Kevin Durant offers shining consolation on brutal Rockets playoff loss

The Rockets suffered a painful playoff loss last season, but Kevin Durant is hopeful that his younger teammates will benefit greatly from that experience. It was a tricky postseason for Houston, marred by questionable coaching and multiple veterans missing significant time with injury. 

That thrust more burden onto young Rockets like Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard - but Durant thinks that will be a positive in the long term. All three youngsters are looking to see considerable growth this season and Durant is confident their playoff experience will only help in that pursuit.

Houston’s young stars gained valuable experience

The Rockets may seem far off from the best teams in the West, but Durant is optimistic after last season’s playoffs. Obviously, his own absence for most of the first-round series against the Lakers, combined with Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams missing the entire series, made things harder for their younger teammates.

There were obviously times when the Rockets crumbled under playoff pressure and intense crunchtime defense from the Lakers, most notably in Game 3. However, that setback should also show those Rockets where they need to improve and prepare them for a deeper playoff run this season.

The Rockets chose not to make many new additions this offseason because they trust in their young players to keep growing. That confidence was further shown in long-term extensions for both Thompson and Tari Eason, on top of existing commitments to Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. 

Houston should have more veteran help too 

On top of the expected internal growth from youngsters, the Rockets also hope to get more veteran contributions in this season’s playoffs. Hopefully, the returning core pieces in Durant, VanVleet and Adams can stay healthy this time around. In addition, there were some smaller upgrades like bringing in Marcus Smart as a backup guard.

The recurring theme with Houston’s veteran pickups over the years has been complementary skillsets. All the veteran Rockets play in ways that help set up their teammates or add spacing, even the dominant scorer Durant. Throughout the second half of his career, Durant has shown a remarkable capacity and willingness to play off the ball despite being an all-time scorer.

In the long term, and perhaps even this season, the Rockets’ ceiling is dependent on the growth of their young core. Last postseason, they might have felt alone as they were under the scrutiny of a rough playoff series. But this season, the rest of the organization must help them capitalize on their new experience to reach new heights and find playoff success.

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