At this point in the season, there’s more than enough hyperbole to go around. And considering where the Houston Rockets are right now, the hot takes are probably at an all-time high in certain circles.
After falling behind 2-0 in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, especially considering how ugly the two losses were, the stakes couldn’t be any higher for the Rockets heading into Game 3 on Friday night. And the pressure is almost certainly heightened on certain folks in Houston this weekend.
Well, on one person, in particular.
Alperen Şengün is about to play the two most important games of his career.
No, that doesn’t mean these games are bigger than the Game 7 he played in the first round of last year’s playoffs against the Golden State Warriors. No, this isn’t my attempt to audition for one of the talking-head, sports morning shows.
After back-to-back dud performances in his team’s baffling losses to the short-handed Lakers last week, Şengün is dealing with the most scrutiny he’s ever faced in his five-year NBA career.
As the Rockets head home, Şengün’s play in the next two games, as the Rockets fight to keep their season alive, will go a long way toward determining how he’s viewed by die-hard fans in Houston and by the more casual fans who are tuning in for the playoffs.
Last year, he was a fun up-and-comer, a first-time All-Star outperforming expectations. Now, he’s a young two-time All-Star losing his luster at a rapid pace and is suddenly in danger of becoming the face of what may turn into an embarrassing early exit for the Rockets.
These are the moments players of Şengün’s caliber are remembered for: how they push back against negativity and respond with their best — or let it engulf them.
Şengün still has a lengthy career ahead of him. He’ll have more opportunities to perform under the bright lights. However, this is truly the first time the whole world will get a chance to see what the Rockets’ star is made of.
“It’s a long series. We’re all confident. We’re going to go game by game, but we think we’re going to win the series still,” Şengün told reporters on Thursday before pointing to Houston recovering from a 3-1 deficit in last year’s playoffs to force a Game 7. “We never give up. That’s who we are.”
This is what comes with multiple All-Star nods, a lucrative contract extension and the heavy expectations heaped on the Rockets after acquiring Kevin Durant last summer in the biggest move of the offseason.
Frankly, the Rockets were expecting much better than this. More specifically, they were expecting much more from Şengün at this point in the season, especially after last year’s playoff run helped solidify the 23-year-old as one of the pillars of the franchise in the short and long term.
There’s nothing hyperbolic about saying Şengün has been one of the biggest disappointments in this year’s playoffs — not just in Houston, but among all the postseason teams.
In two games, he’s averaging just 19.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting a lowly 38.5 percent from the floor. Among the 17 players who have attempted at least 30 two-point field goals in this year’s playoffs, Şengün is shooting the second-worst percentage among them all at 41.7 percent. The only player below him is Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey at 40.6 percent.
As a big man, Şengün’s efficiency around the basket has always been somewhat underwhelming, but it’s been terrible in the playoffs. And to make it worse, the circumstances of his poor performances were vastly different from Game 1 to Game 2.
In Game 1, Şengün needed to take on a much bigger offensive role with Durant sidelined due to a right knee contusion. Şengün responded by going 6 of 19 from the field in a nine-point loss.
In Game 2, with Durant back in the lineup, Şengün was given repeated opportunities to make plays in four-on-three situations as the Lakers relentlessly sent double-teams at Durant and rolled out the red carpet for anyone else to attack them on offense. Sengun responded by being held to 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting with just under three minutes remaining in a seven-point loss.
He finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, but his impact was nowhere close to where it should be in a series when the opposing team was missing its two leading scorers. It’s probably fair to say that Lakers guards Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart have made a bigger impact in this series than Şengün through two games.
It’s inexcusable.
The one thing about putting up these kinds of stinkers in the playoffs is that they tend to stick to you like a bad odor. If things keep going in this direction with the Rockets and Şengün, the stench of this dark moment in Şengün’s career will follow him for years to come.
He’ll be asked about it in interviews. Fans will constantly mention it when he’s around. He’ll have to do a tremendous amount of work (and winning) just to put this behind him and get back to square one.
As always, the playoffs either make you or break you.
But on the other hand, this is the beauty of coming back home and regrouping after the first two games of a playoff series.
Let’s not forget, Şengün is being defended primarily by Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes in this series. Those guys have held their own so far, but they’ve got no shot against Şengün when he’s playing at his best.
The Rockets center has such a diverse offensive package with his scoring in the post and advanced vision for a player of his size. If he taps into all the elements that make him such a rare talent, he can get the Rockets back in this series and remind everyone why Houston was so excited about pairing him and Durant before the season started.
It’s certainly within the realm of possibility that Şengün bounces back in the next two games and dominates the Lakers enough to send the series back to L.A. tied 2-2, even with the Lakers potentially getting Austin Reaves back in Game 3.
But there’s one simple task Şengün has to complete:
“Make some shots,” Şengün said when asked Thursday about the most important thing for the Rockets going into Game 3. “That’s it.”
Then again, the Rockets would instantly become one of the most fascinating teams in the entire league if they fail to get this series under control and are bounced in the first round.
After the injuries to Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, the “championship-or-bust” demands have cooled down, but that doesn’t mean getting bounced in the first round by a Luka Dončić-less Lakers is anything other than a disaster.
The ripple effects of that kind of failure would naturally put the Rockets back in the forefront of the sweepstakes for another potential franchise-changing trade over the summer. And it would be fairly easy for some to point out the lackluster performance of former Rockets guard Jalen Green in last year’s playoffs, which ended with him being shipped to the Phoenix Suns in the Durant deal.
There will be no shortage of fans and media who connect the dots and say Şengün could follow in Green’s steps as a young piece that gets sent away because he wasn’t ready to compete for a championship now.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be a name many connect to Houston as a potential superstar who could be acquired in a Şengün trade. Kawhi Leonard or Donovan Mitchell could also be possibilities. If Houston makes Şengün available, along with some of the future draft picks they hold, it would put them squarely among the favorites to acquire any of the disgruntled superstars who may become available.
However, would it be worth it to give up Şengün this early in his career? Conversely, would it be fair to keep hoping Şengün turns the corner when you have Durant still playing at an All-NBA level at this stage of his career? Wouldn’t it make sense to strike while the iron his hot?
Well, Şengün has to prove over the next few games that he deserves to be revered, not just turned into another trade chip Houston uses to reach its real goals. Does Şengün have the intangibles of a real star or just the numbers?
Once Game 3 tips off on Friday, everything Şengün does will carry an extra bit of weight because of the way he performed in the two games in L.A. Any given moment, he could run into a play that changes the trajectory of his career, his team and potentially the entire league.
No hyperbole needed. It’s make-or-break time for Şengün.
