NBA

Alperen Şengün Is The Unsung Hero Of The Houston Rockets’ Dominant Defense

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Alperen Şengün

The Houston Rockets’ evolution into a defensive juggernaut is well-documented.

In just two seasons, they’ve gone from the third-worst defense to third-best in the association. Thanks to the additions of Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Tari Eason, Amen Thompson and head coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets are armed with some of the best perimeter dawgs there are in basketball. Their combination of physicality, length, athleticism and feel has become a headache for opposing teams to handle.

But that’s only one part of any elite defensive scheme. A team causing as much chaos and taking as many (calculated) risks as the Rockets needs to have a good security blanket, a break-in-case-of-emergency option to protect against perimeter lapses.

For most teams, that’s their rim-protecting big man. And it’s no different with the Rockets.

Running parallel — and perhaps, in tandem — with Houston improving its roster defensively has been the growth of Alperen Şengün into a legitimately positive defensive player. And the Rockets’ success this season as a defensive powerhouse would not happen without the steps he’s taken on that end.

Let’s look at what he’s doing.

Rebounding As A Tool

Rebounding is a massive part of the Rockets’ philosophy on both sides of the floor. They’re the league’s best offensive rebounding team, collecting over 34 percent of their own missed shots. That’s helped buoy what is, overall, a lackluster half-court offense. Steven Adams is massive (literally) in that regard, leading the entire NBA in offensive rebounding percentage. But Şengün is an essential element there as well, nabbing nearly four extra possessions for Houston each night.

Closing out possessions on the other end is just as essential to their defense. Şengün plays a huge role there. He’s a top-10 rebounder in the league this season. Houston’s defensive rebounding rate is 3 percent higher when he’s on the floor (89th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass). He’s fourth in the league in boxouts, behind Bam Adebayo, Karl-Anthony Towns and Domantas Sabonis.

This is a career year for him as a garbage man, and it’s not a coincidence it coincides with the Rockets’ improvements on the glass.

Smarter Pick-And-Roll Defender

Experience has been the best teacher for Şengün. Last year, the Rockets’ perimeter defense had to do much of the heavy lifting in pick-and-rolls. With an aggressive scheme, Houston emphasized forcing its point-of-attack defenders to fight over screens and provide rearview contests, both of which made it easier for Şengün to guard rollers.

That approach showed up in the film and numbers, though there’s been a shift this year. The Rockets were 14th in opponents’ at-rim finishing last season. They’re fourth now. Teams are shooting nearly 6 percent worse at the rim with Şengün on the floor (91st percentile among bigs), a 5 percent improvement from last season for him. He’s fifth in the league in deflections among bigs, just six total deflections behind Victor Wembanyama.

All of this stems from improvement as a pick-and-roll defender. His timing is better, he’s more active and he’s fouling less, resulting in far fewer blown defensive possessions around the basket.

The Rockets picked up two huge wins against the Memphis Grizzlies over the past week in which Şengün’s improved pick-and-roll defense was on display against Ja Morant.

It Takes Two To Tango

Oklahoma City Thunder wing Jalen Williams suggested a pretty radical idea on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast: Two Defensive Player of the Year awards — one for perimeter players and one for big men. The league will never do that because it dilutes the importance of a prestigious individual accolade. Still, it does point to an oft-forgotten aspect of defense: Success is a collective effort.

Yes, a team can be good defensively with a solid rim protector or various good wing defenders. But to be great like the Rockets? You need both. Şengün’s worst qualities as a defender early in his career — poor positioning and miscalculated reads because of it — were exacerbated by a team lacking the perimeter talent to insulate some of those issues.

With roster improvements defensively around him, he’s been provided the opportunity to learn and make mistakes. And he’s leaned into his best qualities defensively, his active hands and good timing, to become a more capable defender.

This isn’t some soliloquy to boldly state Şengün should be an All-Defensive Team candidate. But it’s written with the idea players, at times, can’t shake off labels. Sometimes, even as early as their rookie season, a player can be deemed a “bad defender” or, conversely, a “defensive stopper.” For better or worse, that title sticks.

Let’s not make this mistake with Şengün. He’s improved alongside the context around him.

And the Rockets, for their part, are better off.

All stats are accurate before games played on Jan. 15.