The Rockets May Have Found the Potent Combo to Win it All

After a slow start, the Houston Rockets have gotten things back on track. They lost their first two games in nail-biting fashion against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Detroit Pistons and then snagged two big wins against the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors. 

It’s hard to determine just how good the Rockets are just four games into the season because the Thunder and Pistons are good teams they lost to, and the Raptors and Nets are bad ones they beat. The next few games will probably show us the Rockets' true colors. 

One thing we do know for sure, however, is that the combination of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun is working on offense.

NBA reporter Evan Sidery tweeted, “The Rockets are outscoring their opponents by 19.1 points per 100 possessions when Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun share the court:

131.9 OffRtg (1st)

112.8 DefRtg (13th)

+19.1 NetRtg (1st)

Houston now has the NBA’s top offense with Durant unlocking another level of efficiency.”

When Durant and Sengun are on the court together, the Rockets’ offense seems unstoppable. With a ton of length and defensive studs on the roster, this means that the Rockets can probably find a way to dominate on both sides of the ball. 

The issue is, you can’t play Sengun and Durant all game. When they are on the bench, who is going to take over as the offensive hub? 

The answer was going to be Fred VanVleet, but now he is out for the season, injured. Can the Rockets get Amen Thompson to take over this role? Or do they need to search the trade market for someone who can handle the offense with confidence?