Celtics Joe Mazzulla Doles Out Praise for Rockets' Kevin Durant

The Houston Rockets are firing on all cylinders right now. The integration of Kevin Durant hae been smoother than anyone could've imagined (although Durant has proven capable of essentially playing in any system).

The Rockets also seem to have struck gold with the Josh Okogie acquisition, as he's been better than expected. 

The Rockets made easy work out of the Boston Celtics, in a game that was largely decided by the midway point. Houston led 66-48 at the half and they kept pouring points on the scoreboard. 

Houston got to the foul line 35 times compared to just seven trips for the Celtics. The Rockets also shot 65 percent from the outside, although they only took 29 shots from deep. 

Durant was simply too much for the Celtics to handle, as he got essentially whatever he wanted all night. The 37-year-old had 26 points on just 11 shots, going 8-of-11 from the floor. 

Durant shot 2-of-3 from the outside and 8-of-9 from the foul line, in addition to three stocks.

Durant posted a 86.9 true shooting clip and 81.8 effective field goal clip. 

Again, he got everything he wanted. 

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla went into detail after the game to explain exactly what makes Durant so difficult to stop.

"I think it’s his competitive nature. You see what he did in the Olympics. You see what he’s done at every stop of his career. Having played against him with Brooklyn, in the playoff series, just the preparation, his ability to put pressure on defenses. He’s one of the smarter players, just a high-level competitor. I have a lot of respect for him.”

Mazzulla isn't normally one to speak in detail about opposing players so he clearly has a high level of respect for Durant.

Thus far, Durant has averaged 27.2 points on the season, which ranks 11th in the league, despite taking only 15.6 shots, which is his least throughout his 19-year career.

Durant is now averaging 55 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from three (on 4.4 attempts), 85.4 percent from the foul line, 60.9 effective field goal percentage, and 68.6 percent true shooting, the latter of which is a career-best.