Alperen Sengun made a loud statement Monday, pouring in 39 points in a Houston Rockets victory over the Indiana Pacers in his first game since being left off the All-Star roster.
There’s a fair debate over whether Sengun has played at an All-Star level this season. The numbers are good, but some have dipped from last year’s All-Star campaign, which has also been backed up by the eye test. He hasn’t looked like the same player for portions of this season.
A big reason has been the ankle injury he’s been battling for the past month, which makes the snub a blessing in disguise.
Sengun is better served by taking the All-Star weekend off to rest, both physically and mentally. He missed a week in early January with the injury, before rushing back to the court after Houston lost three of four games without him.
It then took another two weeks before Sengun said he finally felt 100 percent again, highlighted by his 15-for-17 shooting performance against Memphis.
But that momentum didn’t last long. Two nights later, Sengun tweaked his ankle again, leading to anemic shooting performances: 7-for-20 against San Antonio, 3-for-14 versus Atlanta, and 6-for-20 against Dallas. Despite all but two of those attempts coming from inside the arc, and most in the paint.
The lift and aggressiveness just didn’t seem to be there.
Article Continues Below
Of course, Monday’s 39-point outburst against Indiana looked like the old Sengun, but so far that stands as the exception. He’s had more games scoring fewer than 15 points than he has scoring more than 28.
But the Rockets will need him to consistently play like that 30-point scorer alongside Kevin Durant, who has provided those types of games more consistently. If Houston wants to accomplish anything this season, it’ll take both of those players in starring roles – especially Sengun, who, at 23 years old, should be the one driving the bus.
The urgency is also heightened by Houston’s backloaded schedule of back-to-backs, making it even more imperative that Sengun is healthy, rested, and ready for the stretch run.
He’s already playing a career-high number of minutes per game, and the numbers show how much rest matters for him: a 112 offensive rating on no rest, 114 rating with one day of rest, 121 rating with two days of rest, and a 126 rating with at least three days between games. Furthermore, his usage rate has gone up nearly every month, as the Rockets attempt to lean on him more. Especially with Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams missing time due to injuries.
Sengun could use the break after a turbulent first half.
And maybe the snub helps too. Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic recently told Brandon Ingram to use his All-Star omission as fuel for the rest of the season. Sengun has a chance to do the same. Rested, healthy, motivated, and ready to remind the league exactly who he is.