It wasn’t a night Kevin Durant would want to remember. After scoring 16 in the first half against the Lakers, he was completely neutralised. The Lakers sent doubles and forced Durant into tough positions. The Slim Reaper took responsibility for the loss on his head. But it also came with an ugly realisation.

Durant knows he’s the Rockets’ offense. But he doesn’t feel it’s wise for him to get the ball up the floor because of how teams like the Lakers react.

“I think just that when I get the ball against certain teams they just going to sell out and say we just going to double and play a little zone behind and see what happens. If we give them open shots, it’s cool. Maybe I just need to get out of the way to be honest, set screens, be able to catch and shoot. Just space the floor out for my teammates,” Durant said of his performance.

The Rockets turned the ball over 24 times tonight, and seven of those came from Kevin Durant. And some of them were silly errors. In the fourth quarter, Durant committed a backcourt violation before getting called for an eight-second violation. It was a culmination of frustration for the Slim Reaper stemming from the Lakers denying him any scoring opportunity whatsoever.

They didn’t mind him making the decisions. However, the disruption they caused cramped the Rockets offense. They only scored 12 in the final quarter, even with the Lakers having an abysmal shooting night. It’s possible that teams know what to expect with the Rockets. Kevin Durant has been the ball handler without Fred VanVleet in the rotations. Nobody wants the decorated scorer to see open spaces with the rock in his hands.

That leaves space for solutions. The Rockets didn’t have Alperen Sengun, who is capable of being a playmaker. Moreover, Ime Udoka can also roll out Amen Thompson as the point guard. The athletic wing has put up some incredible performances in recent games despite the Rockets stumbling.

It’s just evident that the Rockets need to throw something else. As experienced as Kevin Durant is, even the greats need help. Udoka needs to figure out what the team can do to take some of the pressure off KD and get him involved in the offense with the game on the line.

The Lakers have built their defensive identity

On one end of the West’s spectrum are top teams who are struggling. Think the Rockets and the Warriors. Then there are the teams that are flourishing. Since the All-Star break, there haven’t been many teams better than the Lakers. A primary driver behind that is their vast defensive improvements.

The team appears to have coordination and has eliminated bad practices to prioritise defenses. During the six-game winning streak, the Lakers have allowed just 111.2 points to their rivals. It stands as the ninth-best mark in the league. The Lakers have turned their reputation around through community.

LeBron James has made a huge sacrifice. He isn’t a decision-maker, but now the glue who brings everything together. Marcus Smart was diving on the floor to get a steal when the Lakers were up 10, and the game was practically over. Deandre Ayton is starting to provide consistent effort, no matter how involved he’s been in the offense.

That’s the hurdle the Lakers had to cross. Offense can win games and set the tone for a successful regular season. But the good teams squashed the Lakers since they were a one-trick pony. Not anymore. The Lakers were an extremely poor shooting team tonight. Still, they found a way to dethrone the Rockets with their defensive urgency.

Playing both sides of the floor allows the Lakers to compete, even when their elite offense fails. Since that switch, they’ve won games against the Knicks, Nuggets, and the Timberwolves. The win streak shows that their defensive identity is coming together.

The Lakers look fluid on both sides of the floor. They can be disruptive, which is also starting to enhance their offensive opportunities. It didn’t seem like the Lakers would figure it out. But JJ Redick and the group are reaching their ceiling through a collective effort.