<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-bold-goal-will-please-ime-udoka-fans');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alperen Sengun’s bold 2023-24 goal will please Ime Udoka, Rockets fans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Rockets-news-Alperen-Senguns-bold-2023-24-goal-will-please-Ime-Udoka-Houston-fans.jpg"></figure><h1>Alperen Sengun’s bold 2023-24 goal will please Ime Udoka, Rockets fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-08-13T15:37:42-07:00">August 13th, 3:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-08-13T15:37:42-07:00">August 13th, 3:37pm</time><address><a>Quenton Albertie</a>Quenton Albertie is an author and sportswriter with a focus on the NBA. A native of Fort Hood, TX, Albertie currently lives in Atlanta, GA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Although the Houston Rockets can’t have been too happy when veteran center Brook Lopez spurned them in free agency to rejoin the Milwaukee Bucks, the immediate benefit of a 2023 Defensive Player of the Year finalist choosing against anchoring their defense was that there would be not significant change in the role of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-among-four-nba-players-called-turkish-national-team" rel="noopener">21-year-old center Alperen Sengun</a> next season after all.</p><p>Sengun, who averaged 14.8 points, 9.0 assists, 3.8 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals per game last season is emerging as a potential breakout star, endowed with a skillset reminiscent of Denver Nuggets fulcrum Nikola Jokic.</p><p>He can score inside and out, make a wide variety of passes, and handle the ball in the open floor as well. To this point of his career, the big question has been about his ceiling as a defender, which is what spurred the Rockets interest in Lopez. Particularly after they brought in a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-ime-udoka-reason-rockets-stopped-james-harden-pursuit-free-agency" rel="noopener">defensive-minded head coach in Ime Udoka</a>.</p><p>As capable of taking criticism as any player in the league, Sengun acknowledges the work that he still has to do on that end and has made it a point to improve as a pick-and-roll defender. However, while speaking to Eurohoops’s Semih Tuna, the big man revealed an even larger goal for next season:</p><p>“Of course, like everyone else, my goal is <a href="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1539050/alperen-senguns-2023-24-goal-is-becoming-an-all-star/" rel="noopener">to become an All-Star</a>,” Sengun says. “I hope I can do that.”</p><p>The ultimate prize for Sengun will be an NBA title, and as the Rockets make their bid for a playoff spot in 2024, expect the Turk to be frontline and center.</p><p>“A championship has been my dream since I went to the NBA,” Sengun, who was selected in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft, reveals. “I think that’s everyone’s dream, as well as Nikola Jokic’s and it took him eight years to be able to win a championship.”</p><p>“Now, we have a good dream in the Rockets,” Sengun continues, “and I hope we’ll do our best next season and enter the playoffs.”</p><p>With their offseason additions, both in free agency and the draft, Houston has a legitimate chance of reaching that goal. Nonetheless, so far as next season goes, there may be no bigger factor in whether or not they can make their dreams a reality than Sengun elevating his game to an All-Star level.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alperen Sengun’s bold 2023-24 goal will please Ime Udoka, Rockets fans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-among-four-nba-players-called-turkish-national-team');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets rising star Alperen Sengun among four NBA players called up by Turkish national team');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Rockets-newsAlperen-Sengun-among-four-NBA-players-called-up-by-Turkish-national-team.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets rising star Alperen Sengun among four NBA players called up by Turkish national team</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-06-23T15:03:27-07:00">June 23rd, 3:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-06-23T15:03:27-07:00">June 23rd, 3:03pm</time><address><a>Quenton Albertie</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">FIBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Count <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rockets-pistons-amen-ausar-thompson-summer-league-schedule" rel="noopener">Houston Rockets</a> fan favorite <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-offseason-workout-video-fans-fired-up" rel="noopener">Alperen Sengun</a> among <a href="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/olympic-games/1520936/four-nba-players-and-shane-larkin-on-turkeys-preliminary-list-for-pre-qualifying-olympic-tournament/" rel="noopener">the quartet of NBA players</a> expected to play for Turkish national team in the FIBA Pre-Qualifying Olympic Tournament from Aug. 12-20, according to EuroHoops.</p><p>Sengun will be joined by fellow NBA fraternity members Cedi Osman of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Furkan Korkmaz of the Philadelphia 76ers and Omer Yurtseven of the Miami Heat. Former NBA guard Shane Larkin will play for the Turkish national team as well.</p><p>With the tournament expected to take place in Istanbul, Turkey will be the home favorites as they face Ukraine, Iceland, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Croatia, Belgium, and Sweden. If win the tournament, they’ll qualify for the 2024 FIBA Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.</p><p>Sengun, just 20 years old, is no stranger to international competition or FIBA tournaments. Winning a bronze and silver medal in the U16 and U18 Euro Championships, respectively, Sengun’s most recent FIBA appearance came in 2022.</p><p>Sengun averaged 16.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks per game for the Turkish national team in the <a href="https://basketball.realgm.com/national/countries/26/Turkey/stats/2022/7/EuroBasket" rel="noopener">2022 EuroBasket Tournament</a>. In fact, Sengun was their best player, leading the team in points, rebounds, and blocks.</p><p>The full list of players called up by the Turkish national team is as follows: <b>Alperen Sengun</b> (Houston Rockets), <b>Cedi Osman</b> (Cleveland Cavaliers), <b>Furkan Korkmaz</b> (Philadelphia 76ers), <b>Omer Yurtseven</b> (Miami Heat), <b>Shane Larkin</b> (Anadolu Efes), <b>Scottie Wilbekin</b> (Fenerbahce), <b>Erten Gazi</b> (Anadolu Efes), <b>Furkan Haltali</b> (Anadolu Efes), <b>Yigit Arslan</b> (Bahcesehir), <b>Okben Ulubay</b> (Besiktas), <b>Ercan Osmani</b> (Darussafaka), <b>Dogus Ozdemiroglu</b> (Darussafaka), <b>Sahmus Hazer</b> (Fenerbahce), <b>Onuralp Bitim</b> (Bursa), <b>Yigitcan Saybir</b> (Bursa), <b>Sadik Emir Kabaca</b> (Galatasaray), <b>Kenan Sipahi</b> (Pinar Karsiyaka), <b>Berk Ugurlu</b> (Tofas), <b>Berke Buyuktuncel</b> (Tofas), <b>Erkan Yilmaz</b> (Turk Telekom), and <b>Sertac Sanli</b> (Barcelona).</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets rising star Alperen Sengun among four NBA players called up by Turkish national team

