Last season, Kevin Durant was unable to be completely available for the Houston Rockets in the playoffs due to his inability to stay healthy, so it is worth wondering if he needs to be managed throughout the 2026 season.
The Houston Rockets went down in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, in large part due to Kevin Durant not being available due to a knee bruise and an ankle bruise for most of the series, despite playing 78 games in the regular season.
In the first round series, Durant was only able to play in Game 2, and even then he was not able to push the Rockets over the top, as Houston then went down 2-0 and was not able to recover from the deficit. With Durant's lack of availability in mind, there is one key question that is worth considering.
Does Durant need to be managed throughout the 2026 season to ensure he is available for the postseason?
When looking at this question, there are a few different ways to look at it, but the answer does feel like a strong yes.
Last year in particular, the Rockets needed Durant to remain available for the postseason because point guard Fred VanVleet was already out, which limited their offensive production on its own, but when Durant was out as well, that really put Houston in a tough position.
On that note, let's take a look at Durant's stats for the 2025 season and see what the Rockets were missing with him out of the lineup.
Last year, Durant averaged 26 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. In terms of shooting splits, Durant shot 52 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from three, and 87.4 percent from the free-throw line.
With these numbers, Durant was the Rocket's top scorer, but also their most efficient scorer, which clearly demonstrates why him being out of the lineup for the postseason was such a big deal.
Now, in answering the question, the Rockets and head coach Ime Udoka should find a way to manage Durant's workload and the games he plays throughout the season.
Houston could manage Durant in a variety of ways, but one of the better ways to do it is to run more of the offense through Alperen Sengun.
As the second option for the Rockets on offense, Sengun could take more of the offensive burden off Durant to help the offense flow well with his ability to distribute the ball, set screens, in addition to his scoring ability on the interior and in the mid-range areas.
Other than lightening Durant's workload on offense, the Udoka could also look to rest Durant in certain scenarios throughout the season, such as not playing him every back-to-back or limiting his minutes based on fatigue.
Regardless of whether or not the Rockets do decide to manage Durant, he is going to turn 38 at the end of September so they do need to ensure that Durant stays fresh and has the ability to remain effective throughout the season so he can elevate his game when the postseason arrives.
So, heading into the 2026 season, it will be very intriguing to watch if the Rockets do decide to manage Durant's workload and how that decision could affect Durant's production as well as Houston's team success throughout the entirety of next season.
