Alperen Sengun entered this season with two All-Star nods already on his résumé, but the Rockets center still has another level to chase. He opened the year in a spot that should help him get there: a roster with more playmaking around him, a coach with something to prove, and a setup that lets him work in better places on the floor.
That showed right away against the Mavericks. Sengun was one of Houston’s top performers in the season opener, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists while helping control the paint on both ends. With Fred VanVleet and Marcus Smart logging major minutes, the Rockets had the kind of ball handling that can make Sengun’s life a lot easier.
He also fed into two huge scoring nights from Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr., who each poured in 30 points. A lot of their cleanest looks came with Sengun creating the advantage. Durant’s scoring was no surprise, but Smith’s performance could be a sign of bigger things ahead as well.
The most encouraging part of Sengun’s night was how natural he looked as the offensive hub. Last season, he often had to manufacture his own lane with long post-ups or by forcing drives into the paint. This time, he was catching the ball in the low post or arriving with momentum, which let him play with far less strain.
There was even a hint of something new from deep. Sengun made both of his 3-point attempts, and while one game doesn’t rewrite anything, it’s another layer defenses will have to respect if that shot keeps growing. If it becomes real, Houston’s offense gets a lot harder to load up against.
It wasn’t a perfect performance, though. Sengun’s biggest issue was ball security, as he finished with 4 turnovers, many of them the result of being loose with the ball in traffic. Those are mistakes he should be able to clean up, but they’re still mistakes the Rockets can’t afford to live with.
That matters even more when the games get bigger. In the playoffs, every possession carries more weight and defenses tighten the screws. Sengun will need to sharpen that part of his game well before then.
The good news for Houston is that the supporting cast should only make that process easier as the season settles in. VanVleet, Smart and Durant should know where to be when Sengun has the ball, and that should help him keep the scoring efficient while trimming the turnovers.
In Other News...
Rockets Opening Week Plan Sends An Early Message About Two Veterans
The Rockets are wasting no time making their opening-week priorities clear. Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams will both sit the first back-to-back of the season, a move that says plenty about how Houston wants to handle two veterans it expects to lean on over the long haul. VanVleet gives the offense structure, while Adams brings the kind of interior presence the team needs when he is available, but the Rockets are already choosing caution over pushing either player too early.
What makes the decision even more interesting is how Houston plans to cover the minutes when VanVleet is sidelined. Marcus Smart is set to start at point guard in those games, giving the Rockets a different look than the one Reed Sheppard would provide. It is an early reminder that the rotation is going to be managed carefully, especially with Adams injury history and the teams clear intent to keep him on a controlled workload from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Opener Took A Heated Turn That Changed The Night
Tari Easons night took a sharp turn just minutes into Houstons first regular season game, the kind of early-game chaos that can alter the mood of an opener in a hurry. Fresh off signing a contract extension, Eason got tangled up with P.J. Washington in a physical sequence that quickly escalated, and the result was a flagrant foul and an ejection before the Rockets had even settled in.
Even with Eason gone, Houston kept control of the game and had built a sizeable cushion by halftime, which made the early flashpoint feel even more jarring in hindsight. For a team trying to establish its tone right away, the incident was the kind of reminder that the Rockets can be at their most volatile when the stakes are still low and the emotions are already high. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Could Be Watching One Huge Mavericks Decision Closely
Kyrie Irving has made it clear he wants to stay with the Mavericks, even as trade chatter continues to swirl around him. For Houston, the noise matters because any major shift in Dallas could send ripple effects through the Western Conference, and the Rockets are among the teams that would be watching closely if the situation ever moved past speculation.
Some analysts have already kicked around Houston as a theoretical landing spot if Irving ever changed course, which would instantly make the story relevant for a Rockets team always monitoring the next big move. For now, though, it remains a hypothetical layered on top of a rumor, with no official trade talk and plenty left unresolved about whether Dallas would even go that route. [Read more 🡒]