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May 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Kevin Durant attends the game between the Golden State Valkyries and the LA Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Why Rockets Should Take Cautious Approach to Kevin Durant's Playing Time

Originally posted on Houston Rockets on SI
By Lachard Binkley | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 3:01 PM ET

After James Harden forced his way out of Houston at the beginning of 2021, the Houston Rockets decided to go all-in on the youth movement as they leaned heavily into a complete rebuild. That meant spending a lot of time in the draft, especially in the lottery over the following few years for the Rockets.

From 2021 to 2024, the Rockets drafted several players in the lottery and late first round, focusing more on player development than wins. As a result, the majority of playing time went to players 23 years or younger. The Rockets weren't worried about overexerting any of their players since most of them had just entered the league.

That slowly started to change with the Rockets moving from the rebuilding years of phase one to the competitive phase two in 2023-24. That meant bringing in more veteran players and letting go of some of the young players they had drafted in previous years.

The Rocket had veterans during the rebuilding years, but they were never part of the main rotation. Players like Eric Gordon spent more time on the bench than in the game. The shift started with the additions of Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet in the summer of 2023. Unlike Gordon, both VanVleet and Brooks would play a significant role on the Rockets.

The Rockets Will Have to Manage Their Veterans' Playing Time

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The more veterans the Rockets added, the more the coaching staff had to focus on time management. Players like Steven Adams, who came off a significant injury in 2023-24, did not play in both games of back-to-backs. Similarly, despite playing over 35 minutes a game in his first two seasons with the Rockets, VanVleet saw a drop in playing time last season.

The Rockets added a few more veterans this season, including 36-year-old 15-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant. Durant, even at age 36, is still one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA. Even someone as great as Durant can't defeat father time, and that is the main reason the Rockets should play it cautious with Durant's playing time this season.

Over the last seven seasons, Durant has only played over 70 games one time and over 60 games twice. Durant missed the last part of the 2024-25 season with an ankle injury and had a minor thumb procedure this offseason as well.

Even though Rafael Stone mentioned that Durant will play as much as he can manage, the thought is that the Rockets will try to limit Durant's workload so that he is ready to go for an expected long playoff run. That may include limiting his play during back-to-backs or, for instance, three games in five nights, which sometimes happens in an NBA schedule.

The Rockets will have to balance winning in a tough Western Conference with preserving their older players. Even though Durant will be one of, if not the leading player, for the Rockets all season, they will have to take a cautious approach when it comes to Durant's health this upcoming season.

This article first appeared on Houston Rockets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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