After being eliminated in the first round of the 2025 playoffs due in large part to their offensive struggles, the Rockets went out and traded for Kevin Durant last summer. But as good as Durant has been over the course of the season, he hasn’t solved the team’s scoring issues, according to William Guillory of The Athletic.
As Guillory details, after missing Durant in the first game due to a knee injury, the Rockets were even worse offensively in his return in Game 2. Although the star forward made 7-of-12 shots from the floor and scored 23 points, he consistently faced double-teams and committed nine turnovers, matching his career playoff high.
The Rockets have controlled the possession battle against the Lakers, attempting 44 more field goals than Los Angeles through two games. But Houston has been outscored by 16 points and failed to reach the 100-point threshold in either game, with Alperen Sengun (15-of-39), Jabari Smith Jr. (12-of-30), and Reed Sheppard (6-of-24) not scoring efficiently.
“I definitely need to be aggressive when I get the ball to the middle. I’m just missing so many easy shots,” Sengun said after Tuesday’s Game 2 loss, per Guillory. “I need to get back to who I am and dominate the paint when I have the ball. (I’ve got to) help KD a little bit and make my teammates better as well. … I’m not missing from long distance. I’m missing from under the rim. I’ve got to make those.”
The Rockets converted just 7-of-29 (24.1%) three-point attempts on Tuesday, with Sheppard – their leading outside shooter during the regular season -only playing 11 minutes due to the fact that he hasn’t fully earned head coach Ime Udoka‘s trust on the defensive end of the court.
As Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) points out, the Rockets lack reliable three-point shooters who can hold their own defensively. Dorian Finney-Smith, Houston’s big 2025 free agent addition, was supposed to be that kind of player but hasn’t looked like his usual self since returning from offseason ankle surgery. Tari Eason also has a three-and-D profile, but he has been up and down all season, including in this series so far — after hitting 7-of-7 shots from the floor in Game 1, he made just 4-of-14 in Game 2.
As the Rockets head back home looking to turn their series around, here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Earlier in the season, former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton griped about the Lakers “trying to make me Clint Capela,” a reference to his role within the team’s offense. With his Rockets facing Ayton’s Lakers in the playoffs, Capela told Melissa Rohlin of The California Post that he was “surprised” when he learned of Ayton’s comments. “I don’t know why I’m in someone else’s head. I don’t talk to the guy,” Capela said. “I mean for me, in my career, I did what I did for my team, had a lot of success. So, it worked out for me.”
- The Pelicans have at least 25 vacancies across their basketball and business operations departments, according to Shamit Dua of In The N.O., who reports (via Twitter) that the medical and performance team has seven openings. As Dua explains (via Twitter), while many of those vacancies are the result of an organizational restructuring, some staff members also left the team at season’s end because they didn’t know whether or not their contracts would be renewed.
- Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews the Pelicans‘ offseason, evaluating how they might go about upgrading their frontcourt and weighing which of the team’s veterans are the likeliest summer trade candidates. Based on the current make-up of New Orleans’ roster, Gozlan believes the front office should consider the possibility of rebuilding around Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears and moving several vets.
- After a promising rookie year, forward Cedric Coward is expected to play for the Grizzlies‘ Summer League team ahead of his second NBA season, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, who takes a look at what other young players on Memphis’ roster are likeliest to join Coward.
Ime needs to go. He can’t adjust. This has been a pattern all season. It was masked last year with FVV being able to run an offense and Adams and company offensive rebounding at a ridiculous rate. He’s not a good coach and isn’t a defense genius like he was advertised. He insists on playing 5 defenders, but has never been able to make his defenses work with 1-2 liabilities consistently. If a player gets beat he just benches them.
This is what I figure out.
Lakers are much older and insanely faster than Rockets
LeBron is 4 years older than Durant
Smart is 9 years older than Thompson
Kennard is 8 years older than Sheppard
Hachimura is 6 years older than Smith
Ayton is 4 years older than Sengun
Sillivan out here solving the longstanding argument that “sometimes, age does not affect speed”
But also, its about how the 5 play together that brings the pace, some guys are still elite passers into their 30s. Houston doesn’t have the seasoning (FVV/a real PG who knows exactly how to play with these guys). Houston, like the Lakers, were always going to be a paper tiger this year, all bark, no real bite.
Rockets have better talents than Lakers
Sengun is 3 times better than Ayton
Thompson is 2 times better than Smart
Smith is a bit better than Hachimura
Durant is a bit better than LeBron
Sheppard is a bit better than Kennard
Teri Eason is 100 times better than LeBronny (son).
It’s called Daddy’s syndrome,you know ur better than your daddy,but how can I put daddy to sleep on the sofa,he will not be happy
FVV being out, a 25M player, the table setter, that matters, especially come playoff time.
A few things from my end:
Sengun comparisons to Jokic should end as of this series. All I’ve seen is him getting a dribble hand off from top of the key and he tries to bully his way into the paint and then attempts a left handed hook or floater every time out. He really has no skill set for being “that skilled’
Reed Shepperd is the new Delladova. All he does is dribble in and out of traffic and throws up some of the worst shots I’ve seen. He’s not playable at this juncture in the playoffs.
The entire team got punked in both teams at LA and what’s worse is Lakers have done this without Luka or AR15. LBJ has been playing great but letting guys like Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard being the complimentary players that they are, go off in the same guy is inexcusable.
What’s worse is Jabari Smith getting that money. He’s an average player at best.
Lakers will sweep Rockets at this point, and a healthy rested Luka and AR15 for OKC will be scary.