Great game from Sengun, but I don't think the knock on Sengun was whether he could hang defensively with other bigs - it was his coverage guarding mobile forwards and guards because there are less true bigs out there to match him up against....but hey - I think it's worth celebrating that Sengun has quietly shown he can make a difference defensively in the right matchups. That is a real improvement from last year....and let's be clear - not a lot of defensive growth from most players on this roster so doubly exciting to see it from Sengun.
The knock was definitely that he can't do either. You can either have an agile switchable big guy who can hold his own against guards, or you can have a giant intimidating rim protector who alters/blocks shots and makes it tough to score in the paint...or ideally both, obviously, but in general you need to be able to do at least one of these things to play center. The knock on Sengun has always been that he cannot do either, and he will never be able to do either, because he doesn't have the physical tools.
Good news is, he can do both - because he has heart and wants the team to win! He is already a better defender than Jokic and Sabonis. Just give him and Green the keys.
In the paint, he keeps his opponent FG % lower than what Wiseman, Adebayo, Valanciunas, Jokic, Jabari Smith Jr. achieve: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/opponent-shooting?PlayerPosition=C But, you are right...he is just behind Jokic, but better than Sabonis, Capela and others, according to a "sophisticated defensive dashboard" @larsv8 found on nba.com: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-overall?PlayerPosition=C&dir=A&sort=PCT_PLUSMINUS What is over the top?
Was wondering the same thing Maybe a military salute? Maybe he is trying to express his respect? Edit: Yes, I think so: https://emojigraph.org/saluting-face/
Well his logic is if sabonis and jokic can make it into playoffs being poor defenders, why not sengun? especially if he's the better player at this stage of his career
There is noooooo way he is a better defender than Sabonis. IMO, that is the goal. Sabonis with Chuck Hayes's defensive hands. He needs to get in much better shape to be able to hang with Sabonis on those pick-and-roll coverages.
It's the difference between a player constantly looking to setup plays and keeping watch for plays to unfold vs a player who really only looks to pass if their own play doesn't unfold. This is also the reason why most of Sengun's passes come early in the clock while KPJ's typically comes after he's already dribbled a chunk of the clock away.
If rockets had some sort of game plan to use him as a hub, he would have shattered those numbers. man’s it is not just a numbers thing. You posted a video of no look passes in another threads. The precision of the no look passes is unbelievable.
