Rockets Need Former Version of Durant To Contend

The Houston Rockets are entering next season with the confidence that they can match any of the league's top teams if they were to meet in the postseason. The acquisition of Kevin Durant is a primary reason why the Rockets are now being considered one of the favorites to win an NBA Championship.

However, the Rockets need an aggressive version of Durant if they hope to truly compete with the league's upper echelon.

This Houston team is different from any team Durant was on with the Phoenix Suns. Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are top-tier scorers, but they never meshed with the type of team offense that is required to make deep runs in the postseason. The Rockets have created a system based entirely on team basketball, last year creating a new motto: 'sometimes you, sometimes me, always us.'

For a team with no clear No. 1 scoring option, this method helped the team create offense when needed. The Rockets rode the hot hand for whoever was making their shots. Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson, and Alperen Sengun each had opportunities to lead the offense and dictate how Houston would score.

The Rockets must reintroduce some elements of their offense from last season, but Durant's addition is something the Rockets will capitalize on. To truly take advantage of his presence, he'll have to return to the level of aggressiveness he showed when he was playing with the Brooklyn Nets.

Durant hasn't shot 20 or more times per game in a season since the 2021-22 season with the Nets, so it's not fair to expect him to start increasing his volume past what's normal for his production. On the other hand, two of his three highest scoring seasons came while he was a member of the Nets, shooting at will to make up for injuries and absences by his fellow star players.

Last season was his lowest-scoring season since 2020-21, Durant's first season of action since injuring his Achilles in the 2019 postseason. The Rockets will want Durant to jump back to his near 30 points per game performances, especially in the postseason.

Durant won't be by himself; Thompson and Sengun are unlike any stars Durant has ever played alongside. However, he will still have to take and make a high volume of shots to give the Rockets a chance at finding offensive success during the postseason.