We need to talk about Sengun's offense this season

Solid topic, I want to add that Dirk type shot was one that seemed to work early in the season but was complete garbage by the end. I saw a lot of indecisiveness and less quickness, so definitely the offense and bulking up + effort required on defense took a toll on him. Next season he can really put it all together but yeah definitely not a #1 option; too small, not quick enough and not the right coach to unlock something if he has it.

 

For someone like Sengun, it's all about MENTAL.. Evidence? Just watch his reactions after missing a bunny or a shoot and see how he gets disappointed and frustrated... You need to grow up in the same culture and environment to understand it..

He just need someone to work on his mental streght.. My only worry on this is that the mental stuff is usually tied to your not only DNA, but also culture and where and how you're grown up.

Sengun is not coming from the US streets or colleges to handle those situations in the way the NBA stars do. Not sure (even a little pessimistic) that if he can break this last remaning mental barrier and evolve into an all NBA first team player or even an MVP caliber all-star (I hope he can).

Regardless, the next season performance will tell something if he can do or not..

Apart from all those discussions, knowing that how his journey started from the beginning and what he already accomplished is already mesmerizing and deserve big kudos to him...

 

We need to change how we use AlP. He really can be effective from anywhere. Maybe not hitting the 3P yet but he can drive from the perimeter well for his size.

Need more passing from elbow and using the flamingo a bit. More utilizing him as a hub. Not to mention improving spacing around him.

 

He needs to get in the gym and work on his range as well as his core. He can be a better athlete and improve his footwork. I mean Aaron Gordon is shooting 43% from 3pt range all because he got rid of the hitch and narrowed his base. You don't have to jump high at 6'10 when you're shooting 3s. Its more of a legs/set shot type of shot from someone like Sengun. He needs to put in the work in the summer so he has confidence in the shot. As far as inside, that's going to always be and issue because he don't get off the ground much and he's not 7ft tall.

 

I feel like every new season is a micro cosmos of its own and we don't really know what is up with Sengün until that new season hits home.

 

Good topic.

He has too many moves he tries and many seem to result in him awkwardly flinging the ball toward the basket.

He needs to concentrate on a single high-efficiency shot that he can rely on. Watching Hartenstein's floater/push shot, I think that's what Alpi should try to perfect. He can use that anywhere from 3 to 12 feet from the basket. Jokic is really great at that as well.

I'd like Alpi to spend the summer working on that as well as free throw shooting. He can work on 3-point shooting in a few years once he has improved from shorter range. For now, I don't want Alpi shooting the 3.

 

I realize that folks here are applying their own definitions to midrange, but to be accurate, in the official NBA stats, Sengun shot 42.0% from midrange prior to All Star break. He also shot 41.6٪ for the full season.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/s...egment=Pre+All-Star&SeasonType=Regular+Season

 

As pointed out, there's multiple reasons for Sengun's offensive performance. I was going to point out one more and it affects many of our players not just Sengun.

Our mix of players isn't really complementary to each other. The same defense to stop Sengun is also highly effective against most of our other players too. It's not a matter of opponents setting out to stop Alpi or Green. Instead it's a case of packing the paint pretty much stops everyone. Why wouldn't you do that? It's not a case of pick your poison, where you choose to stop one thing but have to give up something else. For us, the choice works against all of our players.

That's why I don't see us making a move for Giannis. How do you defend him? Every game you hear the same thing "you have to build a wall in the paint to stop him". We'll, that wall already exists in our games. What teams do against us is more of a full condo than a wall.

That and Giannis not being a closer doesn't seem to solve enough problems to justify the cost of acquiring him.

Personally, I think that Sengun is a good player, but I don't see him becoming an efficient high volume scorer. You can do all the comparisons at the same age that you want but that's not really a great predictor. The number of seasons , regardless of age, that a player has against high level competition probably makes more difference than pure age. Then the biggest problem with comparisons like that is that the superstars generally make a huge leap at some point in their career. Expecting a player who had similar numbers at a particular age to make the same huge leap to superstardom is a longshot. You're banking on them making a large improvement to reach a level that few have ever attained. You can hope for it but to expect it is likely going to lead to disappointment.

 

Midrange for a guard and a center isn't the same. Come on now. Now cross examine with some of the pfs and centers you like at the same age and post.
I did Gasol. Hakeem's 5 years. I know some of you don't like the guy buy improvement happens with age.

It's not applying own definition
If an NBA three is rounded to 24ft, 10-17ft is the midrange. anything else is a longer than necessary two which is how the One Tree Morey shenanigans got started in the first place

 

No we do not need him "using the flamingo a bit" he's garbage from that distance. We need him to abandon the grounded shot put and flamingo shots and remember how to score inside again, that was his special skill and it decreased this season.

