It has been an eventful few days for Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün after both Houston Rockets stars appeared in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game — along with a few other places on the internet.
Despite the online chatter following the latest social media scandal involving Durant and an alleged burner account, the Rockets are a few days from beginning their most important stretch of the season.
Houston is tied in the loss column with the Denver Nuggets, who currently hold the No. 3 seed in the West. If the Rockets can string some wins together, there’s a way to gain a favorable path in the treacherous Western Conference playoffs. There’s also an easy path to the No. 7 seed and the Play-In Tournament.
Ahead of the NBA’s return Thursday, here are five questions the Rockets face ahead of their final 29 games of the regular season.
Are the Rockets ready for adversity?
Look, there’s almost no way to confirm whether the online rumors about Durant are true until he addresses them.
Regardless of how this saga ends, the Rockets will have to deal with the awkwardness and outside noise that comes with drama. There’s a chance this issue will still be a topic of conversation once the playoffs start. Opposing fans eat up this stuff.
But even before the rumors, Houston has struggled with overcoming adversity at times this season. Whether it’s their 13-15 record in games that were within five points in the final five minutes, or the noticeable instances when Rockets players have expressed displeasure with each other on the floor, Houston has some areas to improve before the playoffs begin.
While there are offensive adjustments this group needs to make to address some of the issues that have hurt them all season, there aren’t any advanced stats that’ll capture what the Rockets need most the rest of the way. With this group — particularly at this moment — the priority has to be focusing on the little things that can bring the team together.
Are they willing to sacrifice? Are they committed to playing with effort and physicality every night? Will they unite instead of pointing fingers when times get tough?
Rockets coach Ime Udoka has questioned his team’s toughness more than once this season. There will be some questions the rest of the way regarding how much this group wants to be together.
There’s only one way for them to quiet all the talk.
Can Durant stay healthy?
Although Durant’s leadership will be at the forefront of whatever comes next in Houston, a large part of the team’s success has been fueled by his consistent availability and offensive production.
At 37, Durant has played in 50 of Houston’s 53 games, and only one of those absences was due to injury. He has played the eighth-most minutes of all players in the league this season. As great as it has been to see Durant performing at a high level while avoiding some of the injuries that have cost him time in recent years, the bigger test will be keeping him on the court in the coming months and into the playoffs.
Part of achieving that goal should include lessening Durant’s workload. Playing him 37 minutes per night at this stage of his career is asking a lot, especially considering how hard he has to work during some of the Rockets’ offensive possessions.
If Durant is healthy, the Rockets can feel confident about their chances against just about anybody in the West. But if Durant can’t stay on the floor, the team will be in serious trouble.
How high is Alperen Şengün’s ceiling?
As good as Durant has been this season, the Rockets aren’t going anywhere if he’s the only player performing at a superstar level.
Şengün can be a dominant offensive force when he’s playing with aggression, but his efficiency has dipped lately.
Over his last 12 games, the two-time All-Star is averaging 18.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists, but he’s shooting only 45.7 percent from the floor and 64.8 percent at the free-throw line.
There have been a few flashes of brilliance — like his 39-point explosion against the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 2 — but he needs to be more consistent. As the Rockets approach the playoffs, they need Şengün to begin playing the best basketball of his career. And it’s not just about putting up numbers.
With Steven Adams out for the season after undergoing ankle surgery, the Rockets will need Şengün to be a consistent presence on the boards. He has to be ready to hold his own in potential playoff matchups against superstar big men like Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama.
Şengün’s effort and attention to detail on defense need to be more consistent. On offense, Houston is counting on him to play point center at a high level.
The Rockets will be asking a lot of Şengün, but if he raises his game to another level, he could be the single biggest factor in increasing this team’s chances of being in the championship mix.
Is Reed Sheppard ready for the moment?
When Reed Sheppard is making shots, the Rockets are a much more dangerous team. When he’s not, the offense becomes predictable.
Sheppard isn’t just the team’s biggest threat from the 3-point line, outside of Durant. Sheppard’s ability to create shots for himself or others while moving off the ball or while running pick-and-roll adds a dynamic that Houston desperately needs.
So much of Houston’s offense comes down to Durant or Şengün being asked to make something out of nothing. If Sheppard can add a little juice to the offense and take some of that burden off of the two stars, it’ll be a game changer.
Sheppard has gone through some rocky stretches this year, particularly as a one-on-one defender, but Houston remains hopeful that the second-year guard will rise to the occasion as the pressure increases in the coming months.
The Rockets desperately need a wild card in some of these big games, and no one on the team is better suited to fill that role than Sheppard.
Is Dorian Finney-Smith a lost cause?
In his first 20 games with the Rockets, Dorian Finney-Smith has only made 13 of 53 3-point attempts. He’s made more than one 3-pointer in a game only twice this season.
When the Rockets signed the veteran forward to a four-year, $53 million deal last offseason, the hope was that he could become a valuable part of the playoff rotation once he recovered from offseason ankle surgery. Since he returned to the lineup in late December, Finney-Smith hasn’t looked like himself.
Will the All-Star break help him lock in to finish the season, or will he continue to be an afterthought off the bench?
Finney-Smith has shown in the past how fearless he can be in the playoffs, and his size and experience could be vital assets on important defensive possessions.
The Rockets need Finney-Smith to find his groove and give the team at least one impact player off the bench besides Sheppard.