It was an odd week for Houston Rockets fans. Superstar offseason acquisition Kevin Durant was embroiled in yet another social media “drama.” Among comments alleged to have come from a Durant “burner” account were disparaging remarks about teammate Jabari Smith Jr. Then, after Houston’s first game back from the All-Star break, Durant sang the praises of Houston’s “small ball” lineup. The key player in any Houston small ball look? Jabari Smith Jr.
So, does Durant have a point, or was he just saving face?
Examining Kevin Durant’s Praise For Jabari Smith Small Ball
The Rockets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 105-101 on Thursday night. Durant put on an offensive exhibition for Houston, scoring 35 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the field. In his post-game interview on the floor, Durant was keen to point out the success the team had going “small ball.” It’s easy for suspicious minds to interpret that as a shot at franchise center Alperen Sengun. But it could just as easily have been a peace offering to Smith. Most likely, it was out of a genuine preference for the lineup.
The Backbone of Rockets Small Ball
Houston’s jumbo version of a small ball lineup works best with a front-court pairing of Smith and Durant. There’s no shortage of data on how those two have performed together this season.
As of Friday night, Houston has three of the five highest minutes-played duos in the NBA this season. Those are Smith and Amen Thompson at 1,455 minutes played, Durant and Thompson at 1,419 minutes, and Durant and Smith at 1,413. All three lineups have a positive plus/minus. Smith and Durant are the highest with +193, though. Unsurprisingly, that is Houston’s highest total plus/minus overall.
With a per-36 minutes plus/minus of +4.9, the duo ranks a little lower. Notably, though, many of the duos ranked ahead of it with over 300 minutes played include Steven Adams. Adams was consistently the Rockets’ highest plus/minus player before his season-ending injury. The only duo ahead of Durant and Smith with anything close to the same minutes is Thompson and Sengun, at +5.1 over 1,305.
How the Durant-Jabari Smith Duo Perform Without Centers
Jan 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) and forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) react after a play during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
For a proper picture of how the KD and Smith pairing functions as the basis of a “small ball” lineup, it’s necessary to compare with lineups including Houston centers. The Durant, Smith, and Adams lineup is +10.7 per 36 minutes (+111, 375 minutes). Durant, Smith, and Sengun are +4.3 per 36 minutes (+109, 913 minutes). Durant, Smith, and Clint Capela are -0.8 per 36 minutes (-3, 143 minutes).
Of course, that’s 1,431 minutes, which is more than Durant and Smith played together. That’s because of Houston’s fondness for double bigs, where the Adams and Sengun minutes overlap. The Durant, Smith, Adams, and Sengun lineup is only a total +12 in 120 minutes.
Capela is less heavily utilised in double big lineups because of his offensive inflexibility. Capela and Adams have not played together at all. While Capela and Sengun are -7 over 105 minutes, Capela, Sengun, Durant, and Smith are -5 over just five minutes.
Altogether, you get +210 over 1,306 minutes of Durant and Smith with at least one center. They are +193 over 1,413 minutes together overall. That means that without any center, they are -17 over 107 minutes. That’s about -5.7 per 36. So, not great.
But, it’s important to note that the Rockets can’t trot out Adams to boost their plus/minus anymore. The trio of Capela, Smith, and Durant is the most relevant comparison to make at this point. Even then, though, technically, the Capela lineup is well ahead.
Durant’s Small Ball vs. Charlotte
In reality, even in the game Durant is talking about, small ball was not an unmitigated success.
In the Charlotte game, the most productive “small ball” lineup still went -1 overall. That was Durant and Smith with Dorian Finney-Smith, Jae’Sean Tate, and Tari Eason.
Durant specifically refers to a period from 5:24 of the second quarter to the end of the first half. No Houston center stepped on the floor during that time. The Rockets went from down 45-38 to up 53-52, an eight-point swing.
Small ball was also relevant for the final 4:37 of the game, during which Sengun was frequently subbed in and out for Finney-Smith. Foul trouble was not a concern as Sengun had only two fouls in the whole game. At the point these substitutions started, the Rockets had an eight-point lead and eventually won by four.
Will Small Ball Help Houston?
The fact that Houston never quite lost the lead is relevant, though. Rockets fans are used to seeing games slip away from them in these moments. Durant clearly is, too. It remains to be seen if this tactical approach to end-game substitutions significantly improves Houston’s crunch-time fortunes.
It also remains to be seen whether Houston will try to generate runs by going small more often or if it will see replicable success. They have a good opportunity for experimentation in the coming weeks with Houston’s post-All-Star break strength of schedule. Apparently, though, Durant is a fan already, and if his Twitter “leaks” are to be believed, he is not an easy man to please.
© Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
