Kevin Durant made his Houston Rockets debut, scoring 23 points in a 125-124 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
His performance fell short of expectations in the narrow loss. Kevin Durant missed all four 3-pointers, committed four turnovers, accumulated six personal fouls and finished with a plus-minus rating of zero.
He joined the Rockets with hopes of improving their offense, but he was unable to make that impact in his debut game.
After the game, NBA analyst Chris Broussard said Durant wasn’t even the Rockets’ best player.
That credit goes to Alperen Sengun, who had 39 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists against the Thunder.
“Sengun is their best player. I don’t think there’s any question about that. He’s clearly their best player,” Broussard declared.
“He added 3-point shooting, he must have been working on it in the offseason,” he added, noting Sengun’s improved perimeter shooting, making five of his eight 3-pointers.
Broussard also believes the Rockets, especially head coach Ime Udoka, need to decide how to best use Durant.
Durant primarily played as a shooting guard during the game, which seemed to limit his effectiveness, especially on 3-point shots.
“At times I felt like they were sitting him around the 3-point line. They have to figure out where their pieces fit,” Broussard said.
The Rockets were already struggling with a lack of playmaking depth, but now they also have to figure out how to get the most out of Durant in order to compete among the Western Conference’s elite teams.
Sengan’s dominant performance gives optimism that the Rockets have star-level talent, but figuring out how Durant complements, rather than opposes, the emerging center will determine whether this partnership lifts Houston into legitimate contention.