Rockets start with P.J. Tucker on Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon on LeBron

Gordon and Tucker are several inches shorter than their opponents, but they’re much stronger than most players of those heights.

The Houston Rockets will begin their second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers with P.J. Tucker guarding Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon covering LeBron James, as confirmed by head coach Mike D’Antoni in his pregame media session before Friday’s game.

By height, the 6-foot-3 Gordon and 6-foot-5 Tucker are several inches shorter than the 6-foot-9 James and 6-foot-10 Davis, who are the top two scorers on the Lakers. But both Houston defenders are much stronger than most players at their respective heights and positions.

In fact, with a sample size of nearly 40 possessions, Tucker graded out statistically as the toughest defender for Davis this season.

As for Gordon, he was credited by D’Antoni with helping slow Oklahoma City’s Chris Paul late in Game 7, which the Rockets won by holding the Thunder to just eight points in the final eight-plus minutes. James obviously has a much different body type than Paul, but Gordon’s strength could help him to at least be competitive. He also should have the lateral movement to stay with James on the perimeter.

In the previous two postseasons, Gordon had success defending against the likes of Donovan Mitchell and Klay Thompson. While neither of those two are LeBron’s size, they do show that Gordon is also capable of picking up players significantly larger than the 6-foot-1 Paul.

After the Tucker-on-Davis assignment was confirmed, a reporter then asked D’Antoni if that meant that 6-foot-8 forward Robert Covington would initially pick up James. This is how D’Antoni replied:

Ah… no. Want to guess somebody else? I don’t know if I’ve already given it away, but Eric will be guarding him.

Of course, in a defensive system that routinely switches on most picks, the initial defensive assignments don’t always matter. But it does provide a window into who Houston believes gives them the best chance.

Game 1 between the Rockets and Lakers is set for an 8:00 p.m. Central tip-off on Friday night, with a national broadcast on ESPN.

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