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-offseason-workout-video-fans-fired-up');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alperen Sengun’s offseason workout video has Rockets fans fired up');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Alperen-Sengun_s-offseason-workout-video-has-fans-fired-up.jpg"></figure><h1>Alperen Sengun’s offseason workout video has Rockets fans fired up</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-05-22T07:55:55-07:00">May 22nd, 7:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-05-22T07:55:55-07:00">May 22nd, 7:55am</time><address><a>Quenton Albertie</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-james-harden-returning-to-houston-gets-massive-shot-in-the-arm" rel="noopener">Houston Rockets</a> center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-paul-george-eye-popping-alperen-sengun-take-will-hype-fans" rel="noopener">Alperen Sengun</a> may not be a household name just yet. Still, as one of the most skilled centers in the NBA, the 20-year-old has what it takes to breakout as star player.</p><p>Sengun, the 16th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, averaged 14.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in his second — and best — season. Capable of scoring from all three levels and particularly skilled in the low post, Sengun now looks to be working on his jumper, which bodes well for the Rockets but not for anyone else.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alperen Şengün has been working on his post fadeaway and three ball 👀 </p><p>(Via <a href="https://twitter.com/alperennsengun?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alperennsengun</a>’s IG Story) <a href="https://t.co/bQmBnPn60f">pic.twitter.com/bQmBnPn60f</a></p><p>— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradeauxNBA/status/1660622638820077571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Sengun’s defense has been under the magnifying glass since he was drafted but even more so after Houston hired defensive-minded head coach Ime Udoka.</p><p>To that point, even Sengun knows that he needs to improve defending out in space, particularly in the pick-and-roll. Yet, while working on the hip flexibility and footwork required for that is an inglorious process, fans always love seeing players working on their offensive games.</p><p>So Sengun posting a couple of short offseason workout videos his Instagram story, complete with some melodic rap tones to give it additional flavor, was sure to hype Rockets fans up.</p><p>Sengun shot 33.3 percent from 3-point range last season on 0.8 attempts per game, and made 37.5 percent of <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1630578/shooting" rel="noopener">his midrange attempts</a>, per NBA.com. While he was able to convert 67.2 percent of his shots inside of the restricted area, Sengun stretching his game away from the basket increases his value because of the possibilities it presents the Rockets both offensively and defensively.</p><p>The big man has the potential to be a part of Houston’s core for a long time. Especially if he remains dedicated to working on his game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alperen Sengun’s offseason workout video has Rockets fans fired up

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-paul-george-eye-popping-alperen-sengun-take-will-hype-fans');   ga('set', 'title', '‘Some Magic type s**t’: Paul George’s eye-popping Alperen Sengun take will hype Rockets fans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Alperen-Sengun-Rockets-Paul-George-Clippers.jpg"></figure><h1>‘Some Magic type s**t’: Paul George’s eye-popping Alperen Sengun take will hype Rockets fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-04-11T20:05:50-07:00">April 11th, 8:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-04-11T20:05:50-07:00">April 11th, 8:05pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>A Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, Rex claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Paul George knows a great player when he sees one, and one young talent that has caught his attention is Houston Rockets <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-goes-full-nikola-jokic-with-unreal-no-look-behind-the-back-pass" rel="noopener">big man Alperen Sengun</a>. In a recent episode of the Podcast P with Paul George, the Los Angeles Clippers forward <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P_vtIuDUQg" rel="noopener">spoke highly</a> of Sengun. George even compared the Turkish national’s passing ability to create plays for his teammates with Magic Johnson’s.</p><p>“The greatest part of his game is his playmaking. I’ve seen some flashiness where he on some Magic type sh*t… He’s super super high IQ player.”</p><p>George isn’t the first player to be left awed by Alperen Sengun’s skills, but it must still feel so good for Rockets fans to hear a superstar like PG13 to speak genuine praises for the 20-year-old center.</p><p>Alperen Sengun just finished his second season in the NBA, during which he averaged 14.8 points on 55.3 percent shooting from the field, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. Although he’s not a prolific assist machine like Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, Sengun has built and authored a still-expanding montage of highlights that show why he’s one of the best passing bigs in the league today.</p><p>Advance stats also supports claims that Alperen Sengun is a gifted passer. Among Rockets players who received regular minutes in the 2022-23 NBA season, Sengun is second (just behind Kevin Porter Jr.) with a 25.2 assist percentage.</p><p>Sengun was originally selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/is-rockets-alperen-sengun-the-steal-of-the-2021-nba-draft" rel="noopener">first round</a> (16th overall) of the 2021 NBA Draft before they traded him to the Rockets.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘Some Magic type s**t’: Paul George’s eye-popping Alperen Sengun take will hype Rockets fans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-reacts-to-devastating-earthquake-in-turkey');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Alperen Sengun reacts to devastating earthquake in Turkey');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-reacts-to-devastating-earthquake-in-turkey.