Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets fell to a 2-0 deficit in their NBA Playoffs series with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Sengun was far from his best and that was the norm across the board for a sluggish Rockets team, writes Emmet Ryan.
All the criticisms from Houston Rockets fans throughout the season looked justified on Tuesday night. Having lost the opener in the NBA Playoffs series with the Los Angeles Lakers at the weekend, a bit of fire was expected on Tuesday night.
Instead, Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant continued to have chemistry issues while the whole Houston roster appeared a step off the pace.
A difference in sharpness
Perhaps the biggest surprise on Tuesday was how rarely the Lakers were able to make their sharpness count more on the scoreboard. The Houston Rockets looked far from ready for the intensity that everyone in black and purple brought to the floor early in this one.
The biggest surprise in this respect was how Alperen Sengun looked unaware of what he would have to face. The 23 year old moved with all the alacrity of a middle aged man on his day off in the first quarter.
That visible step off led to him being in too many situations where the shot just wasn’t there or his pass could be read. These were soft ways to waste possessions. That’s forgivable in November. By April, in the NBA Playoffs, there’s no excuse.
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The frustrating part
There were points in this game where it was clear that the Houston Rockets have the ability within them to compete. In the second quarter, they looked far more up to speed if not quite at the intensity expected come the NBA Playoffs.
Alperen Sengun had his best spell, at least in terms of using his basketball IQ, during this phase. He was getting that extra inch he needed faster to create a better shot or to find the right pass. Had we seen this from him and the rest of the cast consistently, this would be a rather different column today.
Instead it was a Los Angeles Lakers side, with no Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves, that proved sharper. Luke Kennard took on the additional responsibility with ease and Houston had no real answer.
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How has this not be sorted?
Kevin Durant is one of the greatest players to ever suit up kicks. He remains capable of an extraordinarily high level of performance. Alperen Sengun is a fast emerging star with real superstar capability in a well-rounded game. Somehow, after a full season, the Houston Rockets still don’t know how to pair them.
The most visible element of the issue was when a quick step by LeBron James past KD led to an easy dunk, with Sengun completely unaware on help D. That’s just one moment but the bigger problems were at the offensive end.
Sengun and KD still don’t know how to work best off of each other. It’s like an inability to develop chemistry. Yet these are two players with skillsets that should enable easy adaptation. It was frankly irksome to observe. We likely won’t see much more of it this season. Another display like that and it will be a short stay in the NBA Playoffs for Houston.