The Rockets prepared for Kevin Durant's surprise scratch, but still weren't ready. Will he return in time?

The irony of Durant's postseason debut with the Rockets being delayed is that the 2025-26 campaign marked the most minutes he has logged in the regular season in 12 years. The 2,840 minutes Durant played ranked only behind teammate Amen Thompson for the most in the NBA.

The extended minutes Durant would've played against the Lakers, if he were healthy, were certainly missed.

Has the series already flipped?

The Rockets came into this series as heavy favorites (-575) to advance to the second round, mostly because Los Angeles is down two of its three stars in Dončić (hamstring) and Reaves (oblique). Neither player has a timeline to return, so Houston may have a game to spare in a best-of-seven series, but if either returns before the series concludes, the calculus quickly changes.

The first impression was probably demoralizing for Houston. The Lakers led by as many as 16 points and didn't trail for the final 20 minutes of regulation. Without Durant in the lineup, the Rockets couldn't generate efficient looks despite shooting 27 more field goal attempts than the Lakers.

Houston finished 35 of 93 (37.6%) from the floor. Tari Eason (7 of 7) was the only Rockets player who shot more than five times who also finished above 50% from the floor. Thompson (7 of 18), Smith (5 of 14), Reed Sheppard (6 of 20), and Alperen Şengün (6 of 19) all had rough shooting nights.

Without Durant, Houston's offense looked like this:

"You miss it," Smith said on not having Durant in the lineup. "We still got open looks. We still got what we wanted. … When you're missing Kevin Durant, you're going to miss a lot. We missed him, but we still could have been a lot better."

Before the game, Udoka said that he hoped Durant's absence was just a "one-game thing." Game 2 is Tuesday. If Durant can't go, the Lakers will go from underdogs in the series to the favorites overnight.

The Rockets swung big to land Durant in a historic seven-team trade last offseason after a Game 7 loss to the Warriors exposed Houston as an exciting-but-inexperienced team who needed a veteran offensive presence in crunch time. Without Durant on Saturday night, 2026 looked an awful lot like 2025. They were deers in the headlights, and against a team led by the most experienced postseason player in NBA history, no less: the age-defying LeBron James.

"There are some things we left on the table," Udoka said. "We didn't do as well as we could have. Opportunities missed. ... At the same time, it felt like we weren't at our best. I don't know if it's a deer-in-the-headlights type thing. We have some young guys out there. They have been out there, not their first time. When you struggle across the board like that, I think some nerves might've been there a little bit."

Tuesday night will arrive quickly for the 37-year-old Durant. He is on the clock for a team that desperately needs him.