Brooklyn Nets vs. Houston Rockets preview: Kevin Durant is back (again)

SB Nation

Happy New Year to you all. We hope and pray that everyone gets to accomplish all of their dreams and goals in the year of 2026.

On the first day of the new year, the Nets will be taking on the red hot Houston

Rockets led of course by ex-Net Kevin Durant, who will be returning to the Barclays Center. I can only imagine the chants that this man will receive tonight. Brooklyn will look to get back in the winning column while the Rockets will look to win their fourth straight game.

In the last game of the old year, the Nets lost to the Golden State Warriors at a packed house in Brooklyn. The loss was a disappointment, of course, but Brooklyn finished the month of December with a 7-4 record and until that last game, the best defensive rating in the NBA.

Where To Watch

Check out the action this evening at 6:00 p.m. ET on the YES Network for the hometown crowd and NBA League Pass for the out of towners. The game is all being streamed on the Gotham Sports App.

Injury Report

After setting a new Nets rookie record with seven made threes this past Monday, Egor Demin has been ruled out with lower back soreness as has Terance Mann with a sore hip. Michael Porter Jr. (illness) is listed as questionable. Oh boy. Lots of opportunity, it would appear, for Nolan Traore and Drake Powell. E.J. Liddell, Tyson Etienne, Chaney Johnson, and Ben Saraf will report for Long Island duties who are flying to Cleveland for a game vs. the Charge on Friday.

Tari Eason (illness), Clint Capela (illness), Steven Adams (ankle), and Alperen Sengun (calf) are all listed as questionable. More on that later, no doubt.

The Game

The Nets missing Demin will likely hurt them, especially as he grows more and more comfortable out there. The 6’9.5” point guard’s absence. On the other hand, it could lead to a Cam Thomas start, which is tricky when you look at his last two games played. First game back, 30 points in 20 minutes. Second game, 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting as the Warriors keyed on him …. and it worked. A forgetful performance.

Cam will have to make sure he is on his A game, because the Rockets backcourt is scary, Amen Thompson is a freak of nature, as everyone knows. With averages of 17, 7 points on 51% shooting, the Thompson Twin gets to the paint at will while also having the ability to guard positions 1-5.

The Rockets have their own shooter in Reed Sheppard, who has been rewarded with respect and minutes as his numbers have taken a jump from last season. The 6’2” sharpshooter has gone from 4.4 points a game to 13.4 while improving his shooting percentages from 35.1% overall and 33.8% beyond the arc to 45% and 42.2%.

And then of course, you have KD. I’m convinced Durant may give Father Time a run for his money, because somehow at his age and with the lowest usage rate of his career, he is still averaging 25.5 and leading this team to a fourth place Western Conference seed, crazy.

The name of the game tonight will be the availability of big men. Even if Sengun doesn’t play, having Steven Adams and Clint Capela can clog up the lane and also affect the Nets rebounding. Maybe everyone will be tired from the New Year parties in New York.

Player To Watch: Kevin Durant

There’s a number of players we could have chosen for the Player to Watch. Sengun, Thompson, Jabari Smith. After all, the Rockets are on a bit of a roll, having won three straight vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. They’re also rested, having had three days off.

But if you’re a Nets fan, it has to be KD. Durant last played for Brooklyn in February 2023, nearly three years ago, but his imprint is still visible if fading. The take from his trade to Phoenix has produced, by one recent measure, a boatload of future assets in the interim.

His legacy at Barclays Center and HSS Training Center is also one that won’t be easily forgotten. It’s no exaggeration to say his arrival, his habits, his game and of course, his departure changed the franchise in so many ways. So as long as he come to Brooklyn, he’ll be the player to watch when whatever team he suits up for comes to town.

And it looks like he’ll be coming to town for a while if his recent play is any indication. He missed only two games this season while averaging 25.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He is also close to his 50/40/90 season at age 37, currently shooting 52/44/89. Player to watch indeed.

From the Vault

Since the Rockets will be traveling to Brooklyn, it makes me think of a Billionaire couple who hails from Brooklyn (him) and Houston (her.) You may recall they would sit courtside back in the day.