Houston nearly beat the Warriors last postseason in a thrilling seven-game series. They have accrued so many young players over the last handful of years in their rebuild after James Harden left, and last year’s playoff exit signaled the need for a change. Jalen Green was the obvious candidate to be shipped out, and that is exactly what they did. It was obvious they needed scoring, so they went and got the best scorer they could get: Kevin Durant.

Now the expectation is a championship. Durant is 37 but as efficient as ever. He is surrounded by young talent and enough defense to allow his sole responsibility to be putting the ball in the basket. The Rockets are desperate to get back to the NBA Finals after years of underwhelming results, and Durant has a chance to win a ring void of “super

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