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Should Sengun play PF? And if so, where does Smith play?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Houston77, Feb 26, 2024.

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What positions should Sengun and Smith eventually play?

  1. Sengun at 5, Smith at 4

    14 vote(s)
    77.8%
  2. Sengun at 4, Smith at 3

    2 vote(s)
    11.1%
  3. Sengun at 4, Smith at 5

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  4. Other (Explain)

    2 vote(s)
    11.1%
  1. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist

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    One thing about Sengun is ultimately he's going to be very strong, but he's not there yet. That will change a lot of matchups for him and I don't think he's going to get any slower adding muscle because he arrived in very poor athletic shape to the NBA. The muscle may even improve his explosion and reaction time.

    People like to treat this like a KAT situation where the guy is hopeless but KAT could never ever be the primary rim protector of a top 8 offense. Sengun is already leaps and bounds ahead of players like KAT. He cared so little about defense that they wrote off his defense and just made him a scorer at the 4 knowing he can still win that matchup on most nights. It took SEVEN SEASONS for KAT to achieve a 13th place defensive finish as the C. His defensive finishes:

    13th (21-22 season)
    28th
    20th
    24th
    25th
    27th
    28th (15-16 season)

    The last 3 NBA titles and the most recent NBA dynasty were/was won by teams starting guys who were considered bad rim protectors at the start of their careers (Draymond/Looney, Jokic, Lopez). All of these guys have massive disadvantages (size, speed, athleticism) that were thought to have doomed their defensive future. Draymond and Looney have no athletic or size advantages whatsoever, it's all mental and IQ. Lopez was a horrendous defender at the start of his career. Jokic was considered the guy who will always get toasted on the perimeter, but worth it for the offense. Look at how much those narratives have changed - "well Jokic is tall". Well, you weren't saying that was going to make him a championship calibre rim protector at the start of his career.

    A bit stronger and a bit wiser and a summer after understanding Udoka... I think that's going to do wonders. Sengun is a lock at the 5 imo and he will do even better next season than this one. You guys are underrating what great news it is that a top 10 defense is possible with Sengun at C. We got really lucky and you're not quite appreciating how significant a step he's taken.
     
    HardenReturns likes this.

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