Playing the Los Angeles Lakers has lost its luster over the past few seasons, but Houston Rockets forward Kevin Porter Jr. still gets hyped about seeing the historic franchise on their schedule.
The Lakers come to Houston for a game against the Rockets Sunday evening. Los Angeles comes into the contest eighth in the Western Conference standings, while Houston is in the running for the top lottery pick in this summer's NBA Draft.
Even with nothing to play for, Kevin Porter Jr. is excited about playing against the Lakers, particularly the pair of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
“We love playing the Lakers,” Porter said (via Lakers Daily). “It’s the Lakers, at the end of the day. Bron, A.D., big names come in and that’s usually when we raise our intensity. And it’s our home. They’re coming in here. We have to protect our home.”
As big as the names on the front of the jersey (and the back) might be, one could think it shouldn't take a certain team or player to get hyped about playing. Being in the NBA should be enough to bring it every single game.
On the other end, this could be looked at as a refreshing opinion from Porter Jr. It's human nature to look forward at certain games more than others, and even at this point, James and Davis are still two of the top players in the NBA. Combine that with the nostalgia the Lakers carry, and it could definitely make a younger player like Porter Jr. get excited.
There might not be much on the line (besides draft order) for the Rockets, but at least they're happy about the chance to play spoiler.
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