Rockets Have A Kevin Durant Solution

Rockets Have A Kevin Durant Solution

Kevin Durant is a Houston Rocket. A team once building for the future is now playing to win now. But what exactly does KD fix and can he take the Rockets from playoff hopeful to title contender? Let’s break it down with the numbers to back it up. The Rockets were the second seed in the West, but they got bounced in the first round. Why? Well, their inconsistent shooting was certainly a factor. They were 25th in three-point makes and 21st in attempts. Their offensive rating was just 13th in the league. Their poor ball movement where they ranked 25th in assists and 20th in assist to turnover ratio all culminated to their very poor game seven scoring output of only 89 points. This was also highlighted by their late game struggles throughout the playoffs and their apparent lack of a true closer. They absolutely had talent but lacked the playoff experience, reliable creation and shotmaking in the clutch. Enter Kevin Durant. So Houston made the move. They got rid of Jaylen Green, Dylan Brooks, and the 10th overall pick and added in Kevin Durant. And with KD’s addition, they’re getting 26.6 points per game on 52.7 field goal percentage, 43% from three, an elite isolation score, one of the best in the NBA, two-time Finals MVP, two-time champion, and the list goes on and on. But ultimately, he gives Houston exactly what they were missing, which is efficient, reliable offense in high pressure moments. To dive a little bit deeper, last season Jaylen Green was a minus 8.1 in onoff. Dylan Brooks a minus 1.5 while Kevin Durant was a plus 5.6. And so ultimately they traded negative impact players for elite impact guys. Now ultimately I don’t want to talk too down on those guys because they were integral to what the Houston Rockets were able to accomplish last season. Whether it was with the highscoring volume from Green and the tough defense and culture setting from Dylan Brooks and improved three-point shooting from him. But adding in Kevin Durant should be seen as a very positive addition. And when you add KD around guys like Sangun who was a plus 8.2, Smith Jr. who was a plus 4.5, Van Fleet who was a plus 3.2 among other guys of course cuz they still got Thompson and other guys on this team like Steven Adams, Clink Capella. You’ve got a lineup built to win games ultimately though. But it wasn’t just KD. Houston did not stop there. They added in reliable depth on this team. They brought back Clint Capella, made room for Reed Shepard and Amend Thompson to take steps forward, which is going to be huge for this team, particularly with Thompson, and when you realize the fact they weren’t really able to use Shepard last season, and they created space for him, and they are going to be relying on him a ton this season, they should be better. Add that alongside Dorian Finny Smith, a 40% three-point shooter. It makes a lot of sense why the Rockets made the decisions that they did this off season with Kevin Durant spearheading them. But I will say there are questions that do remain with this roster. Are they able to reach the mountaintop as so many people have them in contention to do? If so, it’s going to take continued improvement from their younger guys on this team. Shangon, Shepard, and Thompson specifically are going to be guys that they have to lean on a ton this upcoming season. Another question I have is, does this team have too many big guys? How does the rotation between Capella, Shangon, Adams, hell, let’s add in DFS, let’s add in uh Jabari Smith, let’s add in KD. How does that rotation really work out? It’s nice to have the depth, of course, so I’m not too concerned about it, but that is a question I have. What about the guard consistency? Let’s flip all the way to the opposite end. One of the big questions I have with this team is that they don’t have a ton of guard creation. They’re going to be relying on Thompson and Shepard, like I’ve said a couple of times, but specifically for their creation abilities. Van Vleet can be up and down, which is perfectly fine. KD can create his own shots. Shangon is going to be a guy that they run through a lot. But how does that all look? Do they have enough playmaking on this team? And lastly, the most important question I have is Kevin Durant’s health. He turns 37 this season and you really need to be in a position to pace him along the way throughout the season to get him to the postseason as healthy as possible. Still, the bottom line is this. Kevin Durant dramatically raises the rocket ceiling. He fills their biggest needs of shot creation, spacing, and playoff leadership. And with Udoka at the helm and a versatile roster around him, Houston is officially a contender. Is KD the piece Houston needed to win it all? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.

In this video Donnie Freeman takes a look at Kevin Durant’s arrival in Houston and why the Rockets are now on another level…

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