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets’ Alperen Sengun reacts to devastating earthquake in Turkey</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-02-06T08:54:31-08:00">February 6th, 8:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-02-06T08:57:36-08:00">February 6th, 8:57am</time><address><a>Alex House</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun <a href="https://twitter.com/alperennsengun/status/1622616505216016384" rel="noopener">reacted</a> to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that has devastated his home country of Turkey.</p><p>“The pain we experience is indescribable,” Sengun Tweeted. “My prayers, my heart is with our citizens who were affected by the earthquake in Kahramanmaraş… R.I.P. to those who lost their lives, I wish a speedy recovery to the injureds.”</p><p>The earthquake, which occurred pre-dawn Monday in southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria, has caused <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/turkey-earthquake/?id=96913081" rel="noopener">more than 2,300 deaths</a>, according to ABC News.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-notches-epic-triple-double-record-not-even-nikola-jokic-matched" rel="noopener">Sengun</a> began his professional basketball career as a teenager in Turkey and was named MVP of the Basketball Super League in 2021 before the Rockets drafted him at No. 16 in the NBA Draft that summer. The 20-year-old is one of Houston’s key building blocks and has been a standout this season with 15.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He has made big strides as a playmaker, averaging more than three assists a night, including a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-goes-full-nikola-jokic-with-unreal-no-look-behind-the-back-pass" rel="noopener">superb dime</a> that will likely have everyone paying a bit closer attention to the 13-40 Rockets.</p><p>Fellow countryman, and Philadelphia 76ers guard, Furkan Korkmaz <a href="https://twitter.com/FurkanKorkmaz/status/1622468613742419970?s=20&amp;t=cx17RyJVO2Nzfecp4k996A" rel="noopener">shared his feelings</a> about the natural disaster as well, via Twitter and in his native Turkish.</p><p>It translates: “I’m very sorry! The sad news is breaking our hearts, it hurts. My heart is with my beautiful country.”</p><p>Alperen Sengun and Korkmaz’s sentiments are undoubtedly being shared by the two countries tragically affected by this natural disaster, as well as people from all across the world. Both Turkey and Syria have declared a state of emergency.</p><p>The Rockets host the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. Emotions are expected to be high in the Toyota Center.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Alperen Sengun reacts to devastating earthquake in Turkey

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-goes-full-nikola-jokic-with-unreal-no-look-behind-the-back-pass');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alperen Sengun goes full Nikola Jokic with unreal no-look, behind-the-back pass');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Sengun.jpg"></figure><h1>Alperen Sengun goes full Nikola Jokic with unreal no-look, behind-the-back pass</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-02-01T18:04:18-08:00">February 1st, 6:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-02-01T18:04:18-08:00">February 1st, 6:04pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There hasn’t been much for the Houston Rockets to smile about over the past couple of seasons as they’ve endured some bad basketball and lottery finishes. But one strong development has been the emergence of second-year center Alperen Sengun. Sengun has arguably become the Rockets best player and he already has some <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-notches-epic-triple-double-record-not-even-nikola-jokic-matched" rel="noopener">dazzling accomplishments</a> on the court this season. During the Rockets game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, Sengun channeled his inner Nikola Jokic and <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1620956928120848384?s=20&amp;t=EyHvK2Drpy9Sfxk71zuFOQ" rel="noopener">dished out</a> a jaw-dropping no-look, behind-the-back pass to a cutting Jae’Sean Tate who scored the easy bucket.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">WHAT A PASS BY ALPEREN SENGUN 🫣</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/Ncw95a7m3H">pic.twitter.com/Ncw95a7m3H</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1620956928120848384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Alperen Sengun has taken a huge leap from his rookie year last season. He was solid last season to the tune of 9.6 points per game, 5.5 rebound and 2.6 assists while shooting 47.4 percent from the field albeit only 24.8 percent from the three-point line. This season, his numbers have improved across the board. He is putting up 15.5 points, 8.9 rebounds 3.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shots while shooting 57.5 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from the three-point line. While the Rockets have some quality young players in Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jabari Smith Jr., Sengun is looking more like a potential franchise building block.</p><p>The 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Sengun is a versatile big man. He is able to score in the post and has advanced footwork to match an array of moves. He is able to step out and shoot at times but he doesn’t not force it and does not stray too far from the paint. He is becoming a very good passer for a big man as evidenced by his jaw-dropping assists.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alperen Sengun goes full Nikola Jokic with unreal no-look, behind-the-back pass

