Are the Rockets Better Without KD?
NBA on NBC’s Austin Rivers covered everything from playoff blowouts to the Rockets’ complicated dynamic around Kevin Durant. Rivers suggested Houston’s young core may actually play freer without KD’s isolation-heavy style, even while acknowledging his greatness. He questioned Boston’s overreliance on threes, praised Joel Embiid’s dominance, and gave Rudy Gobert credit for frustrating Nikola Jokic. Rivers was most emphatic on Draymond Green, dismissing any claim Steve Kerr hindered him and arguing Golden State perfectly amplified his strengths.