Rockets fans will love Ime Udoka’s Kevin Durant minutes declaration

The Houston Rockets fanbase isn’t going to complain too much about the fact that they won a big game against the Detroit Pistons, 111-104, with Kevin Durant leading the way once more. Durant had 32 points on the night, and despite being 37 years of age, he continues to show that he’s capable of handling such a heavy workload for a Rockets team that’s needed every bit of his contributions this season.

After the game, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was asked about Durant’s minutes, and he was very confident in the veteran’s ability to play heavy minutes night-in, night-out. Nonetheless, he plans on cutting down the star forward’s minutes to try and protect him from a potential injury, provided that Houston gets back some of their key guys.

“We want to drop [his minutes] as much as we can. … Kevin is a guy that doesn’t want to sit out games at all, get rest. He wants to play every night. For us, when we get everybody healthy… getting Dorian back and out of a minutes restriction, get Tari back, we can start shaving those minutes down. Put those other guys, put other high quality defenders on the court,” Udoka said in a postgame interview, via @BigSargeSportz on X (formerly Twitter).

“Kevin is a guy that doesn’t want to sit out games at all,” said Rockets head coach Ime Udoka when I asked about the amount of minutes (36.8) forward Kevin Durant has played this season and how does he plan on managing it going forward. #Rockets #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/Twwl8AvwDh

— BIG SARGE MEDIA LLC (@BigSargeSportz) January 24, 2026

Will Rockets get some guard help?

The Rockets did not plan to rely on Durant this much, but he’s their most dangerous scoring weapon from the perimeter, and he makes up for their lack of guard play. He’s doubling as both their best scorer and best ballhandling playmaker, and Houston has recognized how much they need him, hence the heavy minutes he’s playing.

However, it doesn’t look likely at all for the Rockets to be active on the trade market. Waiting for the team to get healthier seems to be their best course of action indeed.

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