Use Durant sparingly; he's already 37.

The Rockets narrowly defeated the Pelicans in a rather ugly win. Earlier this season, the Rockets had already lost to the Pelicans once—a game where they led by 25 points but suffered a massive comeback. In today's game, the Rockets' largest lead was 11 points. Entering the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, they were still ahead by 7 points, yet once again the Pelicans overtook them.

With 31.8 seconds left, the Pelicans led by 4 points. Little Jia hit a crucial three-pointer, followed by Murray of the Pelicans stepping on the line for a turnover. With 13 seconds remaining and the Rockets trailing by 1 point, even those not watching the game could guess who the Rockets would give the ball to.

Durant didn't receive the ball immediately. After the inbound pass was thrown to Little Jia, Durant finally got the ball, avoiding any chance for the Pelicans to double-team him. Durant caught the ball, turned, dribbled twice to reach the free-throw line area, and then launched a pull-up jumper over Herbert Jones' defense, hitting the shot to seal the win and put the Rockets ahead.

To defend such a moment, you simply cannot let Durant receive the ball. The Pelicans nearly succeeded in forcing a five-second violation on the Rockets' inbound pass (the time might have already exceeded five seconds, but the referees didn't call it). On the second inbound attempt, the Pelicans again prevented Durant from directly receiving the ball, but unfortunately, the ball eventually ended up in Durant's hands. You can only execute your defense to the utmost and then pray that Durant misses. Like many critical moments this season, Durant once again saved the Rockets.

The Pelicans still had a chance, but then Zion's inbound pass seemed as if he were drunk, throwing the ball to a spot where no one could possibly catch it, completely ruining a game that should have been securely won. The Pelicans have no first-round pick this year, making their 22-win record appear deserved.

Although Shen Jing has played extremely poorly recently, today he was resting, and the Rockets' offense still wasn't much better. This only shows that the Rockets' regression this season is comprehensive. The season-ending injuries to VanVleet and Adams certainly have a huge impact, but these young players haven't shown the expected progress. In this league, if you don't improve, you're essentially regressing.

Eason, facing a contract extension in the offseason, is the player who has regressed the most in the team. Today he shot 2 for 11 and committed 3 turnovers, eventually being benched by Udoka and playing only 19 minutes. Eason's mentality is now off balance; in the last five games, he has missed all 15 three-point attempts. He has abandoned what he excels at, trying to rack up stats for a big contract, and the result is that he's playing worse and worse.

Due to the extreme instability of the Rockets' offense, Udoka has repeatedly had to extend Durant's playing time, since there always needs to be someone on the court to provide a safety net. Today Durant played 39 minutes and 44 seconds, shooting 13 for 24 with 3 of 7 from three-point range, scoring 32 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

After today's game, Durant's career total points are only 86 away from Jordan's, and he will surely surpass that in the next three or four games. Today marked Durant's 434th career game with 30+ points, ranking fifth in history, just one game behind Malone who is fourth. Also, this is Durant's 25th 30+ point game in his 18th season; historically, the closest to him is James with 9 such games.

In other words, no player in history has been as heavily relied upon by his team in his 18th season as Durant. James in his 18th season still had Anthony Davis, while Durant only has a group of "hungry" young players around him.

Durant doesn't possess James' playmaking ability. His way of leading the team is to extend his playing time, continuously score, and repeatedly save the team in critical moments. So far this season, Durant averages 36.5 minutes per game, ranking third in the league; the top two are 25-year-old Maxey and 23-year-old teammate Amen. He even averages one minute more per game than fourth-place Edwards.

This season he has only missed three games, two of which were due to family matters. That means, from the start of the season until now, Durant has essentially only rested once (due to an ankle sprain), after which he has played eight consecutive games with over 30 minutes each.

Because of his high game count and playing time, Durant has even reclaimed his title as the league's mid-range king. This season Durant has made 482 mid-range shots, ranking first; second is Ingram with 437, and third is Alexander with 421.

Sometimes it's genuinely worrying whether Durant can hold up. Last season with the Suns he played only 62 regular-season games; today marks his 63rd game with the Rockets. How long can a 37-year-old veteran who suffered a major Achilles tendon injury continue to endure high-intensity games?

Knowing that VanVleet and Adams were out for the season, the Rockets made no moves at the trade deadline, indicating management's intention to abandon this season. But at least Durant is still striving to win every game.