Kevin Durant bites back while dismantling the Suns

Oh you better believe Kevin Durant enjoyed his first opportunity to face off against the Phoenix Suns with the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

He might not have been available for the two team's first meeting of the season, but he more than made up for lost time as he crushed his former team.

Durant barked at Suns' bench throughout win.

It became clear throughout the Rockets' 117-98 win that Durant was talking to the Suns' bench at every opportunity, but was that really necessary?

If you're Durant, then it absolutely was as he was made a scapegoat for the shortcomings of the Suns last season. This despite being the walking bucket in The Valley that he has continued to be in Houston.

This was a chance for both organizations to match up having both believed they came out of the Durant for Jalen Green trade in a good spot. That's because both have, but Durant's 28 point performance, he really was amazing, was a timely reminder of what Phoenix has lost.

Fun as they are to root for, and boy do they play hard, Durant gave them actual championship aspirations. They may have fallen well short, but this version of the Suns can't do the same thing.

Particularly with Devin Booker out with a groin strain, and you have to wonder if Durant would have been as vocal if Booker was out there. The pair appear to still be tight, it was just one of those things that didn't work out.

If any player should be getting the blame for what went down in Phoenix, then it is Bradley Beal. Grayson Allen having done everything for the team that Beal was supposed to.

Instead he got bought out and got to join the L.A. Clippers, who immediately went up in flames, while he's out for the season with a hip fracture. He was supposed to be the most over-qualified third option in the league, yet that never happened.

So we'll let Durant have this one. He's annoyed by how his time with the Suns ended, and we know he's never been shy about jumping on social media. No doubt he saw a lot of what was said about him.

Yet all he had to work with was an often-injured Beal and a center in Jusuf Nurkic who was not up to the job. He's in a much better spot with the Rockets, and could actually win another championship. This should be out of his system now, and it had been coming.