Count TNT analyst and former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal as among those bullish on the Kevin Durant era of the Houston Rockets.
“Definitely got a closer,” O’Neal said of the Durant acquisition. He spoke in an exclusive interview with RG’s DJ Siddiqi.
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“Should get them higher, higher towards the top,” O’Neal continued. “I know they let go of Jalen Green, and he carried them last year, but KD is a more consistent Jalen Green. Jalen Green was too up and down for them to get to the next level.”
“Listen, if KD is healthy and shooting the ball well, they can make some noise.”
To O’Neal’s point, Green’s inconsistency was on full display in the recently completed 2025 NBA playoffs.
He had a team-high 38 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals in a Game 2 victory over the Golden State Warriors. In that first-round game, he made 13-of-25 shots (52.0%) and 8-of-18 from 3-point range (44.4%).
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But in the other six games of the series, Green never exceeded 12 points or 40% shooting. Houston lost four of those six, including a season-ending loss in a winner-take-all Game 7 at home.
With Green as their top perimeter scorer, the Rockets were a good team, as evidenced by their 52-30 record in the regular season and a No. 2 placement in the Western Conference standings. But there were offensive limitations that ultimately got exposed in high-leverage, playoff situations.
The hope is that Durant brings many of the same highs, but without nearly the same lows.
More: Entering 2025 offseason, Rockets urged to ‘level up’ the offense
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This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: For Rockets, Shaq sees Kevin Durant as a ‘more consistent Jalen Green’