 

Easy to fix, we need to get him the ball down low more often and we need to surround him with better players.

Having Sengun out there next to 3 of the least efficient scorers in the entire league in Jalen, FVV, and DIllon Brooks is problematic....and even worse when you add another non-shooter (as of now) in Amen to the mix.

Dump Brooks, because Ime can't be trusted to play him off the bench, and go with Jabari at PF instead

Play Amen at SF....because, duh.

Dump Jalen for a real SG

Actually develop Reed Sheppard so FVV is on the court less (I know we're stuck with him)

Prioritize getting Sengun the ball in the low post rather than the elbow or beyond the arc more often.

Overnight, you've "fixed" Sengun's struggles on offense.

 

I just gave you the official NBA stats. If you want to disagree with them the that's your right. There's also not a different definition of midrange for guards vs centers. That's the NBA's definition, not mine. So, yes you are applying your own definition. If this isn't your own definition then where are you getting it from? Far as I know, almost everyone relies on the NBA for midrange stats.

 

Problem is that only works if you go get a bunch of elite shooters. Good luck with that. If you can go get all these great 3 point shooters, then it doesn't matter who's the center.

 

You don't need a bunch of elite shooters, You just can't have Sengun out there with 3 of the least efficient scorers in the entire league and a non-shooter.

The Rockets need to improve Sengun's surrounding cast from dogshit, to average to make a massive leap.

When it comes to TS% Dillon Brooks was ranked 143, Jalen ranked 162, and FVV ranked 190 (out of 204)

Of the qualifying NBA players, Jalen is bottom 10 in FG% and Dillon Brooks is bottom 15....FVV didn't qualify due to missing too many games, but if he did, he'd have ranked dead last.

You simply can't have such pathetic scorers in the guard spots without absolutely killing the spacing required for big men to operate.

 

He need to learn from hartenstein, quick push shot

 

Yes, and Sengun was on of the 3 least efficient starting center in the league. You could flip the script and say that Green and Thompson's efficiency would go way up without a center sitting in the post the entire game.

Sengun isn't the alpha scorer that is going to get you points every night and single handedly win games for you in the playoffs. If you surround him with average shooters, then nothing really changes. That's not going to force teams to play us differently.

If you're going to switch out virtually your entire lineup to surround one guy, then he better be a superstar. Sengun isn't that guy. We don't have that guy on the roster.

What did the Warriors do? They made sure that Green wasn't going to beat them. They weren't worried about Sengun taking over the game.

 

Hartenstein is money on that shot. I'm always surprised when it doesn't go in.

 

I mean, if you were really dumb, or you were a Jalen Green fanboi, you might try to argue that....but let's hope we don't run into anyone like that.

The obvious is that inside scoring is greatly disrupted by a lack of spacing....a lot more so than outside scoring.

When you surround a center with a SF playing PF that can't shoot and 3 of the worst offensive players in the entire league...and not just last season, they've been 3 of the worst offensive players for YEARS now at the guard spots and SF spot.....what do you expect to happen?

Also, what's more likely, a center with a history of fairly efficient scoring takes a one season hit due to a historically embarrassing surrounding cast on offense....or that players who have always been dogshit offensively are harmed by a center that randomly had an inefficient scoring season for no reason whatsoever?

The other thing is that you aren't JUST switching out those completely dogshit players to fit with Sengun and Amen....you are switching them out because they are dogshit....some of the worst offensive players in the entire league.

You'd want to move on from them no matter who else starts.

As to the Warriors....is it really that impressive to "shut down" the worst offensive full time starting SG in the entire league? When you say you "shut down" the guy who ranked 107 out of 117 qualified players in FG% and 162 out of 204 in TS%.....is that really an accomplishment?

When you make a terrible offensive player perform terribly on offense, what did you really do?

 

You don't believe that Green and Thompson would be better without a center down low most of the game?

Let's make it simple. Do you think that Sengun surrounded by league average players makes us a contender? Are we even as good as the current team? Of course not. Even superstars aren't carrying a team of league average players to a title. The point is to win a title, right? So then why would you tailor your team around a non-superstar?

Also realize that our defense is predicated on keeping Sengun from guarding any good offensive players or guys that are involved in a lot of pick and rolls. That only works because Thompson and Brooks are so good at cross matching. So, those average shooters you are bringing in need to do those things too.

My best guess is that Brooks is our starting sf next season. I don't think he's likely to get included in a deal as one of the youngsters. He was by far our best 3 pt shooter last year ( I know...low bar) and he's one of the guys that makes the defense work.