Alperen Sengun, Rockets
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Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets is injured during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks.
Popular Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun suffered a right ankle sprain against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday to add fear for the top West team contending for a top seed. Sengun is right there with Kevin Durant as the two best Rockets players likely to make the All-Star Game when healthy. Unfortunately, Sengun will miss time, and it will not just be a typical day-to-day label until he improves like most fans hoped for.
Houston head coach Ime Udoka revealed that Sengun will miss at least ten-to-fourteen days before his return:
“We’ll evaluate him at the end of the week. Need to get the swelling, the pain tolerance down and mobility, but you’re looking at a probably 10-14 days type thing.”
The Rockets have a tough battle every night as a team forecasted to fall somewhere between the second and sixth seed in the Western Conference. Every night sees the standings changing, so Sengun missing about two weeks as a best-case scenario could harm the team. Houston must get even more out of Durant and the young supporting cast to survive this injury without their star center.
Houston’s Schedule Without Alperen Sengun
Houston has eight games scheduled over the next two weeks with a mixed bag of tough opponents and some secondary teams. Tonight’s win against the Phoenix Suns via a Durant game-winner started the stretch off positively.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves will be the toughest matchups on paper for the Rockets missing one of their top two players. Most of the other games are against “middle of the pack” teams typically below Houston, like the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers. Rockets fans can see this going either way, with both the potential to overachieve or underachieve possible via this mixed schedule.
The current standings see Houston as tied for third in the West with two other teams. Just 2.5 games separate the standings between second and sixth place in the competitive race. Sengun’s absence must see more clutch victories and heroic players for the team to stand a chance.
When To Expect Alperen Sengun Back
The Rockets’ best chance to get Sengun back at the absolute earliest would be on January 20th against the San Antonio Spurs. Udoka confirmed that further evaluation is needed to see Sengun’s progress before he gets cleared to play for the team again. There is a chance of this injury lingering and Sengun sitting out until February.
Other top West teams like the Denver Nuggets and Spurs are currently dealing with injuries to their respective best players. Houston is just the latest team to get hit with the injury bug and must navigate the same issue as the other contenders missing a superstar.
The Rockets are already missing their starting point guard Fred VanVleet after his injury right before the season’s start harmed them. Houston still proving to be a contender without VanVleet and his return this season not being ruled out has added more optimism. Udoka must continue getting the best out of his young players and veterans to remain competitive without Sengun for at least ten days to keep the hope alive.