Houston Rockets: Kevin Durant Praises Ime Udoka's Defensive Schemes

Durant said this before the news of his arrival to Houston was made public, coming from the perspective as a star who plays against Udoka's defenses.

The Rockets zone defense was crucial in pushing the Golden State Warriors to seven games in their first round playoff series, causing trouble for non-shooters around Steph Curry – a strategy that can prove effective against other playoff contenders in future matchups.

Durant joins this group as a sneaky underrated defender, who's been asked to help anchor the Suns defense for the previous two seasons as the team lacked defensive depth. In each of the last two seasons, Durant led Phoenix with 1.2 blocks per game, serving as arguably their best rim protector.

Durant – along with offseason addition Clint Capela – help out in the rim protection department that the Rockets struggled with last year. Providing verticality and contests above the rim that Alperen Sengun can't adds another unique fold to Udoka's versatile defensive schemes.

Durant performed better under defensive mastermind Frank Vogel in 2023-2024 than he did with Mike Budenholzer in the past season, but still proved capable regardless. Uniting him with Udoka and putting him into a more confined role could unlock one of the best defensive versions of Durant the league has seen.

It's obvious that Durant's addition would do wonders for the Rockets' offense – giving the group a proven first option capable of scoring from anywhere on the court, against any matchup. But Durant appearing eager to work with Udoka as part of a unique Rockets defense can't go under the radar