What Kevin Durant added to the Houston Rockets has turned them into automatic title contenders for next season.
Many expect the Rockets to be a major threat to defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
This season has proven how difficult OKC is. The Denver Nuggets and Nicola Jokic fell in seven harsh games, but Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves were unable to expand the series beyond five games.
Some believe Kevin Durant and his new Rockets team can do what they couldn’t do. NBA journalist David Dennis Jr. points out the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 Championship Journey as the perfect template for Houston’s potential success.
Dennis argues that if Stephen Curry could lead an offensively untalented team to glory, Durant should be able to do the same feat with better supporting works around him.
“Kevin Durant has to come out there and be the best scorer against the OKC team. He’s dominated the playoffs this year and we’ve seen Stephen Curry do it with a Warriors team that doesn’t have much offensive weapons, so we have to take them to the championship,” Dennis explained.
“Jordan Pool was second, and that was Wiggins too. He went to Boston in Game 4, torn the hearts of that team, putting up the number of monsters and perhaps the best road performance we’ve seen,” Dennis added.
The 2022 Warriors featured championship experiences with core players such as Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andreig Odara.
However, Thompson returned from a major injury, but Iguodara was well beyond his prime. Jordan Pool and Andrew Wiggins provided the main offensive support for Curry.
This situation was dramatically different from Prime Thompson and other elite role players, with the 2015-2018 dynasty, when Curry had Durant along with him.
The situation for Durant in Houston shows even better. He has Alperen Senggan, who has more talent than the pool during his 2022 run.
The Rockets will also feature promising players like Amen Thompson and experienced veteran Fred Vanbiete.
The Rockets have no doubt the talent to compete at the highest level next season. Time will reveal whether Durant can bring this team to championship glory as he did with the 2022 Warriors team.