The season just started and the Rockets already have a Kevin Durant problem

As the Houston Rockets have begun the season with an 0-2 record, dropping both their matchups so far to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Detroit Pistons, the singular-most important silver lining has been the highly effective shooting of their new star scorer: Kevin Durant.

Yet, despite the fact that Durant has looked excellent in both games the team has played thus far, the Rockets desperately need their new superstar to take over games and help them close out wins when the rest of the team's performance is sub-par.

While it might be unrealistic to expect this in Durant's first two games with the franchise, it is, ultimately, what they brought him in for. This team needs Durant to be their undeniable leader if they are going to turn this season around.

Kevin Durant needs to take over games when the Rockets are struggling

In Houston's first loss, a double-OT thriller against the Thunder, the team, on the surface, took the defending champions down the wire on their own court. Should be a good sign, right?

In fact, the team struggled to find serious offensive cohesion all night as a result of their lack of a truly reliable offensive facilitator, and, against the Pistons, this problem intensified two-fold.

In part, the Rockets traded for Durant simply to give the team an offensive boost, and he has certainly done that so far. Between the team's two games, Durant has averaged 30 points, six rebounds and two assists while shooting 52.9% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range.

If he keeps up even 80% of these numbers all season long, Houston should be ecstatic. However, they need Durant, as by far the most experienced and skilled player on this team, to dominate in the clutch if they hope to have a serious chance at championship contention.

Against Oklahoma City, Durant only had three points in the fourth quarter, taking only one shot and playing only five minutes as a result of his foul trouble. Against Detroit, Durant led the team with 14 points in the fourth quarter, taking the ball into isolation more often and bolstering the offense as a result.

However, the rest of the team was only able to muster 11 points in that quarter, leading to a rough, 115-111 defeat to close out a hard-fought game for both teams.

Durant, therefore, must walk a fine line this season. He must figure out how to both dominate offensively and keep his teammates involved, and, while this will likely come naturally as the season progresses, the team's performance this season is completely dependent upon his ability to do so.

If the rest of the team proves to be too unreliable for him to do the latter, he must lean into the former entirely, utilizing his superstar-caliber scoring to elevate the team on nights where the young core falls flat.