At 9:30 pm Eastern Time, the Houston Rockets will host their biggest game of the year at the Toyota Center, and star forward Kevin Durant will be stuck watching from the sidelines as he continues his injury recovery.
Other than Game 2, Durant has been absent in the series, and he’s already been ruled out for tonight’s contest. Fortunately, there’s still a chance he could play in Game 7 if Durant can regain some of the mobility in his ankle. Before tip-off on Friday, Rockets coach Ime Udoka dropped the latest update as his team prepares for the must-win game.
“The mobility is probably the biggest thing. There is some pain,” Udoka revealed, via Steve Helwick. “Certain movements are bothering him for sure. He’s done some movements on the court, but he’s limited.”
Durant (37) dominated in his first season with the Rockets, averaging 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game on 52.0% shooting and 41.3% shooting from three. He played all but four games in the regular season, leading Houston to a 52-30 record in the West (fifth). But once the playoffs began, Durant encountered setbacks.
First was his knee, which he injured in a collision with a teammate during practice. The incident cost him Game 1, giving the Lakers early momentum in the series. Then, while up 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists in Game 2, Durant suffered another injury. This time, it was his ankle, and the pain lingers today, despite his status being upgraded in the previous matchup.
Ankle sprains typically require two to three weeks to recover, which would put Durant’s return around May 5th. That date falls two days past Game 7, meaning Durant may not return at all in the series. Still, for now, he has yet to be ruled out, and it seems the two-time champion will be a game-time decision if the Rockets can extend the series.
Rockets Need More Bench Play
With KD already ruled out for Game 6, the focus for Houston has been on how to maximize the guy they have on the floor. It hasn’t been easy, but the Rockets have managed to win the last two games due to key adjustments, relentless effort, and elite execution on the floor. Still, to win two more games of the series, Udoka says the bench will have to step up in more ways than one.
“I think the defense has been great, and our switching has kind of halted some of the things that they were getting early in the series,” said the Rockets coach, via ESPN Houston. “That’s great when you have the versatility of Dorian and those guys coming in, and Josh, a part-time starter, who started in the series. He’s accustomed to guarding those guys. The shot-making as well as the scoring in the first few games was nonexistent, so just the fact that we have 18 points between those three coming off the bench is a huge boost for us. Not only that, but the timely shots and the offense rebounds, kick out threes, relocation, those things are good, but a big part of this defensively is switching a lot more and stifling some of the things they were doing.”
Without Durant, the Rockets’ offense is known to get downright ugly, and we saw that in Game 1, especially, when they finished with 98 points on 37.6% team shooting. Tonight, and in Game 7 (if they get that far), we can look for increased roles for guys like Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and Jabari Smith Jr. Regardless of Durant’s status, the Rockets need all hands on deck to survive this series and pull off the greatest comeback in playoff history.
Even against a Lakers team sans Luka Doncic, the odds are stacked against Houston to advance, and it will force some tough questions this offseason. But if they can at least rally at home to force a Game 7, it could create a window for Durant to return and flip the Rockets’ momentum in their favor.