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-on-alperen-sengun-poster-dunks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ savage confession about poster dunks on Alperen Sengun');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Anthony-Edwards_-savage-confession-about-poster-dunks-on-Alperen-Sengun.jpg"></figure><h1>Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ savage confession about poster dunks on Alperen Sengun</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-01-26T15:03:59-08:00">January 26th, 3:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-01-26T15:03:59-08:00">January 26th, 3:03pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a>A father of two over-energetic boys, Pao has been a writer for ClutchPoints for many years. His passion lies in all things NBA and he has a knack for speaking his mind in his articles -- even when at times it gets him into trouble with the fans. Controversial? Maybe. Excellent writer? Definitely.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards had the basketball world buzzing after he posterized Houston Rockets big man Alperen Sengun on Saturday <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-detonates-on-alperen-sengun-twice" rel="noopener">not once, but twice</a> in the same game. Sengun learned the hard way that for the most part, you’ll end up on the wrong end of an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-dunk-victim-yuta-watanabe-reacts-after-embarrassing-poster" rel="noopener">Edwards poster dunk</a> if you keep challenging him.</p><p>Apparently, this was Edwards’ mindset during the game. In a recent interview with ESPN’s NBA crew, the Timberwolves guard revealed the savage act he did just before detonating on Sengun for a second time in the same contest:</p><p>“I told one of his teammates I was going to <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1618714063969878016" rel="noopener">catch him again</a> because he’s just jumping, to have fun at this point,” Edwards said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I told one of his teammates I was going to catch him again because he's just jumping to have fun at this point."</p><p>Anthony Edwards on his poster dunks over Alperen Sengun. 😅💀</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNNBA</a>)<a href="https://t.co/tVxQRwpMOt">pic.twitter.com/tVxQRwpMOt</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1618714063969878016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>That’s just savage. The Rockets players probably thought that Edwards was just talking trash. However, being that this is Anthony Edwards, the outspoken 21-year-old absolutely delivered on his promise.</p><p>When asked if he felt his Rockets teammates relayed his warning to Sengun, Edwards said that “they probably did.” It didn’t matter at all, though, as the 6-foot-4 shooting guard came up with an even more impressive poster dunk the second time around.</p><p>To be fair to Alperen Sengun, you have to give this young man a lot of credit for having no fear. It is a well-known fact that Edwards is the owner of some of the bounciest hops in all of the NBA, but that did not stop Sengun from trying to meet the Timberwolves star at the apex. Unfortunately for him, it just did not work out as Sengun had hoped for — twice.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ savage confession about poster dunks on Alperen Sengun

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-notches-epic-triple-double-record-not-even-nikola-jokic-matched');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets center Alperen Sengun notches epic triple-double record not even Nikola Jokic matched');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Nikola-Jokic-Alperen-Sengun-Rockets-Nuggets-triple-double.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets center Alperen Sengun notches epic triple-double record not even Nikola Jokic matched</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-01-25T21:50:17-08:00">January 25th, 9:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-01-26T00:35:08-08:00">January 26th, 12:35am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Florence Pugh stan for life 🌻</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It is quickly becoming evident that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-achieves-incredible-feat-that-bolsters-nikola-jokic-comparisons" rel="noopener">Alperen Sengun is the crown jewel</a> of the Houston Rockets’ rebuilding efforts. This is especially true amid Jalen Green’s ride along the teeter-totter of inconsistency. And on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards, Sengun showed once more just <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-reaches-heights-not-even-hakeem-olajuwon-could-reach-in-loss-to-kings" rel="noopener">how impactful he can be</a>, especially as he continues to develop his game.</p><p>In 37 minutes of play, Sengun dominated Daniel Gafford and the rest of the Wizards frontline. He put up 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, notching his second triple of the season (and his career). In doing so, he <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1618465878839812096" rel="noopener">became the first center</a> in NBA history to tally multiple triple-doubles for his career before turning 21 years old, per ESPN Stats &amp; Info. To put this feat in perspective, this was something that not even the two-time MVP Nikola Jokic was able to accomplish.</p><p>Nikola Jokic entered the league when he was 20, and he became the Denver Nuggets’ unquestioned starter in the middle of his rookie campaign. However, the Joker notched his first career triple-double <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=triple+doubles+jokic+2014-15+to+2017-18+game+log" rel="noopener">in February 2017</a>, when he was already 21 years old. Thus, knowing what we know now about Jokic, it’s a marvel that he was not able to accomplish the feat Alperen Sengun just pulled off.</p><p>But Sengun wasn’t done making history just yet. In addition to his triple-double, he also added three steals and two blocks to his already-gaudy stat line. And in doing so, he became <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1618465653630828545" rel="noopener">just the fourth player</a> in NBA history to tally a triple-double with multiple steals and blocks before turning 21, joining Magic Johnson, Lonzo Ball, and Antoine Walker, according to ESPN Stats &amp; Info.</p><p>It’s such a shame, however, that Alperen Sengun’s performance ended up in yet another loss for the worst team in the league in the Rockets. Houston choked away a 10-point fourth quarter lead by allowing Kyle Kuzma to catch fire–leading to a Washington win, 108-103. Moreover, the Rockets’ offense struggled after they went away from what worked in the first three quarters of the game: letting Sengun cook.</p><p>Still, even with the Rockets’ struggles, it’s clear that they have a gem of a piece to build around in the young Turkish center.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets center Alperen Sengun notches epic triple-double record not even Nikola Jokic matched

