Kevin Durant is out until at least the Jazz game on November 30 for personal reasons, meaning he’ll miss the Wednesday matchup against Golden State at the Chase Center. Here’s what to expect. 

The Rockets did just fine without him on Monday against the Phoenix Suns on the road, dominating them 114-92, but there are major differences between the Suns and the Warriors. For one, the Suns are juggling multiple injuries right now, leaving them without key rotations pieces, like Jalen Green, Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn, and Mark Williams. Even without Durant and Tair Eason, Houston still had a significant health advantage over Phoenix, and it showed. 

Phoenix’s downfall was playing selfish ball. Houston’s defense had no problem guessing their next move, especially since the Suns posted just 11 assists all night. Golden State, on the other hand, will not do that. They have several scoring threats including superstar Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler III, who average nearly 29 and 20 points per game, respectively- and Durant won’t be there to bail the Rockets out late, if needed.

The key issue to consider is the absence of gravity. Durant pulls doubles, making kickouts to players like Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson an incredible advantage. Like it’s been stated time and time again, with a healthy Rockets roster, defenses have to pick their poison. But with Durant gone, defenders will have the opportunity to run a man-to-man clinic, limiting the whole squad. 

One hope for Houston is domination in the paint, though. Golden State is down Al Horford, and possibly Draymond Green, who is currently day-to-day recovering from a foot injury. The Warriors aren’t known for inside bully-ball and also have a bottom-half FG%. Rockets thrive in the paint, and the Warriors simply don’t have the manpower to overpower Alperen Şengün- but their perimeter defense has to be solid and aggressive, somehow living in Curry’s jersey while keeping bodies on the rest of the outside. 

Golden State also has something Phoenix does not, and that’s discipline. They don’t implode, and they’re surely not going to hand over 21 turnovers like Phoenix. And if the Rockets slack off in the third quarter like we’ve been seeing, the Warriors will punish them for it, especially for any mistakes at the perimeter. 

This matchup will come down to just that- discipline. Houston is absolutely capable of winning this game without their superstar. They’ll just need a strong recipe if they intend to steamroll them and leave little room for Golden State error. They’ll need the defense they showed in Phoenix, the composure we saw against Denver, and the chaos version of Thompson. 

Durant’s absence doesn’t make this one un-winnable, but it does make it honest. We’re about to find out who the Rockets really are when they don’t have their trump card on the floor.