs is almost upon us, and one of the matchups that has been getting a lot of buzz is the four/five slate in the Western Conference between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.

Even with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves likely to miss the entire series, we will still have the chance to witness two of the greatest players of their generation (LeBron James and Kevin Durant) go at it for what could be the grand finale of their longstanding rivalry.

Even at their advanced ages (James is 41, Durant is 37), they are both still their team’s leading scorers (among healthy players). In this piece, we break down the best plan to slow him down.

How Will The Rockets Defend LeBron James?

Conventional wisdom tells you that without Doncic and Reaves, you can focus extra attention on James, as we outlined with Durant. However, James is a far greater passer than Durant (ranking in the 93rd percentile in Passer Rating, per CraftedNBA) and the Lakers have more shooting around him than the Rockets do, even with all that they are missing in that regard. Luke Kennard and Rui Hachimura are two of the most efficient outside shooters in the league, ranking first and ninth in the league, respectively, in 3-point percentage. Nick Smith Jr. and Bronny James can hit open shots, Jake LaRavia can attack tilted floors with his refined drive game, Deandre Ayton is around the rim to finish plays with layups and dunks.

The point is simple: if you try to “turn LeBron into a passer,” you’re letting the Lakers off the hook. It sounds counterintuitive for the league’s all-time leading scorer, but Houston’s best bet is forcing LeBron to be Superman for an entire series.

There’s also a subtle but important trend working in Houston’s favor LeBron James isn’t generating easy transition offense at the same rate anymore. For a player who has built his career on overwhelming teams in the open floor, that drop-off matters more than it seems, especially in a playoff setting where every possession gets magnified.

The numbers back that up in a big way:

Among high-level scorers, James now ranks near the top in fast break scoring but on noticeably lower efficiency and frequency compared to his peak years. That shift changes how defenses can approach him. If Houston can consistently get its defense set and limit early offense, they can force James into more half-court possessions, where the margin for error is much smaller.

And that’s exactly where the Rockets want this series to live. A slower, grind-it-out game neutralizes one of James’ biggest historical advantages and puts more pressure on him to create against a loaded defense possession after possession.

You want to keep actions contained to a one-on-one/two-on-two dance as frequently as possible. Screening actions with non-centers should (almost) always be switched, while those involving a big can be defended in drop coverage. Make him win isolation after isolation. Also, defenders can sag off him and make him take a high volume of jump shots. Last season hinted at a shooting leap, but this year suggests it was an outlier as this year he is in the 32nd percentile on midrangers (38.9%) and 23rd percentile on 3-point attempts (31.7%). This ends up being a make, but look at how suboptimal of a shot the Dallas Mavericks force James into by going with a switching defense.

The Rockets have had a handful of different starting lineups this season. For this series, they should start Amen Thompson, Josh Okogie, Kevin Durant, Tari Eason, and Alperen Sengun. Reed Sheppard’s offense isn’t as necessary in this series given how much offense the Lakers are missing. Plus, not having him out there makes it easier to switch everything 1-4. With this group, Houston can start with either Eason or Okogie on James and constantly rotate defenders to show him different looks. Thompson is the best perimeter defender Houston rosters, but his lighter frame gives LeBron opportunities to play through contact and get to his spots. Off the bench, we could also see the Rockets put Dorian Finney-Smith or Jae’Sean Tate on James.

What Happens Next

Future adjustments will depend on a few factors. Can Los Angeles actually make a series out of it? If the Lakers look lifeless without their two best players, there likely won’t be a need for too many adjustments on the part of the Rockets.

If the Lakers can keep this thing competitive, it becomes a question of how James is doing his damage. Is he just hitting a bunch of outside shots? If that’s the case, the law of averages tells us that James’ percentages will regress to the mean, and that colder performances are forthcoming. If that happens, I wouldn’t blink too fast if I’m head coach Ime Udoka and I’d keep trusting my current process.

If James is just getting paint touch after paint touch and creating high-value looks for himself and his teammates, that’s a whole different ball game. Last postseason, we saw the Rockets use a 2-3 zone in their first round series against the Golden State Warriors.

I know we just applauded Los Angeles for having good shooters and zones often get burned by these types of players, but, in the proper doses, these unorthodox looks can disrupt an offense’s rhythm. And given how little margin for error the Lakers are currently operating with, a couple more empty possessions may be all Houston needs to put them to bed once and for all.

This will seem to run counter to the theme of this article, but If LeBron gets rolling, that’s when you shift gears bring the second defender, show hard hedges, and force the ball out of his hands. Once LeBron proves he still has that gear, that is when you try to dare less proven players to beat you. For instance, while Kennard is elite at converting on 3-point shots, he doesn’t take as many as you think. This season, Kennard is in the 44th percentile in 3-point attempts per game. Is he comfortable taking eight threes instead of three or four? The same goes for the likes of The King’s son, Hachimura, and Smith.

At the end of the day, it takes an army of soldiers and strategies to beat the greats. That’s what makes players like LeBron James impossible to solve, you can only survive them.