NBA analyst reveals ‘underrated’ quality of Kevin Durant that he will add to the Houston Rockets

David Dennis Jr. gives Durant’s defense credit

While the introduction of Durant will instantly help improve the offense of the Rockets, their defense will not be all that affected as the 15-time All-Star can also play on that end of the floor.

He does not have any All-Defensive selections, but the likes of Amen Thompson , Steven Adams and Dorian Finney-Smith are also on the Rockets, which means Durant does not have to worry all that much.

His height definitely gives him an advantage while blocking shots, and according to David Dennis Jr., this will help the Rockets next season.

“I think he’s going to add a lot of versatility for this squad on the defensive end, I think Kevin Durant has been kind of an underrated defender throughout his career.

“He can defend in the paint, he can defend with help defense. The blocks are always there,” said Dennis Jr.

The rise of Thompson and presence of players like Tari Eason and Adams meant the Rockets always had defensive solidity. But that meant their offense was often compromised.

This won’t be a problem next year for the Rockets as KD will help them out on both ends of the floor.

Rockets can play multiple lineups next season with Durant

While defense is not Durant’s calling card, he has improved on that end of the floor as his career has progressed.

The Rockets have managed to build a great roster around their young core and Durant. Bringing in the likes of Finney-Smith and Josh Okogie will further elevate their defensive strengths and also give them versatility.

Dennis Jr. said: “You could put Durant out there with four great defenders, which the Rockets have and then allow him to run the offense. You could put guys like Thompson, Okogie which is a sneaky good defensive add that they just had.

“You can go super big with Adams, Durant and Sengun or you could go with Kevin Durant playing center, which he is known to do.

“There is just so much defensive versatility that you add with Kevin Durant’s own defense, but also the fact that you don’t have to worry about that offense falling apart because you have too many defenders out there because Kevin Durant can just generate so much offense on his own.”