A few seasons?? I thought they were trying to win? Plus his contract is due. Time is not on his side.
Interesting that Sengun is still being used in drop coverage when Udoka said this in that Jonathan Feigen interview
I have/had high hopes for Sengun but he hasnt been impressive. Looks like hes nervous or rushing. He's going to have to really overachieve on defense given his athleticism and frame. That said he cant regress offensively like he has in the pre season. Hopefully he shakes it off.
I hope he adjusts quickly because if he can’t, it’s time to make some tough decisions. I think Alpi would be a great backup but he shouldn’t be a starter. Unfortunately we don’t have a starting center on this team.
People already forgetting how good Alpi is. His preseason games were mostly garbage but I will give him time to adjust...he rushed things, made really stupid mistakes and is still learning...
I'm not worried about Alpi. His offense will come around. The offense in these last two games has looked different than the first two. Not as much movement off ball, more pick and roll... I'm not sure if coach Udoka is changing up offensive schemes based on the personnel or if they were trying different sets based on the opponent. Either way, scrap that playbook and player combos as all of the Rockets (save maybe FVV) looked like they struggled to score against San Antonio. I'm looking forward to Friday's game to get a better (truer) look at what the Rockets offense, defense, and rotations will look like during the regular season. Since it's been reported that Friday's pre-season game will be a dress rehearsal for the regular season I'm hoping we get a better version of Alpi and the rest of the team since they know they will be getting their normal minutes and shots.
The same mistake Alp always does. He rush to shoot the ball once he beat his defender instead of creating 1 more contact with his shoulder and getting an easy bucket. He needs to improve on that area.
I've always liked what Sengun brings (passing, decent handles, offense usually [fear of the 3-pointer notwithstanding) but Rockets coaching and management focus more on what he doesn't bring; they've given him a short leash (whereas KPJ and Green have been given long leashes to run all over the yard, and the former managed to choke himself with it anyway).
How does any of that impact what is happening on the court right now? Seems to me Udoka is going to try and turn Jabari and Jalen/Player X into his new "Tatum & Brown" and a player like Sengun is going to have to get used to playing high post offense ala Al Horford.
Interesting thought. Not to detract from an Alpi thread, but if that is the case then I would say a Jabari/Cam combo most resembles (physically at least) the Tatum/Brown combo. Cam is not ready yet but could be in the next few years. I also noticed Landale had a nice stroke from the 3pt. line is last nights game, ala Al Horford. Udoka building Celtics West...
He was clearly hesitant to try to score inside when Wemby was in the game and as soon as he tried, it was a self fulfilling prophecy - Wemby blocked it like he was an adult playing against a kid on a Lil Tykes basketball hoop. If it was just getting swatted by Wemby, no shame in that, but 2 straight nights of getting obliterated underneath by Shaq Collins and the rest of the Spurs was probably a confidence deadening experience.
It doesnt look like Udoka is going to modify what has been successful for him as a coach in order to tap into fan sentiment. Best thing Sengun can do is become a Jayson Tatum type player and take the selection process out of Udokas hands instead of deferring to Jabari.
He has always been bang average in preseason ganes so i'm not worried. Remember, people were convinced that Bruno was actually better than him. I remember sengun having a bad game and bruno making 7 assists couple days later and ppl were praising Bruno's playmaking. He was more than just a lob threat. Sengun had never made 7 assists a game like he did kinda stuff. It was hilarious. Form is temporary class is permanent. It would be childish to think that he somehow got worse in the post that his footwork has regressed etc. so either he's in his head or trying to adjust to the new system. He doesn't get enough elbow touches anymore. Amen, Whitmore don't know him so there is a one way chemistry there and when there is no jalen on the floor nobody really sees him other than Jabari occasionally and Jabari is more direct now. Last year he was rather timid especially after bad plays. Now when he gets the ball he drives to the rim fearlessly or just shoots it confidently. He isn't that dependent on Sengun's playmaking anymore. He was a baby last season and sengun and others were his mommies, aunties. They were breastfeeding him, changing his diapers now he's a grown ****ing man he doesn't want nobody's milk. He has enough calcium now he's hungry and wants to eat meat. Also i should i really really like his defensive effort now. He was like a 3-4/10 defender but looks like a solid 6 now but it's preseason i really don't give a siht about preseason games honestly. Sure there are things you immediately that carries on to the season. They double-triple team him almost always which means that he 100% will keep getting suffocated this season. He looks thicker he is 250+ pounds, finally somewhat a presence which means he won't get manhandled as frequently as before but beyond that i don't know. Like maybe the reason why he looks good on defense is because opponents don't give their 100% on offense and they aren't fully ready and looks bad on offense because he knows the game is meaningless at the end of the day? That's why i don't like watching preseason and summer league games.
The thing that has been disappointing me the most about Alp is that he is going into his 3rd year and still hasn’t learned to not pick up those stupid BS fouls. For a smart guy he can be mind numbingly dumb.
He did not but it is to assume that Udoka will play him in a tighter role than Silas who just monitored his minutes but he did not care how Sengün played as long as he did not shoot 3s.
