{"id":613545,"date":"2026-04-17T19:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613545\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T19:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:30:13","slug":"rockets-vs-lakers-same-game-parlay-for-saturdays-nba-playoffs-game-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613545\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets vs Lakers Same-Game Parlay for Saturday’s NBA Playoffs Game 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant<\/a> and LeBron James<\/a> headline the upcoming first-round matchup between the Houston Rockets<\/a> and Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Despite your fandom, don\u2019t sleep on this Round 1 rumble. You\u2019ll miss KD and LeBron when they\u2019re gone, and in honor of this Hall of Fame pairing, my Rockets vs. Lakers predictions<\/a> for Saturday\u2019s series opener lean on both superstars.<\/p>\n

Here are my best NBA picks<\/a> for April 18.<\/p>\n

Our best Rockets vs Lakers SGP for Game 1<\/p>\n

Without Luka Doncic<\/a> and Austin Reaves<\/a>, oddsmakers aren\u2019t giving the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> much of a shot in Round 1.<\/p>\n

That said, if there was a game in which L.A. would show up, Saturday is it. Los Angeles is rested and ready for the Rockets, and LeBron always plays his best in the opener. The Houston Rockets’<\/a> young stars could be a bit tight, having to start the playoffs on the road.<\/p>\n

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Kevin Durant<\/a> hasn\u2019t shown any signs of slowing down. He was a beast in the home stretch, averaging more than 27 points in the final 13 games of the regular season. His projections sit as high as 27+ points for Game 1 against a broken L.A. rotation.<\/p>\n

Fading LeBron James\u2019<\/a> assist prop is kind of a nod toward his scoring prowess. The Lakers’ supporting roles are terribly inconsistent, especially against a good defense like Houston. James has been dishing out the dimes with Luka out, but he\u2019ll have to carry this team with scoring in Game 1.<\/p>\n

MORE NBA FREE PICKS<\/a><\/p>\n

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Covers.com<\/a>, read the full article here<\/a> and view our best betting sites<\/a> or check out our top sportsbook promos<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. Kevin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,30097,63,7220,7216,99508,7896,7232,11473,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-613545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-austin-reaves","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-houston-rockets","12":"tag-kevin-durant","13":"tag-l-a","14":"tag-lebron-james","15":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","16":"tag-luka-doncic","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}