Four games into the season, Houston fans are riled up over a bittersweet start to the seasons for their franchise duo. While Jalen Green has been terrorizing defenses and getting buckets, teams have figured out Alperen Sengun‘s kryptonite. After such a start, the burning question is, did the Rockets give a $185 Million extension to the wrong player? Or is Alperen Sengun not as good as we thought he was? While four games don’t decide a player’s future, it does give a glimpse into what to expect in the upcoming season.
Has Jalen Green Dethroned Alperen Sengun as the Face of the Houston Rockets?
Alperen Sengun’s Season so Far
Sengun has averaged 14.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists to start the season. While that does not look as bad from a numbers perspective, his impact on the floor seems only a fraction of what we saw last season. The extension has visibly given him the confidence boost to expand his game. However, he seems to have gone away from the fundamentals that made his game strong. He is taking a lot more shots from mid-range and beyond the arc. But he is failing to capitalize on the footwork inside the paint that got him a majority of his points last season. Moreover, his elite playmaking that we witnessed last season seems to have taken a back seat. Seeing how easily the opponents can go around him on defense, Ime Udoka has had to make some tough decisions in the past two games.
Ime Udoka on benching Alperen Sengun:
"I wouldn't say he played his best game in general … Sloppy at times. The pace we were playing with, it didn't look like he kept up with it." pic.twitter.com/fGN4E40c9n
— AlperenSengunMuse (@AlperenMuse) October 28, 2024
In Saturday’s game, Alperen played only 22 minutes and had six points, five rebounds, and two assists. Moreover, on Monday night against the Spurs, Ime benched Sengun in the final minutes of a nailbiting game. It may be too early to say Ime has lost faith in Sengun, however, Houston fans know since last season that one of Udoka’s strongest skills as a coach is holding players accountable. We saw it multiple times last season that even other starters who played badly were benched down the stretch. But after the $185 Million extension, the best guess we can make is that Alperen may not be agreeing to play in the system that Coach Udoka wants to run. He is not hustling hard enough and needs to play with the same urgency that he did last season.
Jalen Green’s Hot start to the Season
Meanwhile, Jalen Green is having the best start of a season in his career. Averaging 28.8 pts per game, he is tied for seventh in the league with Giannis Antetokounmpo in points per game points so far. After leading the rally back from a 22-point deficit to a one-possession game on Saturday, Jalen had an explosive second game vs the Spurs. He led all scorers with 36 points to hold off a back-to-back defeat to the Texas rivals. Rockets legend John Lucas rightly predicted last year that Jalen is one season away from his ultimate leap. The way he has started this season shows that John may have been right after all. In the clutch moments of the past four games, the go-to option has always been Jalen Green’s isolation plays.
JOHN LUCAS WAS RIGHT pic.twitter.com/Lg6isrt5VZ
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) October 29, 2024
Answering the Burning Question: Who is the face of the Houston Rockets?
This brings up the burning question of whether the Rockets gave a five-year $185 Million extension to the wrong player. And is Alperen Sengun the right fit to be the face of the franchise? In my opinion, Alperen Sengun needs to go back to his fundamentals; the whole Houston fanbase knows he is skilled enough to be the face of the team.
We cannot blame the front office for giving him that extension after the way he played last season. However, Sengun will need to figure out a way to build his chemistry with Jalen as he did with Fred VanVleet last season. Otherwise, it won’t be long before Houston becomes Jalen’s team instead of this duo’s team. For now, Jalen Green is the face of the Houston Rockets. But if Alperen Sengun brings back his confidence in his fundamentals, this duo could become a formidable one for years to come.
