Kevin Durant's Lack of Opportunities With the Rockets Has Been Jarring

The Houston Rockets have had a rough month of basketball, with 2025 nearly over, most recently suffering a 128-108 loss to the LA Clippers on Tuesday night.

Houston had a chance to get back on track after a brutal overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings, but failed to improve its December record. This month, the Rockets are 4-6, having lost games to the Clippers, Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, who occupy the three lowest seeds in the Western Conference.

The defense has been a glaring issue, with players and coaches citing a lack of effort and aggression after games. Houston ranks 23rd in defensive rating this month, allowing 117.6 points per game.

However, on the offensive end, there is more to be concerned with. Yes, the absence of Fred VanVleet has been noticeable over the last few weeks, but the Rockets are forced to accept the fact that he may not return this season. There's a bigger issue regarded their star.

Kevin Durant is widely recognized as one of, if not the, greatest bucket-getters in the history of basketball. The 6-foot-11 forward has been as efficient as any three-level scorer could be while leading his team into title contention.

The 37-year-old's numbers have gone down since joining Houston, but he is still incredibly sharp in terms of shooting splits. Durant is shooting 50.9% from the field, 42.9% from three and 89.6% from the free-throw line. He has a legitimate shot to make the 50-40-90 club for the third time in his career.

On the surface, KD's 25.2 points per game can be attributed to his age. However, when you watch him play, he hasn't lost a step. Context matters, and the reason why his scoring is so low compared to years past can be correlated with Houston's recent struggles.

Against the Clippers, Durant took just 15 shots, which brought down his season average to just 17 per game. This is the lowest number of field-goal attempts since the 2016-17 season, when he didn't need to be the clear-cut hero alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on the Golden State Warriors.

For reference, the Slim Reaper averaged 17.1 shots per game as a skinny 19-year-old playing for the Seattle SuperSonics. That is how limited his opportunities have been.

Part of it is due to how opponents defend him on the Rockets. Durant and Alperen Sengun, the team's leading scorers, have been tasked with initiating the offense due to a lack of ball handling, which takes them away from their sweet spots.

Durant can get a bucket from anywhere, but is most effective when he catches the ball on the wing, rather than having to go through a bunch of action to get there with time running off the shot clock. Defenses have figured Houston out because they know they can double him and force the Rockets to resort to a less-efficient and less-reliable option.

There are a few ways Houston can try to mitigate this issue because VanVleet isn't coming back anytime soon. The first is looking at the trade market for potential floor generals, but that would likely sacrifice a key piece to the rotation this season. Plus, the team is hard-capped at the first apron.

The Rockets could also force other players to be initiators outside of Durant and Sengun. Reed Sheppard has stepped up tremendously and can be a point guard, to a certain extent. Perhaps starting him and allowing more sets to get initiated by him will benefit the stars.

The last option, outside of the trade market and tweaking lineups, is forcing the team to get comfortable with the way things are. The Rockets could also hope to shoot themselves out of this slump and focus more on defensive adjustments.

Whatever the solution is, Kevin Durant is too good (despite his age) to be shooting this little per game. He is still one of the best scorers in the NBA, and Houston acquired him to add more to the offense. So far, he hasn't gotten as many opportunities as fans had hoped.