KD's elite play is dazzling, but his high minutes raise questions. Will Houston manage his load to ensure playoff health and success?
Houston’s exciting offseason acquisition of Kevin Durant is certainly paying dividends thus far. At 37 years old, the future Hall of Fame forward is still putting up All-Star numbers, on the verge of entering the “50-40-90 Club” for a third time in his career, as seen on StatMuse. Larry Bird and Steve Nash are the only two other players to do this more than once in a career, with them completing those statistical feats twice and four times, respectively. Averaging 26.1 points per game, while shooting 52-percent from the field and just over 40-percent from deep, his 89.2-percent from the line puts Durant just below that illustrious achievement. While this is undoubtedly impressive, there is one stat Rockets fans might be a little more concerned about: minutes per game.
Nearly halfway through the season, Durant’s 36.1 minutes per game gives the 18-year veteran the 4th highest average in the entire league. Looking across the league, Stephen Curry (37 years old) is averaging 32.1 minutes, with teammate Jimmy Butler (36 years old) at 31.7 minutes. Both of them are near 50th in minutes played per game, per NBA.com. Amen Thompson is alongside Durant in the top 5, with Sengun also ranking in the top 10 before leaving Saturdays game after 1 minute. That should come as no surprise for the young stars, as the rest of the top 10 is filled out with names like Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brunson, and Luka Dončić —— but what does it mean for Durant and the Rockets?
Fortunately, that nightly average can still be tapered down with more than half of the season still remaining. While Houston hasn’t played the an extreme amount of clutch games, with the NBA slotting them near the middle of the league, they have been missing significant wing players who can take pressure off of Durant. This helps explain why his minutes have been so high, and why they’ll likely start to trend downwards. With the recent returns of Tari Eason and Dorian Finney-Smith, Houston hopes to keep more depth available on the wing, ultimately cutting down on KD’s minutes and keeping him healthy for the long run.
For this Houston team, a healthy Kevin Durant should be a top priority when entering the playoffs. After earning the number 2 seed in the West last season, they’ve already proved they can accumulate regular season wins. Acquiring a first ballot Hall of Fame player shows their aspirations to win at a much higher level. While it’s understandable for KD’s minutes to be high given the circumstances, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Just over a month away from the trade deadline, there’s no time like the present to fortify your roster in any way possible.