The Houston Rockets have been one of the middle of the pack teams in the Western Conference. They are currently 31-19 and in fourth place in the West standings. They have the Denver Nuggets right in front of them and the Los Angeles Lakers right behind them. For the Rockets to keep pace in the West, they’re going to need continued production from two key players in Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson.
The Rockets have a big conference matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, and prior to the game, Amen Thompson spoke about what it’s been like playing alongside Kevin Durant this season.
“I’m used to what he does. I’ve been watching him my whole life and now I get to experience it. He’s more like a big brother figure at this point,” Thompson said. “He makes it way simpler than you see in your head. . .it’s just making some plays to get to the paint, everybody is going to collapse, then kick it.”
“It’s definitely new trying to figure out, you see KD, he can score on anybody, you just want to get him the ball,” Thompson continued. “But he’s very empowering on Alpern [Sengun], me, Jabari [Smith Jr.], Reed [Sheppard], doing our things, playing basketball and not all up in the ‘I’m KD’ thing. I feel like that’s one of the greatest things about him.”
This is Durant’s first season with the Rockets after being traded in a multi-team trade in the offseason. For Thompson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, this is his third season in the league, all with the Rockets.
It’s been Thompson’s development as to why the Rockets have been among the top teams in the West, standings-wise. He’s appeared in 50 games, all starts, at a little over 37 minutes per game. He’s averaging a career-high 17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 steals with splits of 50.2 percent shooting from the field, 20 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 78.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
