Hi all, Havent blogged in a while but just did a mega piece on Sengun looking at his play with Besiktas but also Teksut Bandirma from two years ago, chatting his improvement. We’ll see him very shortly in summer league, but you can find out all about his play in Turkey here. I hope you read and enjoy! https://www.teaandrockets.com/post/...you-need-to-know-about-the-new-houston-rocket
Here we go! It will be a pleasure to read what you wrote about my man while waiting for the game. I can't thank you enough.
Fundamental for big man skill is really impressive! tired of watching (his) youtube highlights just based on small sample size in the actual game you can see the potential .. and you can have a smile what a steal that we got from the 16th pick
@foggy94 , What did you think of the defense you saw from Alperen last night versus his previous two years in Turkey? You mentioned that his best skill is his hands and I agree. I felt like they were on full display in the Cleveland game, but I saw them being effective on defense more than offense(which came as a surprise to me but you watched more film than I). He also seemed to use quick hands while rebounding. He snatched rebounds up quicker than I'm used to seeing. The pass between the legs was impressive to me and also that shot where he got blocked by Mobley, then Alperen got the carom and gave Mobley the business and scored. His poise is pretty amazing for a 19 year old. I am so happy.
His positional D was great in both half court and when he was in front on transition, meaning he was almost always in the right place at the right time. The real test though will be when NBA teams scheme to ISO him out on the perimeter against a guard/wing. The 2 things that really stood out to me were how he always stayed with the ball after shots (which allowed him to get a lot of boards and contest a lot of 2nd chance attempts) and his passing vision. The first part was really nice to see after a plethora of big men who were atrocious at boxing out or staying with the shot and I can't wait to see him play PnR with Wood, KPJ, and Green. One thing that wasn't that good was how soft/rushed he was getting his rim shots up and he missed quite a few bunnies as a result. It's probably first game jitters, but he definitely should have bided his team more, rose up strong, and then finished strong. The good news though is that he approaches the rim strong (uses his size to bully people) and then follows his own shot.
I agree, he looked like he was trying to play too fast inside. His game down low looks pretty dependent on timing since he's not an explosive leaper, and I don't think his timing is synced with the speed of the Summer League yet. I think we will see better timing has his comfort level increases. There will probably be another (possible longer) adjustment period in the actual NBA, too, but damn, he's got a lot of potential to do some damage.
He is slower than you want defensively.... however he has a strong vertical, he has high effort, he has a strong core and can move okay from side to side.... I think his defensive fortune is going to come down to his natural instincts and how well he studies and understands the tendencies of players. A player can compensate somewhat for a lack of foot quickness by taking better angles, anticipating smartly... etc.
I see a NBA ready player that only needs work on finishing with contact and hitting those 3s. 6 months with Hakeem should really pay dividends. Strength and conditioning will likely add a touch more mass and 6 inches on his vertical. If he grows another inch or two, the league is in trouble.
Unfortunately I couldn’t watch the first game but I’ll be watching tonight. I saw he got a steal on the pick n roll, he throws his arms and legs out wide to stop the pass so he does get deflections. He’s a gambler on D with his lunges at the ball which I don’t like but if he can get deflections on the pocket passes that’s obviously a strength. I didn’t even get chance to talk about his rebounding in the blog as it was already running long. Needless to say he’s good - although not elite and not enough to fix our rebounding woes alone, but he uses his arms over the top well and he’s very active in cutting off ball for offensive boards if he is being ignored on the perimeter which I think will happen lots this year
that defensive stance and tenacity surprised me the most he is actually a two way player in the making
