The Houston Rockets are in… big trouble. But hasn’t that been public information for months now? Well, franchise legend Vernon Maxwell dropped a clear analysis of this team’s fractured chemistry a month ago. Before this season began, Kevin Durant was poised to be their savior, but after the burner controversy, questions are being asked whether the team is still internally united. The Rockets actually entered the playoffs on a strong note, winning nine of their last 10 games. Their next challenge was beating an injury-depleted Lakers team. But then Durant suffered a fitness setback, and every sign since has been bizarre.

Before we get to last night’s game, here’s a small debrief. LeBron James led the Lakers to a 107-98 win in Game 1. The Slim Reaper missed this game because of a right knee bruise and was a late scratch from the lineup. Well, Durant did return for Game 2, but here is where everything spilled out on the Rockets’ end. En route to another 94-101 loss at Crypto.com Arena, the visiting fans watched grimly as the brewing problems were worse than the box score. As the playoffs shift to the Toyota Center for Friday’s crucial Game 3, the Rockets are staring a full-scale collapse of team chemistry if they don’t fix it.

Their dysfunction was on full display in the first half when tempers flared after Reed Sheppard forced a contested, ill-advised shot. He missed it, and even though Durant salvaged the attacking play with a jumper, he was visibly irate and was heard screaming, “Pass the rock” to his young teammate while running back on defense. Notably, this is the same individual he deemed “that spark plug we need” six months ago after a game-winning performance. The tension neither ended there nor was it limited to Durant…

With 2:40 remaining in the third quarter and Houston trailing 64-71, Tari Eason and Alperen Sengun broke into a heated argument on the bench following an offensive goaltending violation. That might seem like a one-off, common friction between teammates, but it underscored the pressure that’s on a team that’s torn at the seams. That said, the Lakers made a conscious effort to put Durant under pressure when he had the ball in his hands. Even though the veteran played fairly well, one stat probably summed up the night.

Nine turnovers (he has 20 turnovers across his last three games facing the Lakers). Durant finished with 23 points, but was completely neutralized in the second half, contributing a measly three points as LeBron James and Marcus Smart consistently double-teamed him. JJ Redick and Co. also mixed up their strategy, clogging the paint and preventing Durant from consistently finding his teammates for easy looks. So, despite Sengun’s 20-point, 11-rebound effort and Jabari Smith’s 18 points, as a team, the Rockets shot a dismal 7-of-29 from beyond the arc, struggling to generate any rhythm.

The only one who gets a pass is the overly competitive Ja’Sean Tate, whose antics provoked LeBron James to answer. Some of the blame for these tactical failures is falling on head coach Ime Udoka, too, spurring Rockets fans’ demands for a change at the helm. But before that, there’s been no indication to suggest that this team has moved beyond the burner account controversy. Back in February, Durant had brushed off accusations that he was the mastermind behind anonymous accounts that belittled his teammates on social media.

“I’m not here to get into Twitter nonsense,” Durant quickly said, but one couldn’t help but notice that the Rockets star was constantly on his phone during All-Star Weekend. The alleged claims originated from screenshots purported to be group messages on X that included Durant (under multiple aliases). These messages were severely critical of Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker, former Suns coach Frank Vogel, and Golden State’s Steph Curry and coach Steve Kerr. These rants also included complaints about the Rockets’ Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr.

Now, this controversy would’ve raised question marks behind the scenes. Publicly, though, Udoka has backed the Slim Reaper for the most part. In fact, the entire purpose of convincing Durant to join Houston was to mentor young players and build this young core up for the future. Zooming out to assess the larger picture, are the Rockets really moving in the right direction here?

Kevin Durant & Co’s problems have become too hard for Houston to ignore

The public outbursts come on the heels of mounting speculation about Houston’s internal culture. The team has been quiet about Durant’s ‘burner page,’ but someone who’s been at the heart of the Rockets’ culture could see the cracks. In March, franchise legend Vernon Maxwell voiced concerns that the team was torn. “They said some s–t about some secret page KD did and talked about some of the players on the team, and it’s f—–g split the goddamn guys up and guys don’t like to high five each other no more,” Mad Max said on All the Smoke. “No m———–s want to bump chest no more with each other. Everybody just split up the whole f—–g team. So, I don’t know, man. It’s a lot of s–t going on out there in Houston.”

That time, it may have looked like an exaggeration. The Rockets finished the regular season as the 5th seed despite the internal issues. But the playoff pressure may be getting to them now…

For Rockets fans, this season is already looking done. They’re feeling extreme buyer’s remorse from the Durant trade before Game 3. For Houston, that’s raging after even the Astros lost to Cleveland today, Game 2 was a double whammy. The Rockets are already losing support at home. If they cannot fix their locker-room chemistry and solve the Lakers’ defensive pressure by Friday night, a promising season could end in a humiliating sweep.