Head Coach: Having Durant is a luxury, just give him the ball when the crunch time comes

In the previous NBA regular season, the Houston Rockets, playing at home, defeated the Orlando Magic in a thrilling 117-113 after overtime. After this game, the Rockets, who had won 4 consecutive victories, improved their record to 9 wins and 3 losses, and continued to rank third in the Western Conference; while the Magic, who ended their 3 consecutive winning streak, saw their record drop to 7 wins and 7 losses, and their ranking fell to 11th in the Western Conference. After the game, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka accepted an interview with reporters. In the interview, he also talked about the performance of the team's forward star Kevin Durant in this game. It seems that Udoka is also very excited to have a star player like Durant.

In this regard, Uduka said: Opponents tried to defend Durant in different ways, including physical confrontation and cover changes. But in general, they didn't dare to double-team him so much because Kevin was just too tall. No matter what situation he encountered, he was always able to pass the ball. If the defensive intensity is not so high, he can always find a shot opportunity that suits him. So we always trust him and we'll get him into the position he likes, and at that point, all he has to do is take shots and hit those shots.

Uduka continued: So, having Kevin is a luxury when everything doesn't go as planned. When the game enters a stalemate, when we need to provide offensive stability, we can choose to hand the ball directly to him and let him complete the final finish. In this case, he can also get the opportunity he wants. We have some guys who have good numbers, but usually when the game starts to get tough, we give the ball to Kevin because he can help us end the problem and his scoring ability is really amazing. The opponent has no way to effectively restrict him in that situation, which is also the task we need him to do.

In this game, Durant played 45 minutes and 5 seconds, shooting 13 of 24, 2 of 8 from beyond the three-point line, and 7 of 7 free throws. He scored 35 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 block. He also had 5 turnovers and 2 fouls, with a plus-minus of +4. Since the start of this season, Durant has averaged 36.1 minutes per game in the first 12 games, averaging 25.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1 steal, and 0.7 blocks per game. He also has 3 turnovers and 2.8 fouls. He shot 51% from the field, 40% from the three-point range, and 88.8% from the free throw line. Although Durant is 37 years old, he still maintains extremely high offensive efficiency and stability, and he is still a top scorer. From the Rockets' perspective, they introduced Durant in the hope that he could make the final decision at the critical moment, and judging from the current situation, Durant is indeed able to do this.