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-detonates-on-alperen-sengun-twice');   ga('set', 'title', 'WATCH: Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards detonates on Alperen Sengun not once, but twice');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Timberwolves-news-Anthony-Edwards-speaks-out-on-huge-body-transformation.jpeg"></figure><h1>WATCH: Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards detonates on Alperen Sengun not once, but twice</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-01-21T20:24:17-08:00">January 21st, 8:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-01-21T20:24:17-08:00">January 21st, 8:24pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a>A father of two over-energetic boys, Pao has been a writer for ClutchPoints for many years. His passion lies in all things NBA and he has a knack for speaking his mind in his articles -- even when at times it gets him into trouble with the fans. Controversial? Maybe. Excellent writer? Definitely.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-anthony-edwards-mad-as-hell-over-major-reason-behind-minnesotas-loss-to-nuggets" rel="noopener">Anthony Edwards</a> has been playing through a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-is-anthony-edwards-playing-vs-rockets" rel="noopener">sore left hip</a> over the past few games. It did not look like he was hurting on Saturday night, though, as the Minnesota Timberwolves star detonated over Houston Rockets big man Alperen Sengun — not once, but twice.</p><p>Edwards has one of the <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1616978865397858304" rel="noopener">bounciest hops</a> in all of the NBA and this was on full display against the Rockets. Right before halftime, the Timberwolves shooting guard got a full head of steam as he drove to the lane. Sengun simply did not what hit him:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="ca">ANTHONY EDWARDS DETONATES ALPEREN SENGUN 💥🤯<a href="https://t.co/UEHSumHR16">pic.twitter.com/UEHSumHR16</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1616978865397858304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Sengun was late on his contest, which is probably because he wasn’t expecting Edwards to take off so far from the hoop. Boy was he wrong, and Anthony Edwards made him pay with a massive two-handed slam.</p><p>Edwards wasn’t done yet. He got another clear path to the rim at the mid-way point of the third quarter. As soon as you saw Sengun jumping to challenge the dunk, you knew that this wasn’t going to end well for the Rockets big man:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">ANTHONY EDWARDS POSTERIZES ALPEREN SENGUN AGAIN 😱<a href="https://t.co/Tpt8SCnknP">pic.twitter.com/Tpt8SCnknP</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1616990320855773184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, though, the shame is on me. This was definitely the case for Sengun here as he ended up on the receiving end of two merciless facials from Edwards. This second one was even nicer than the first with the former first-overall pick finishing with one hand this time around.</p><p>Does this look like a man who’s playing with a bad hip? I would have to say no to that.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

WATCH: Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards detonates on Alperen Sengun not once, but twice

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-reaches-heights-not-even-hakeem-olajuwon-could-reach-in-loss-to-kings');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alperen Sengun reaches heights not even Hakeem Olajuwon could reach in Rockets’ loss to Kings');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Alperen-Sengun-Hakeem-Olajuwon-Rockets-triple-double.jpg"></figure><h1>Alperen Sengun reaches heights not even Hakeem Olajuwon could reach in Rockets’ loss to Kings</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-01-11T22:01:09-08:00">January 11th, 10:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-01-11T22:01:09-08:00">January 11th, 10:01pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Florence Pugh stan for life 🌻</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets drafted explosive scoring guard Jalen Green second overall in the 2021 NBA Draft with an intention to rebuild around him as a foundational piece. However, Green has seen his efficiency numbers dip, and his star go a bit dimmer as a result. But <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-austin-rivers-drops-critical-houston-take-that-jalen-green-wont-like" rel="noopener">amid Green’s struggles</a>, another one of the Rockets’ 2021 draft picks is continuing to cement himself as, perhaps, the true jewel of the Rockets’ rebuild. Alperen Sengun, the 20-year old center out of Turkey, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-achieves-incredible-feat-that-bolsters-nikola-jokic-comparisons" rel="noopener">has been that impressive</a>.</p><p>In fact, Alperen Sengun’s all-around contributions and sky-high potential were in full display once more when the Rockets took on the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. In 28 minutes of action, Sengun tried his best to hold his own against dominant big man Domantas Sabonis, and he came out with the first triple-double of his young career with a 10-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist effort.</p><p>And in doing so, the 20-year old center <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1613404890386268163" rel="noopener">became the youngest</a> Rockets player in history to notch a triple-double, beating out some of the best players in franchise history, such as Hakeem Olajuwon, as a result. He is also the first center in Rockets franchise history to notch a triple-double since Olajuwon did in 1997.</p><p>Of course, Alperen Sengun has plenty of headstart on other Rockets players in history, especially when he entered the league as a 19-year old. Hakeem Olajuwon literally could not have accomplished Sengun’s feat, seeing as he was still playing collegiate basketball when he was 20 years old. (For reference, Olajuwon <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/hakeem-triple-doubles-game-log" rel="noopener">notched his first career triple-double</a> when he was 23 years old, with a 26-point, 12-rebound, and 11-block effort against the Golden State Warriors.)</p><p>Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that Sengun is anywhere close to being at a similar level to arguably the greatest Rockets player of all time in Olajuwon. The Rockets would be fortunate if Sengun becomes half the player Olajuwon was, especially in his prime days when he led the Rockets to two straight NBA championships.</p><p>But at least for one night, Sengun etches himself deeper into Rockets lore with a solid, stat-sheet stuffing performance, even if it resulted in a 135-115 loss to the Kings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alperen Sengun reaches heights not even Hakeem Olajuwon could reach in Rockets’ loss to Kings

