{"id":163781,"date":"2025-10-22T10:31:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=163781"},"modified":"2025-10-22T10:31:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:31:41","slug":"rockets-facing-the-same-kevin-durant-passivity-challenge-that-frustrated-suns-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/22\/rockets-facing-the-same-kevin-durant-passivity-challenge-that-frustrated-suns-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets Facing The Same Kevin Durant Problem That Frustrated Suns Fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 On opening night, amidst the glitz of ring night, the Rockets<\/a> fell in double overtime to the defending champions, 125-124. The loss to the Thunder<\/a> hurt more because they had every chance to steal one on the road. Houston outrebounded Oklahoma City by 12 but couldn\u2019t make it count when it mattered. For Kevin Durant<\/a>, the night was personal. Booed in his return to Paycom Center, a win would have been the perfect response. Instead, an old problem followed him to Houston \u2014 the his passivity in critical moments.<\/p>\n

Rockets Facing The Same Kevin Durant Challenge That Frustrated Suns Fans<\/h2>\n

A Tale of Two Halves<\/h3>\n
\"Kevin
Mar 3, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second quarter at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Durant opened the game with his usual elegance. In the first half, he scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. His gravity gave the Rockets much-needed spacing, unlocking driving lanes for Amen Thompson<\/a> and Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then, everything shifted. He scored just 9 points after halftime and didn\u2019t take a single shot in the first overtime. His usage dipped to 20.6 percent in a game where Houston desperately needed more from him. This passivity isn\u2019t new. Suns fans saw it too.<\/p>\n

A Familiar Pattern<\/h3>\n

During his last two years with the Suns, Durant often floated through stretches of games. He parked in the corner while Devin Booker<\/a> and Bradley Beal<\/a> controlled the offense. Critics questioned whether it was age, strategy, or an unwillingness to seize the moment.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t help that his usage during that stretch was the lowest since his first year with Golden State. That version of Durant accepted a smaller role on a loaded roster. But in Houston, the Kevin Durant’s passivity has a different meaning. He isn\u2019t surrounded by multiple high-usage stars. There\u2019s space for him to dominate.<\/p>\n

Rockets Need a More Assertive Durant<\/h3>\n

The Rockets acquired Durant to unlock their offense. They gave up Jalen Green<\/a> and Dillon Brooks<\/a> to get him. This isn\u2019t a situation where he can blend in. Houston lacks a high-usage guard to defer to. If the Rockets want to stay afloat early in the season, Durant can\u2019t wait for the game to come to him.<\/p>\n

A more assertive Durant is the difference between competing in the West and being an actual title contender. We saw that in this game against OKC. Kevin Durant\u2019s passivity is now Houston\u2019s problem to solve.<\/p>\n

The Rockets have invested heavily in this era. It starts with Durant imposing himself \u2014 not just floating on the perimeter.<\/p>\n

Closing Thoughts<\/h3>\n

Durant is still elite. At 37, he can take over games in spurts. But for the Rockets, they need more than spurts. They need him to dictate pace, not react to it.<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant’s passivity may have frustrated Suns fans. Now, it\u2019s Houston\u2019s turn to face it.<\/p>\n

OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 On opening night, amidst the glitz of ring night, the Rockets fell in double overtime to the defending champions, 125-124. The loss to the Thunder hurt more because they had every chance to steal one on the road. Houston outrebounded Oklahoma City by 12 but couldn\u2019t make it count when it mattered. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":163784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,31,3],"tags":[50244,69],"class_list":["post-163781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-rockets","category-news","tag-2025-26-nba-season","tag-kevin-durant"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163781"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163785,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163781\/revisions\/163785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}