Kevin Durant needs to re-enter league's top echelon of stars

Now that the Rockets have a fully healthy roster again, Kevin Durant needs to take advantage and play like one of the best players in the world. He put together another All-Star and All-NBA campaign last season, but didn't play well enough to put the Rockets in title contender status. This season, that needs to change: Houston brought Durant in to be a top 10 player in the NBA and he has a chance to make that dream a reality.

Durant needs to play even better

Obviously, Durant's best days should be behind him now that he's entering his age 38 season. But he can still show more than what he gave the Rockets last season, when he averaged 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He shot efficiently as usual, hitting 52% of his overall shots, 41% of his threes and 87% of his free throws.

Those numbers were great, and any team would be lucky to add that sort of production. But Durant's play was still a step below the very best stars in the league. There's a reason we've seen so many trade rumors of the Rockets needing to add another star piece, and it all comes back to Durant. If he can elevate his game to another level, especially in the playoffs, the Rockets might already have all the pieces they need to make serious noise in the playoffs.

Durant's game has remained pretty steady with the slightest age-related decline for years now. To reach another level for the Rockets, he will need to increase his aggression and put in better playoff outings. He wasn't able to play a major role in the most recent playoff series due to an injury, which left his younger teammates to pick up the slack.

It'll be hard to rejuvinate Durant

At this stage in his career, it's hard to ask Durant to deviate from the trajectory his career has been following. He's a creature of habit, even more than most NBA players. For the last three seasons, he's been putting up about 26 or 27 points per game on similar splits.

Hopefully, the return of Fred VanVleet and more structure into the Rockets offense can unlock another level for Durant. His responsibilities should be easier with VanVleet bringing the ball up and setting Durant up in his spots. It should also be easier to cut down on turnovers and counter double-teams when they come Durant's way.

Asking KD to change in year 20 is a tall order in itself. The Rockets' best bet is simply to provide a better environment for him and see how he reacts with a proper point guard and more shooting next to him.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow