Alperen Şengün's Performance Is Critical For The Rockets

The Houston Rockets are a much different team when All-Star big man Alperen Şengün is playing at a high level. His ability to attack big men one-on-one and create opportunities for his teammates provide several layers of value for the offense, and his effort on defense allows his elite defensive teammates to cover more ground in the scheme. Şengün is an integral part of any success the Rockets have for the rest of the season.

Şengün's isolation scoring took a dip for a long stretch of the season. Many pundits discussed the issues with the rest of the team: Amen Thompson's lack of shooting, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason's lack of consistenscy, and Kevin Durant's lack of ball security. However, Şengün's struggles were a large piece of some of Houston's most notable losses in the second half of the season.

When Şengün is at his best, he is able to take opposing bigs in isolation, whether from the post or the perimeter.

This prevents bigs from being able to play help defense while they are attempting to hold Şengün off from getting to the rim. This opens up lanes for cutters like Thompson and Eason to attack the basket off a pass from Şengün.

His passing also becomes more effective when he's scoring at a high level. When more attention is placed on his scoring, open shooters on the outside get easier opportunities. Players like Reed Sheppard are also able to use Şengün screens to get quick shots from the outside when opposing defenses look to stop Şengün's roll to the basket.

Overall, Şengün is the type of player that is most effective when he can be used as a fulcrum to the offense. However, that sort of playstyle only works when the fulcrum is performing at a high level. A decent to poor performance from Şengün is not enough to compete against the league's best. Those types of games lead to some of his teammates doing a bit too much, giving away turnovers and taking inefficient shots.

Clint Capela has done a quality job earning Şengün some rest from the bench, grabbing boards and playing solid paint defense. Şengün's rest for a couple of games recently seems to have given him a jolt of energy for the final stretch of the season.

The Rockets' performance in the postseason will hinge on what kind of performances Houston gets from its top players. The Rockets will have to make their outside shots, but they may need to depend on Şengün to open the floor for them to get those opportunities.