I'm definitely not trying to take any kind of victory lap here, I thought the game went about as bad as it could. He definitely wasn't dominant which is what I was hoping for from him (or Jalen, or Jabari), I think "at least he wasn't as bad as everyone else" is a pretty accurate way to describe my takeaway.
Sengun hate here is still a real thing, even when it’s clear he’s our best young prospect by several country miles. He and the vets were the only reason we got back into it in the third, while Jabari and Jalen were less than zero. Once he came out, it all fell apart. To make matters worse, we traded away the only guy who consistently knew how to cut to the basket and could finish off Sengun passes. Now we literally have zero finishers - Jabari is the softest big man in the league and has about a 6 inch vertical while Jalen is a skinny weak guard with absolutely no basketball IQ. A smart team builds upon what works and then adds dimensions to make it better. But it seems like way too many people here (and Stone as well) would rather build upon something that hasn’t ever happened (Jalen and Jabari improve enough to be considered top tier startersl) and is less likely to happen every day.
Again this is the kind of super low bar that is not really relevant. Looking better than abysmal performances by Green and Smith Jr might make him the "best young prospect" - but at this stage - phase 2 - the Rockets need "all star level" from guys Not going to get too excited about Sengun having a moderately effective night on offense given the Trainwreck we just saw
It's funny how a lot of people thought Udoka would work miracles from day one. You can't just flip a switch and make everyone play smart ball. This is why I never bought the "don't complain about the past two seasons. We were successful tanking" BS. Green, Sengun, Smith, Eason, they are all practical rookies, learning the NBA game from zero.
Let me be clear - I don’t think Alpi was dominant tonight (how could he when he got so few touches in his best spots?) but 14-8-6 in 28 minutes is more than moderately effective, especially when playing with the two co-presidents of the bricklayers union. He doesn’t have any space to operate in the paint due to poor shooting and he has no finishers or shooters to pass to. I think given all this, he played as well as could be expected. But precisely assessing the level of his play isn’t my point. It seems to me that the goal of “phase 2” is to play effective basketball, and right now Sengun - no matter what adjective you choose to describe his performance on the court - is the most capable of facilitating that, other than maybe FVV. Jalen isn’t, Jabari definitely isn’t, Amen definitely isn’t, Whitmore definitely isn’t and the rest are clearly established as role players. So why would we prioritize running the offense through any of them rather than Alpi?
I went back reread old articles - it's not like John Lucas and Lionel Hollins or whoever Silas had with him have never had to show a 20 year old the finer points of the game. They did the same stuff they did in other places successfully - the same stuff Udoka crew is trying now. At some point you have to say that the total lack of a modern star level player who can create good offense by just tossing him the ball is the problem, considering that most other NBA teams that are non embarrassing have that. Sengun is probably the closest thing to that but the fact that he's a C who can't guard C's and can't shoot is such a hindrance, it means he better not just be 6-6 in a half, but 12-12 for a game to merit building around. Same argument we've rehashed a billion times. So sad we're still in this place. .
To be fair, Sengun wasn't really given the chance until the second half of last season to have the offense run through him. Even then, it was sporadic. That's why the kPJ experiment was so stupid. But the thing about Sengun is that if you want to build around him, you have to go all in. You have to build the team in a certain way, which is a huge gamble. And I agree that none of the other kids has elite creator talent. With no other prospect in sight, you might as well do the gamble.
I don't really even know what "doing the gamble" means though. The Rockets can't exactly pick and choose tailor-made Sengun complimentary players. Like who - Victor Wembanyama or Anthony Davis to play next to him? Theoretically Smith Jr was supposed to be this - a guy who covers for Senguns weaknesses , but, seems like he's only effective with the ball and not really a defensive eraser I guess you could argue they should've traded down for Grady Dick or someone in the draft who can shoot or traded the pick rather than another project like Amen (which Iko and Feigen said they were planning on doing before the lotto if they couldn't win it). But that's about it - i mean trade for Jerani Grant or DeAndre Ayton? I'm just lost that there's even a combo of Sengun fittable puzzle pieces out there that make sense to try to find, rather than just invest in a less flawed player
It could look that way if Alperen Sengun were the same caliber player. Bad news friends... You all act like he's not standing at the top of the key demanding the ball every single half court set. He can't shoot. He can't drive. He's not a PnR threat. He's destroying spacing and a saucy pass every 3rd game or so doesn't mean he's the equivalent of a multiple MVP/NBA champion. Pump faking wide open 3s like 50 times a game. Bye Sengun FOH with that cornball ****.
That’s really the stupid thing. They could have had much more info by now without going all in, had they not wasted the two years. That waste of time now it is hurting badly with each of Jabari green and Sengun in different ways.
Jabari should fit, at least on paper. He still can. We'll see. You need guards who can shoot and know how to cut. Green could have been a good cutter with his speed. But he just doesn't have a good feel for that. Basically, with a big man-centric team, you need smart more than athleticism.
Sengun hub discussion aside each of Sengun, green and Jabari have some serious flaws. At least one of them should have hit the jackpot for something to happen. And probably the last two years lowered the ceiling of these players, at least slowed their progression.
Because that's what the coaching staff want him to do to activate the lesser players than him. LMAO. I'm pretty sure he'd love to have the ball on low post and have high iq basketball players around him. But in this current Rockets team, he has to pick up the ball at the top of the key, hand the ball over to Jalen or Jabari and watch them running into 4 guys and miss.
RAWR. Let's not bring the Twitter energy into Clutchfans, eh? Again, no one is arguing that Alperen is Nikola Jokic. Now that we have that out of the way, how about addressing the other points in my post? Too much nuance?
The conversation was in my initial reply. No victory laps here, only thoughts on how to maximize what we have. There are offensive systems that might help this team generate better looks, and there were stretches where it happened and stretches where it didn't. (You guys bring these "point scoring" debates from Twitter over to CF, I am convinced of it...)
Fred and D got hot from three for a reason. We were moving the ball. I think this team is much better off when the ball touches the hands of its best player, consistently. That is what I saw at the beginning of the 2nd half. Even If he doesn't take a single shot, he is the only guy on this team who can make his teammates better. We should be DHOing teams to death, and our guards should be setting screens and moving, not the other way around. Alperen Sengun was a -1 tonight. Possibly meaningless, I agree. We'll see.
The thing about running it through SenGod is that his passes are meaningless if the group of guys around him can't even make a darn shot or worse, turn it over. Just let him shoot upwards of 15 attempts per game!
I like Sengun - but when Udoka was asked about Sengun’s offense tonight, he immediately started discussing how bad the defense was in the game and that Alpie can improve in that area. It’s one question - but doesn’t seem like Udoka really liked what he saw defensively from Sengun. Then again Udoka had just said he believed the Rockets lacked effort and toughness - and that’s why they lost…. So sounds like Ime has a number of guys he isn’t happy with.
Very well said. Now if anyone calls you a mommalovin' stupid piece of scheiss with nothing but blind hate for Sengun, I will be there to defend you. I got your back, sis.