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-sends-zach-collins-to-the-shadow-realm-with-nasty-disallowed-poster');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets center Alperen Sengun sends Zach Collins to the shadow realm with nasty (disallowed) poster');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Alperen-Sengun-Zach-Collins-Spurs-Rockets.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets center Alperen Sengun sends Zach Collins to the shadow realm with nasty (disallowed) poster</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-12-08T19:44:35-08:00">December 8th, 7:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-12-08T19:44:35-08:00">December 8th, 7:44pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>loves movies. (top three: Saint Maud, Midsommar, The Edge of Seventeen) hopes to write feature-length films someday. fingers crossed 🤞 Florence Pugh stan for life 🌻</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs are two of the worst teams today, clearly in rebuild mode despite being two of the most consistent playoff teams over the past few decades or so. Nonetheless, player development is of utmost priority, with young stars such as Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, and Keldon Johnson, among others, on the court on Thursday night to duke it out along with or against each other.</p><p>But none of them may be more exhilarating to watch than Sengun.</p><p>Alperen Sengun, the 20-year old center, possesses sublime scoring touch, impressive court vision, and incredible footwork, making him one of the most <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-achieves-incredible-feat-that-bolsters-nikola-jokic-comparisons" rel="noopener">intriguing young prospects</a> in the league. However, Sengun showed that he also has nuclear athleticism as a tool in his back pocket, and Spurs center Zach Collins learned firsthand that the 7’0 Turkish center can fly.</p><p>With less than seven minutes to go in the third quarter, Sengun nabbed a defensive board and went coast-to-coast, <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1601052890306445314" rel="noopener">yamming down a nasty poster</a> jam right over the overmatched Collins, causing the Spurs center to take a nasty spill which caused him to violently whip his head.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">OH MY SENGUN 🤯🤯🤯</p><p>They really called an offensive foul… <a href="https://t.co/0GvjvHmFto">pic.twitter.com/0GvjvHmFto</a></p><p>— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1601052890306445314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>However, Alperen Sengun’s dunk didn’t count, as the officials waved it off for an offensive foul, perhaps for his use of the off arm to ward off Zach Collins’ contest. Still, that was an incredible sight that probably should have counted for two points given the absurdity of the play, and Rockets head coach Stephen Silas definitely thinks so, as he used up his challenge in an attempt to overturn the call.</p><p>However, the officials stood by their decision, giving the Rockets zero points for what was such an incredible play.</p><p>This is not the first time a ridiculous poster dunk was wiped off due to an offensive foul. Last year, Anthony Edwards <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-blasts-referees-after-ruling-out-enormous-poster-slam" rel="noopener">made Gabe Vincent a fellow resident</a> in the shadow realm after Ant almost leapt over the Miami Heat guard entirely.</p><p>Alperen Sengun’s dunk could have been a huge momentum boost to the Rockets; instead, the Spurs opened up a double-digit lead after the jam was disallowed. A loss tonight might end up working for Houston in the long run, however, especially if they manage to find themselves in a position to draft Victor Wembanyama.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets center Alperen Sengun sends Zach Collins to the shadow realm with nasty (disallowed) poster

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-achieves-incredible-feat-that-bolsters-nikola-jokic-comparisons');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets center Alperen Sengun achieves incredible feat that bolsters Nikola Jokic comparisons');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Alperen-Sengun-Nikola-Jokic-Rockets-Nuggets.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets center Alperen Sengun achieves incredible feat that bolsters Nikola Jokic comparisons</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-12-06T08:39:26-08:00">December 6th, 8:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-12-06T08:39:26-08:00">December 6th, 8:39am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>loves movies. (top three: Saint Maud, Midsommar, The Edge of Seventeen) hopes to write feature-length films someday. fingers crossed 🤞 Florence Pugh stan for life 🌻</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After the Houston Rockets traded away Christian Wood, Alperen Sengun became poised to take over the Rockets’ starting center mantle. During his rookie year, Sengun showed a rare blend of nimble feet, soft scoring touch, and sublime court vision for someone so young.</p><p>The Rockets experimented with bringing him off the bench this season, but it didn’t take long for Sengun to establish himself as arguably their best player, fueling the fire of Nikola Jokic comparisons in the process, especially when the two-time MVP is the Rockets center’s favorite player.</p><p>While Sengun is nowhere near the player Jokic is today just yet, the 20-year old Turkish center may be well on his way. After tallying eight points and eight boards in an off-night marred by foul trouble, Alperen Sengun <a href="https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1429865/alperen-sengun-youngest-center-with-1000-points-and-200-assists-in-nba-history/#.Y49fe_EM-aU.twitter" rel="noopener">became the youngest center</a> in NBA history to accumulate 1000 points and 200 assists (20 years, 133 days), beating former Cleveland Cavaliers center Brad Daugherty’s record in the process, per Eurohoops.</p><p>Sengun entered the league one year younger than when Nikola Jokic did, giving him a huge headstart in the stat accumulation department. Still, it’s difficult not to compare the two’s career paths, especially early in their careers.</p><p>The Denver Nuggets played Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic in a timeshare early in the two-time MVP’s career, but the Nuggets later came to the conclusion that Jokic was the better piece to build around. (They were right.)</p><p>No one knows for sure just how good Alperen Sengun could be. However, Jokic <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/alperen-sengun-draws-nikola-jokic-comparisons-as-he-adjusts-to-life-in-the-nba" rel="noopener">knows</a> that the Rockets must utilize Sengun as the central hub of their offense more often to bring out the best in the young center. And who knows, maybe Sengun could, indeed, make good on his promise as a Jokic-esque player who could lead the Rockets out of their rebuilding phase.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets center Alperen Sengun achieves incredible feat that bolsters Nikola Jokic comparisons

