How The Rockets Can Maximize Alperen Şengün

While some of his struggles have been on his own play, there are real problems with the roster construction that make things difficult for the team's All-Star center.

May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) handles the ball against Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) during the first quarter game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets are heading into the offseason with a high possibility that most of their main rotation players return for next season. They're expecting improvement from their young players like Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason to help supplement what they're getting from the team's returning veterans.

Despite conversations surrounding trades and an up-and-down season, Alperen Şengün is a vital part of what the Rockets can accomplish if he is still a Rocket by next season.

Şengün's performance this postseason was suboptimal. He has struggled to figure out how to finish consistently at the rim in isolation, settling for tough hook shots that don't fall at a high enough rate to justify the frequency he goes to it.

Şengün's jump shot also had fluctuating effectiveness from further away from the basket. While these are individual skills he'll have to continue trying to perfect this offseason, the Rockets can maximize his skill set by having better shooting around him.

The return of Fred VanVleet and Kevin Durant should help, improvement from Smith Jr. and Sheppard should also help, and the return of Steven Adams should allow Şengün to play against smaller players when the Rockets run the double-big lineup.

These are changes to the roster construction that don't require any moves; the Rockets just need time to return to relative health to bring skill sets that were missing this past season.

However, each of the postseason contenders still left in the playoffs have at least one high-volume, three-point specialist that helps space the floor. Whether they run out with the starting lineup or come off the bench, each team in the second round has a non-star player who can hit shots at a high rate from the outside.

Houston does not have a specialist of that caliber, as the team expects each of their players to do multiple things well, even if its outside of their specialty.

Picking up a legitimate deep-range threat can equalize some of the issues Şengün has had in the paint by allowing him to kick the ball out to open shooters. Passing out of double teams is a skill he's had since early in his career, but his teammates haven't been able to punish teams enough when they receive the ball on the perimeter.

The return of some better shooters will help Şengün utilize the spacing in the middle of the floor, but the Rockets still need to acquire some knockdown shooters in the offseason to truly maximize his talents.