Alperen Sengun is an elite offensive big man to the point that he is getting comparisons to Denver Nuggets superstar and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. His defense, however, is a work in progress.
Head coach Ime Udoka thinks that work is paying off now in his fifth year after what he showed in their latest win.
Sengun made the hook shot that forced overtime against the Orlando Magic on Sunday. When the overtime period was played, nothing was settled until the final 30 seconds and they needed clutch shots and defensive stop to be able to seal the win. He delivered both.
The Turkish big man was involved in one of the stops and to Udoka, that only shows his commitment to play defense.
“It was great to see that. Everybody talks about the basketbut we don’t get to that point if he doesn’t make the stops that he made there and some big offensive rebounds. Jabari [Smith] as well,” Udoka told reporters during Tuesday practice.
Udoka also thought Sengun has more responsibility than usual and is excelling at it.
“Overall, he is doing a lot of different things than he ever been asked to do. . . . scheme up some things defensively that we like and so, it’s a lot on his plate,” he continued.
“It is not just traditional guarding the big guy, bringing in specific coverage the whole game. We’re asking him to think a lot, do a lot of things on the fly. He’s taken all-in and improved one-on-one defense.”
Alperen Sengun has tough task ahead
Sengun is currently averaging 23 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He had five block shots in the last two.
The Rockets will need more of this version of Sengun in the next three days as they are set to face two teams with elite big men.
First, there’s the Cleveland Cavaliers head by Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen who can make him work on both ends of the floor.
They will then travel to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets which aside from Jokic also has Jonas Valanciunas who will mostly likely get assigned to guard him.
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