Kevin Durant's misguided take on his minutes load will come back to haunt him

The Rockets have officially kicked off a new season with their media day interviews, including some buzzing soundbites from Kevin Durant. One quote that will catch everyone's ear came when Durant was asked about reducing his minutes from last season and responded:

"The team is better when I'm on the court...That's what I'm supposed to be training for is to play the long haul, play 48 minutes a night"

Durant pushed back on the idea of playing less minutes "just for the sake" of preserving his body after tons of mileage over 18 years in the NBA. He's still going strong, with a consequential season coming up, but Durant's insistence on playing heavy minutes during the regular season could hurt him and the Rockets once again.

The Rockets will be better off with less Durant minutes

Of course, Durant is a player of a different generation. When he first came into the league in 2008, stars played heavier minutes and the game was less demanding on a per-minute basis. In fact, he averaged over 38 minutes per game from his age 20 season all the way through his age 25 season.

But even the last season of that streak came 12 years ago. The game has changed a lot since then and injuries have come to be standard for a lot of players with heavy minutes loads. Last season, Durant logged the second-most total minutes in the entire NBA during the regular season. That came back to bite the Rockets when Durant suffered an injury that kept him sidelined for most of their sole playoff series.

Shockingly, Durant didn't even lead the team in minutes; that distinction went to Amen Thompson. Thompson's dependability across huge minutes helped earn him a massive contract extension, but the Rockets shouldn't ask the same from Durant. Thompson is 14 years younger than Durant and has yet to miss any substantial time in his career for injuries.

On the other hand, Durant has had multiple serious injuries throughout his career and is the Rockets' most irreplaceable player. For all the value that Thompson brings with his lockdown defense or Alperen Sengun as Houston's hub at center, no other Rockets have skills as irreplaceable as Durant's scoring. The value of his shot-making only goes up in the playoffs, so the Rockets need to do their best to preserve him until then.

Houston can't be reckless with KD

Durant rightfully pointed out that the team is better with him on the court. That further proves why the Rockets need him healthy for the postseason, and why the team needs to step in even if Durant himself wants to play the most minutes possible. At some point, coaches and management need to display wiser judgement and force Durant to listen.

After one season of relying heavily on Durant and seeing it blow up in their face, the Rockets should be more cautious next season. They can't afford to waste another season with Durant sidelined for the most important parts. Even if Durant himself doesn't want to listen, cooler heads must prevail and keep him healthier for the games that matter most.

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