Because it is not a Jokic vs Sengun situation. That argument only makes sense if Sengun and Jokic ever only played each other.
I think the argument that was made was that Sengun could never be as good as Jokic because he is not as tall/big. The statement about Sengun being being more athletic and that possibly compensating for the difference in size was just in response to that. I don't see what's terrible about that? You are right that it is not a Jokic vs. Sengun situation, but they often get compared to each other in terms of playing style, by experts and other players and Sengun's coach as well, and their stats at age 20 look quite similar (obviously Jokic kept getting better very quickly after that, and is at an incredible level), so it is only natural to look at what they have in common and what might set them apart. Jokic - bigger, better shooter (as indicated by FT %) Sengun - faster, more athletic than Jokic, more blocks and dunks
This is where you are missing the point. The reason Jokic being bigger / stronger is brought up is because he is bigger / stronger than the majority of bigs tasked to guard him. He is able to leverage that physical advantage against the majority of defenders. Now, to the counter argument that Sengun is faster / more athletic than Jokic. For one, he absolutely should be as he is smaller, has less weight to carry around, and younger to boot. The actual important point of consideration is this... is Sengun faster or more athletic than the majority of the bigs guarding him? The answer to that is a firm "No".
No, the point is, can Sengun being faster/more athletic make up for being slightly smaller as it pertains to his overall performance in the NBA? The answer is not a firm no, he has significantly more blocks and dunks than Jokic, and they are not all against Jokic (obviously). They are against other NBA players.
"No, the point is, can Sengun being faster/more athletic make up for being slightly smaller as it pertains to his overall performance in the NBA?" LOL how is that any different than what I said? He is not bigger than the majority of them, neither is he faster. As a C, his body is very mid and that will always pose as a big challenge for him. "He has significantly more blocks and dunks than Jokic, and they are not all against Jokic (obviously). They are against other NBA players." Are you serious with this? Alright, let's assume you are and break this down. "...more blocks" Well, no crap he does. Jokic is notorious for being lacking on the defensive side of the ball in additional to virtually no vertical explosiveness so that's a VERY low bar to clear. Having more blocks than Jokic is a moot point, so how does he compare with his peers? Well, for this season you have to go down 40 spots to even find Sengun on the list of shot blockers. All you are saying here is that Sengun is a better shot blocker than one of the worst big defenders in the league. "...dunks than Jokic" This is basically a repeat of the previous point, but even sillier. Here is the thing, ALL NBA PLAYERS CAN DUNK. Even Jokic can dunk if he wants to. CP3 at his ripe age can dunk if he wants to. Most players as they get older dunk less and less as dunking is very draining on the body, often needlessly so. Having more dunks means absolutely nothing. A layup counts just as much as a yam.
Sengun is one of 3 players who had 70+ steals and 70+ blocks last season. Anyway, you can have your opinion. You can think that "Sengun's body will always pose a big challenge for him" - people said the same about Jokic when he started. Who cares.
I just think any strict comparisons are misplaced, they have very different player profiles. People just see a big man with great vision and passing skills and have formed an entire argument around it like it's the be all and end all of whether Sengun will be a good player and it actually has no effect on Sengun at all how good or bad Jokic is.
This is my stance; let Sengun be Sengun and let’s watch how he works to overcome the upper echelons of the NBA. Despite adversity from Silas, he has done very well so far.
The whole Jokic comp is a response to people saying that Sengun can never be elite because he is slow and not athletic. He will be played off the court in the playoffs. The counter point is, Jokic is also slow and not athletic but he is not played off the court at all. In fact, he is very likely to become the Finals MVP. (This is, BTW, why a lot of Sengun doubter want to see Jokic fail, or at least dismiss his success.) Then the counter to that is that Sengun can never be as good as Jokic because Jokic is bigger. Then the counter to that is that Sengun's better speed and agility compensate for his lack of size compared to Jokic. I think all of the arguments are valid. You don't have to agree, but they are not dumb arguments. To me, what Sengun lacks compared to Jokic his shooting outside of the low post. Sengun is as effective a scorer and passer as Jokic in the post. Sengus doesn't bully people down low like Jokic but he has better moves and footwork. What he needs to get to the elite level is outside shooting.
The Sengun is quicker than jokic **** is dumb. Dude is still one of the 5-7 slowest players in the league lol
also Sengun doesn’t need to be as good as jokic to be a great player. Another stupid high bar by anti jokic & Sengun camp.
Please tell me the bigs that he has a clear speed advantage against. Jokic is literally bigger than almost every player in the league. There’s a huge difference. Y’all talk about Sengun’s quickness, but who is he quicker than lol
That is fair to say but to me it still takes a lot to finally assemble a roster around Jokic. Galvanized them to use altitude and very good athletes, shooters and defenders around Jokic. The Rockets do not view Alpe as their number 1 option lol. It is funny that people talk 200 pages on here and the Rockets still have not moved one inch closer to identifying Alpe as the Number 1 option, it is just a head scratcher. I bet they still have Green and Jabari as their secret corner stones. And that whole head honcho debacle. As clueless as they come. The Nuggets have gotten rid of Nurkic very early to show whom they valued.
/Thread. Sengun needs to become a REAL shooter If he wants to truly be great. Year 1: 47-25-71 Year 2: 55-33-72 I really hope Udoka gives him the green light. We need to be thinking about 23-24-25-year-old Alperen, not 20-year-old Alperen.