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun sounds off on flexing after every poster dunk');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Rockets-news-Alperen-Sengun-sounds-off-on-flexing-after-every-poster-dunk.jpg"></figure><h1>Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun sounds off on flexing after every poster dunk</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-03-20T20:05:10-07:00">March 20th, 8:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-03-20T20:05:10-07:00">March 20th, 8:05pm</time><address><a>Gerard Samillano</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Alperen Sengun has been one of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/alperen-sengun-the-elephant-in-the-room-for-the-rockets/">most entertaining rookies</a> to watch this year, due to his penchant for highlight reel dunks and passes. However, if you’re a die-hard Houston Rockets fan, you’ll notice a trend with Sengun’s dunks. After every difficult dunk, the Turkish rookie would flex his muscles in some way.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>During a media session, Sengun talked about why he flexes when he dunks. The Rockets rookie gave a hilariously honest answer, saying that: (<a href="https://twitter.com/JTGatlin/status/1505673442787577858">via Jackson Gatlin</a>)</p><blockquote>“I love my muscles. I have more muscle now than at the beginning of the season.”</blockquote><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alperen Sengun on flexing after his dunks: "I love my muscles. I have more muscle now than at the beginning of the season."</p><p>— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) <a href="https://twitter.com/JTGatlin/status/1505673442787577858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">March 20, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>One of the biggest knocks on Sengun coming out of the draft was his seemingly frail frame. Tall lanky rookies tend to be looked down upon as prospects because of this trait. Think Kristaps Porzingis, or Brandon Ingram, or even Chet Holmgren from this year’s class. However, the Rockets and Sengun clearly made an effort to give some more bulk to the Turkish sensation.</p><p>The biggest factor why the Rockets drafted Sengun, though, is his limitless potential. Standing at a massive 6’10, Sengun has the size of a big man and the ball skills of a guard. He’s also shown amazing court vision and the guts to attempt difficult passes. If he develops right, Houston could have their next version of the Tracy McGrady-Yao Ming duo from the 2000s.</p><p>All of these youth won’t easily translate to wins, though. The Rockets’ rocky 2021-22 season is proof of that. However, these are just growing pains for a rebuilding team. If everything goes perfectly, they’ll be back on top of the league in no time.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun sounds off on flexing after every poster dunk

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets need a Christian Wood and Alperen Sengun death lineup');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Rockets-Christian-Wood-Alperen-Sengun.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rockets need a Christian Wood and Alperen Sengun death lineup</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-12-16T05:16:46-08:00">December 16th, 5:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-12-16T05:17:09-08:00">December 16th, 5:17am</time><address><a>Salman Ali</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night by a margin of 35 points. Coming off the heels of a comeback road win against the Atlanta Hawks, this was a brutal loss for the Rockets. They were missing four key contributors in Christian Wood, Eric Gordon, Kevin Porter Jr., and Jalen Green so in some way, this was predictable. Even with so many starters out, the Rockets again chose to have one of their most talented players, Alperen Sengun, come off the bench.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">these passes from Sengun got us like 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/KESv3XIDJG" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/KESv3XIDJG</a></p><p>— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1471300620544061443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">December 16, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p> </p><p>Houston’s refusal to insert Sengun into the starting lineup is getting a bit strange at this point. Alperen Sengun tallied 19 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block on Wednesday. He seems to be getting better and better by the day, but Houston is tentative to play him heavy minutes every night. It’s one thing if the rationale was that they prefer to start games with Christian Wood at center with a spaced floor. However, the fact that it’s obvious he’s one of the best players on the team and hasn’t played 30 minutes in a game yet is kind of inexcusable.</p><p>The Rockets were obviously high on Sengun as they called multiple teams to try and trade up to draft him and ended up forking over two first round picks. He’s also clearly played better than they could have thought he might his rookie season. They’ve also shown no hesitancy about playing two centers on the floor at the same time this season. If all of those things are true, there’s really no reason he shouldn’t be a heavy rotation player.</p><p>Even tonight, the Rockets elected to start Daniel Theis over Alperen Sengun but played Theis only 18 minutes. On the other side, Sengun came off the bench and played 27 minutes. They intentionally started the inferior basketball player for reasons that are unclear. In the NBA, offense is a more valuable than defense by a significant margin. So if the thinking is to start the better defensive player, it’s based on the false premise that both ends of the floor are equal.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sengun put in work. 🔥</p><p>🚀 Career high 19PTS<br>🚀 Career high 11REB<a href="https://twitter.com/creditkarma?