The Rockets lived to fight another day in their first-round playoff series against the Lakers over the weekend. Houston, down 3–0 after a demoralizing and disastrous end to Game 3 , rallied to win in Game 4 and earned a trip back to Los Angeles for Wednesday night’s Game 5 as a reward.

The team did so without the talents of Kevin Durant ; the future Hall of Fame scorer was sidelined with an ankle sprain, a new injury after he missed Game 1 with a knee injury. Despite coach Ime Udoka leaving the door open for a potential return, Tuesday brought the dreaded (but expected) news : Durant would miss Game 5, ruled out with his ankle injury over 24 hours before tip.

It’s as good a sign as any that KD will not be seen on the court anytime soon. It also means Houston’s fate is in the hands of its young talent.…