i think he's comparing sengun to mvp joker. it's still a compliment. Regardless if he's a poor man or very poor man's joker, we need the offense to b run through him rather than whatever kpj is running.
I agree with you, it is a compliment. But fans are little bit sentimental for their own players. MJ might be better player than Hakeem but I have aways valued Hakeem higher than him. It is a supporter bias. Alpi might not get nearby Jokic's level but as a fan I have Panglossian view about Rockets, Nottingham Forest, Surrey university, Genclerbirligi players. Likely wrong but it is part of being "pure supporter".
I really hate how they don't really have any plays where Sengun is a facilitator anymore. The biggest thing that separates him from other bigs is his passing ability in my opinion. Last season he was at 4.5 assists per 36, and this year he's at 1.5, he barely even passes the ball. I thought it was his biggest strength last year and was hoping to see more assists and a lower turnover rate this year. He made (and still makes) a ton of boneheaded passes but that should be treated as an area that needs improvement, not as a reason to abandon it entirely. It's really a bummer to see how he's being used.
Keep in mind KPJ plays the most minutes and plays against the opposing team's starters the most. A lot more burden on him. He's the only one who can consistently handle on ball defensive pressure without losing the ball consistently on this team. The rest of this squad got butter fingers and not much in the ball handling department.
I share your frustration but I think what they are doing is making him focus on his 3pt shooting and defense so he understands what it takes to be the starter. I think it's a good idea to simplify the focus. Alpi has to work on his 3pt shot, defense, passing and shotblocking. To try to do all those things simultaneously is a lot. He's turning it over too much without passing, which is an important diagnosis. As a flashy passer you can shift the blame for some TO's on other people, but when you isolate it this way you see that there are certainly bad decisions he's making even without the responsibility of having some offense run through him. His stamina is still not great btw, which often shows up as TO's and poor shooting. He needs some time to practice being a basic NBA starting C with just the core responsibilities and better energy management/consistency. Once he becomes instinctive with those responsibilities, we'll see him flourish and take on a larger role. I don't think it will take more than another 10-15 games and he's already showing sparks here and there. Then it will take another 10-15 games for the coaching staff to trust him with more responsibilities. I feel impatient too because I can see the offense can really use an alternative play creator, but I think we're building Sengun up very well. It's a little slow but nothing irrational.
I hope he doesn't re-sign with the Rockets and goes to a team where he won't be ignored by his teammates. He will be so much fun to watch in a team that has a system and knows how to utilise players. It is past the point of being funny now, seeing him repeatedly try to set up the offense and direct people where to go in order to get themselves in good position - whilst at the same time - trying to get KPJ to get to a proper position WITH THE BALL in order to set up the offense. I don't know how he remains so composed out there playing with negative IQ teammates.
We may be historically bad in terms of being unable to handle the ball. We clearly can't move on offense. I wonder, is Jalen Green a slightly undersized forward? The combination of he, Tate, and Smith does not work.
Alpi is the only guy among these those that i could say: 'he is a pro!' others who looks more athletic, better stamina, unfortunately most of the time they just can't read the game, can't find the open guy in a timely manner. One of sengun's weaknesses is he is still apply himself to nba games defensive-wise, since silas waste of most sengun's time in last season. smh
LOL @ PER .. cmon now. For you Rocket "fans" who wish Sengun gets traded to "someone that will use him better" what NBA team out there is running a 90s era inside/outside game? Not even Denver and Philly play like that. They expect Jokic and Embiid to be able to beat their man 1v1 and open up the shooters by creating gravity without the need to force feed post principles. A good post game is the cherry on top nowadays instead of the prerequisite for big men. Sengun played the 3rd most minutes last night. He still cant beat his man off the dribble facing the basket and the only redeemable qualities he has on offense is his limited post game (back down hook is about it), good passing instinct and I personally like how he boxes out tough on rebounds. 66% on free throws wont cut it. 30% on 3's wont cut it and playing soft on screens wont cut it. Must have better hands as the roll man coming out of the PNR, but I'd guess he isnt very comfortable running PNR to begin with so with time I think he will get better at it. He is not very athletic so may not be much of a threat as a PNR roller vs a handler until he is comfortable finishing off the pick. Thinking a change of scenery will magically fix that is naivety at best. Put up your torches and pitchforks. Sengun is trending up. He enjoys the 3rd most usage on this team and once he becomes more comfortable handling the ball outside of the paint and can make the defense honor his shot it will translate to more success and name recognition as it feels his fans are thirsty for player stardom vs team success.
He would absolutely benefit from having a second competent ball handler on the team....unfortunately there's not one right now.
On offense he is doing well, on defense he is god awful. He doesn't move his feet and he can't stop anyone - he is literally a terrible defender, he just reaches....and is always out of position. He needs a coach to teach him properly. DD
People forget there’s 2 sides lol. Sengun can score, but he’s also gonna allow a lot of points in the paint. So does his offensive output outweigh his poor defense, that’s the question.
Yeah true, but counterpoint - what's the alternative? Let's just assume hypothetically that his offense does not outweigh his defense, that would mean he's a negative on the court...but so is everybody else? This team sucks lol. Even if he's a negative you still play him. We got a bunch of young guys trying to get better. I don't know that anyone on the entire team is a positive on the court right now. Eric Gordon? Maybe Tari? Maybe KPJ?
In a team dominated by players that are below average in both offence and defence, is that really a question we should be asking of Sengun? He makes us better every time he is on the floor, his on-off numbers are some of the better ones in the team and far better than KPJ/Green/Smith. On defence he is our best rebounder, he boxes out, takes charges, has active hands, makes right rotations etc. Sure he has physical limitations, he gets in foul trouble by being overzealous, and can be overpowered by big Centres. However, giving him the ‘poor defence’ tag feels unfair when we compare him to more than half of this team. I mean, he shares the court with KMJ, Matthews and Nix. Play him next to Eason, Smith and Gordon - players that complement Sengun’s defensive weaknesses - and he will perform defensively as well.
