Forward Jabari Smith Jr. called out Kevin Durant and other teammates when discussing the Houston Rockets’ current struggles against the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite being a strong favorite entering the series, Houston is down 0-2 and must 4 of the next 5 games to make the second round. Durant missed Game 1 with an injury, and he was shut down in the second half of Game 2.
Smith claimed that the entire team must work harder at getting Durant in the game to play like his usual self:
“Yeah, it makes it difficult, but at the end of the day, they’re trying to stop him, and the other guys have to be aggressive. We’ve got to be aggressive out of it. We’ve got to make the right reads out of it, make the right decisions, and it’s on him to find ways to get himself involved and get to his spots without the double team.
Just because he’s getting double-teamed, we still need him to be KD. So there are still ways around it, and we got some fixes to it, and we’re going to be better in the next two games.”
The most important comment featured Smith revealing that the Rockets need Durant to be KD and play at the highest level. Durant was taken out of the game and barely made an impact in the second half of Game 2. Smith was blunt that Houston can’t win games with this formula.
Jabari Smith Was Insulted By Kevin Durant’s Burner
An interesting twist about this comment is that Durant allegedly insulted Smith on his burner accounts when that story leaked during All-Star Weekend. Both Smith and Alperen Sengun were criticized by the account claiming that Durant couldn’t win with these two as his best teammates.
Durant has not confirmed nor denied that the burner account came from him, but most believe it was indeed accurate due to past issues with similar stories. Smith quickly moved past it by praising Durant and never holding anything against him via public quotes.
However, this quote shows that Smith expects more out of Durant on the court in a competitive playoff series. The rest of the Rockets lineup was also called out by Smith for needing to work harder at getting Durant better shot attempts.
Big Trade Could Be Coming For Rockets
A disappointing first-round elimination to the Lakers missing both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves would be a nightmare scenario for Houston. Last offseason saw the Rockets making a blockbuster trade of acquiring Durant in exchange for Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green.
Both players have played well for the Phoenix Suns to overachieve and make the playoffs. However, Houston was the team with pressure to contend after getting the bigger star and appears likely to take a step back with the faster elimination.
Young players like Smith, Amen Thompson, and Reed Sheppard could fit the trade block to quickly improve the roster. Durant could be blamed and traded as well in a bolder move if the Rockets already regret last summer’s trade.
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