I have not watched much Rockets basketball the last three years, but I have started to this season. Based on what I have seen, Sengun is good, really good. However, if he is going to be great, then he will need to get into better shape and the Rockets will need to put pieces around him to complement his strengths and cover his weaknesses. It is not fair to compare him to Jokic; I get it that Jokic is a White Euro player but that is pretty much where the comparison ends. Jokic shoots like 40 percent from 3 and is an elite passer. He is also in great condition. I once saw him play 56 minutes in a double OT game against the Clippers or Spurs (can't remember which) and he had a Triple Double. In the Spurs game, Sengun was so tired that he was playing with his hands on his knees and was fouling people because they kept getting past him. It is only the third game of the year so presumably this would improve through the season, but we will see. If you actually want Sengun to be the key player on the team, then you have to hope for the following: 1. Either Amen or Jalen become elite shooters/scorers (basically, they become Jamal Murray); 2. That Jabari continues to grow (becomes Michael Porter Jr); and 3. We get solid Wing and Post defenders who can take pressure off Sengun on paint D. (Jeff Green, Grant, and Aaron Gordon types. Ironically we already have J. Green!). All of these would allow Sengun to be the primary distributor, and he would not have to get in the paint and bang. When Jokic gets into issues is when his teammates don't defend in the paint and then he has too. He gets a lot of fouls in bunches because he is not fast enough. Sengun is somewhat similar.
Sengoat is making me a believer. Him having a dominant game vs a big man lineup Mark Williams and Nick Richards is huge because tradionally this is where he has struggled. The Jokic comparisons will always be unfair since Jokic is a generational talent but there's no reason why he can't reach Sabonis level of talent. Given his young age and ability to shoot 3s now I think he is on track to be a perennial all star type of talent. Also we can put the undersized comments to bed cuz I saw him next to Brandon Miller and he was clearly more than an inch taller... And I know BM is 6'9 in shoes.
A step in the right direction. But you are still behind in the comparisons, still better than Scola comparison lol. He is way ahead of Sabonis in the developmental curve. He should be better than current Sabonis before he is 24. That is the fair expectation. So the fair question is, where will he end up between Sabonis and Jokic, closer to which one?
Yeah Scola comparisons were absurd lol, Scola never had passing to begin with and he also never displayed 3 pt shooting. I don't believe in linear progression so just because Sengun outpaces Sabonis at age 21 doesn't mean he will be better than Sabonis at age 27. I'd rather wait until Sengun reaches that level cuz we never know. One thing Sabonis has over him is Sabonis is 6'11 with long arms, Sengun looks like he only has average arm length so he is a worse paint protector than Sabonis.
Honestly, I don't love trying to identify a "best" player in a vacuum. What I think is more appropriate, though, is comparing each of our "big 3" young players to where they would become borderline All Stars given their position/role (it's too early to rate Amen and Whitmore, and Eason is a great energy guy so far IMO). So... Sengun -- 20 ppg, 9 - 10 rbg, 6 + apg This is Sabonis territory, and Sengun is very, very close at the moment. By far the closest. Green -- 25+ ppg at ~.57+ TS% Ant/Lavine territory, which would put Greenin the top 15 for ppg. Green, currently, is pretty far from this, but that's because the Magic game is dragging down his overall average. The last three games he's averaged 22 ppg, so I could see him taking a jump and hitting this. He has a ways to go though. Jabari Smith Jr. -- 17 ppg, 7 rbg, plus defense, .37+ from 3 I had the most difficult time finding a possible comp. for Bari, so I went with Wiggin-ish numbers. To me, Bari is the farther from Borderline All Star consideration than Sengun and Green. I know some want Bari to be a 20/10 guy, but that's a pretty elite category -- only AD, Embiid, Jovic, and Giannis averaged that last season.
Please check your facts before you lose all credibility. Even with his long neck, Sengun's wingspan is 7'. This is more proportionate to his height, which we will say for a good comparison to Sabonis is 6'11". On the other hand, Sabonis being also 6'11", has a horizontal reach of 6'11": One inch shorter than Sengun's.
This is a good ranking on Largest Hip, Head, Neck. Sengun aka Turkish Giraffe needs to make the new list. https://min.news/en/sport/4441f865da203d2ce5d4afecf81f4999.html Biggest Foot = Mutombo Roundest Face = Eric Gordon Biggest Player = Pachulia Biggest Hip = Lowry etc
Sure, progression is not linear, and not a guarantee of anything. But progression is better than non-progression. Reaching some levels years before the other one gives more time for improvement. It is not just the comparison of stats that is the proof or strong promise of Sengun getting to Sabonis level easily, rather it is how he improved on defense, how he is working on his midrange and 3pt, the personality etc. And simply I think Sengun is way more talented than sabonis in terms of passing and post play.
I don't think we have gone all the way there yet, that will probably take another couple of years. But at least he is no longer being frozen out and marginalized.
It's why I always say coaching does matter. Silas enabled ISO-hero ball from Green and KPJ and Ime won't allow that. So now Sengun can really thrive in a system that values his possessions and help the team around him actually get good shots instead of dribble dribble chuck.
I did, and I love Scola, but there isn't one thing (maybe his patented "ice scream scoop", and maybe free-throw shooting) he will have done better than Sengun when all will be said and done. And more importantly, their playing styles are actually really different. Particularly, Sengun is a much better and more creative passer, already has more range, and plays way more above the rim than Scola ever did. Really the only thing they have in common is approximately their respective height, and that they are both not black. And, no offense, that seems to mostly be where this often-repeated comparison comes from when it comes to DD, more than anything else.
