The NBA has no answer for Rockets’ new weapon with Kevin Durant

As the Houston Rockets have emerged as one of the NBA's premier offensive teams, leading the NBA in both offensive rating and offensive rebounding percentage, it has been largely as a result of the excellent performances they've received so far from both Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant.

Moreover, according to Sam Vecenie on the latest episode of The Game Theory Podcast, the Rockets now have an almost unbeatable weapon in their arsenal: the KD-Sengun ball screen.

"The KD-Sengun ball screen stuff is really figuring itself out right now. Their chemistry is really starting to come together in my opinion."

Sam Vecenie

Not only has this particular action been uber-effective in getting downhill opportunities for Durant and basket-crashing chances for Sengun, it has also opened up their offense as a whole, and the two players' remarkable stats reveal just how lethal this offense can be as the season wears on.

Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun's chemistry could be the key to the Rockets' success this season

When Houston acquired Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade this past offseason, the obvious was that, by bringing a superstar-caliber scorer into the fold, the team's offense would raise itself up a notch, supplementing their hard-nosed defense just enough to make them a viable playoff team.

Yet, few expected the radical transformation that this team has undergone. Not only has Durant himself been dangerous, but Sengun has been playing MVP-caliber basketball, and their surrounding cast has picked up the slack in a number of ways.

They have each been powerful scorers from their own spots on the court, with Durant knocking down his mid-range shots with ease and Sengun using his impeccable footwork to get improbable buckets in the paint.

Yet, with a player of Sengun's size and skill and an offensive weapon as dangerous as Durant, the high ball screen could be the Rockets' most dangerous weapon this season. Not only does it free up Durant to shake his defender, he is a capable enough passer that, once he gets to the paint, he is able to kick it out to the team's looming perimeter shooters.

Imagine fighting your way through a Sengun screen only to see a 6'11" Durant whizzing past you towards the basket. Scary, right?

This, combined with the team's excellent offensive rebounding rate, can take a large part of the credit for Houston's impressive 3-point shooting clip this season, and, until teams around the NBA figure out how to slow down this offensive engine, these two stars' chemistry will only continue to grow.