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@creditkarma</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MoneyMoveoftheGame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#MoneyMoveoftheGame</a> <a href="https://t.co/UMOi4XnTGb" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/UMOi4XnTGb</a></p><p>— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1471308079249694725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">December 16, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p> </p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/leaders" rel="noopener">Putting all that aside</a>, it seems that Houston may internally believe Christian Wood can be a part of their long-term core. It’s assumed that they also view Sengun as part of their long-term core. With two months left until the trade deadline, it only makes sense that Houston give a long look to lineups with the two players together. While the early returns on this pairing aren’t exactly encouraging (-12.9 points per 100 possessions), it’s based on a pretty limited sample size (164 minutes).</p><p>You can’t make a major decision like keeping Christian Wood with the core of this group without first seeing if he can play well alongside Sengun. Based off the way he’s playing, Alperen Sengun figures to be a major part of what Houston does moving forward so his fit alongside Wood has to be a data point Houston seriously looks at before committing the rest of the season to it. This is because Wood is currently healthy, producing well offensively, and has two more seasons before hitting unrestricted free agency. His value is high and if Houston chooses not to sell without seeing if he can get into the green in units alongside Sengun, they’re doing themselves a disfavor.</p><p>This would also allow Sengun to get the starting spot he deserves while Houston sees if the pairing can work alongside each other. Sengun has been pretty adept at finding Wood when he cuts to the basket so there’s reason the synergy between the two of them can work. It’s really Sengun and Wood playing together in a team context that’s questionable. Can the two survive on the floor together defensively? Can Sengun become a floor spacer so Wood can continue running pick and roll like he’s done with small lineups?</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="und">🚀🚀 <a href="https://t.co/JasiUaYk0c" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/JasiUaYk0c</a></p><p>— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1451004176671068165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">October 21, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p><a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1451004176671068165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1451004176671068165%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D1586018action%3Dedit" rel="noopener">It all starts with the</a> Rockets giving the two an honest, extended look together. It’s probably some of the most crucial data Houston can collect this season as it should inform what they do with Christian Wood at the deadline.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets need a Christian Wood and Alperen Sengun death lineup

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alperen Sengun’s ‘sign of respect’ after Giannis Antetokounmpo showdown');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Houston-Rockets-Alperen-Sengun.jpeg"></figure><h1>Alperen Sengun’s ‘sign of respect’ after Giannis Antetokounmpo showdown</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-12-11T05:00:55-08:00">December 11th, 5:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-12-11T05:01:29-08:00">December 11th, 5:01am</time><address><a>Salman Ali</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Alperen Sengun had to go against one of the best players in the NBA on Friday evening. Following his showdown with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Houston Rockets rookie is starting to receive some heavy praise. But more on that in a second.</p><p>After winning seven straight games, the Rockets finally lost a game to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. They didn’t go down without a fight and actually managed to lead for three quarters before letting go of the rope in the fourth. “Letting go of the rope” is actually a bad way of putting it, because Houston fought and clawed until the bitter end. Any other night and they may have escaped with a victory. This just happened to be a night in which they were playing the defending NBA champions.</p><p>And while the story of the game will go down as Giannis Antetokounmpo dominating a Rockets team that had absolutely no answer for him, the more relevant story for Houston is Alperen Sengun. For the time being, it doesn’t matter that the Rockets don’t have an answer for a player like that because this isn’t a team trying to contend for the title. It does matter that their best player tonight finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal on 6 of 8 shooting from the field while only playing 15 minutes. Sengun absolutely dominated the Bucks frontcourt and this was a game where Houston struggled to score in the paint and get dribble penetration all night.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Watch Sengun get his career high in points. 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/jkw2RoI0sd" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/jkw2RoI0sd</a></p><p>— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1469517220887814151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">December 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p> </p><p>“When you talk about footwork, there’s not many guys his size, or shoot anybody, that moves like he does,” said Jae’Sean Tate after the game. “I think he spun around like five times on one possession today. His ability to score around the rim but also pass the ball is something you just really can’t teach. It’s natural. He’s going to continue to get better. He’s going to be a problem.”</p><p>So the question is, why<a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1469517220887814151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1469517220887814151%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D1581296action%3Dedit" rel="noopener"> didn’t he finish the game?</a></p><p>“I wanted to figure out a way to keep him in the game, but when they have Giannis at the five, it’s really hard,” said Stephen Silas after the game. “He was having to guard Giannis. He had to switch to Middleton and then he went to Mathews. We weren’t getting the same looks.”</p><p>For most of the game, Alperen Sengun was having a field day against the likes of DeMarcus Cousins and Bobby Portis. In the fourth quarter, the Bucks had Antetokounmpo guard Sengun and it changed the entire complexity of the game. Sengun could still find success against Antetokounmpo, but the thinking was probably that it would be less efficient and come at the cost of ball movement. As Silas said, the Rockets were also worried about Sengun getting caught on an island with someone who could take advantage of him off the dribble.</p><p>“It was different for sure,” said Silas on Antetokounmpo guarding Alperen Sengun. “That’s a first team all-defensive, defensive player of the year guy that our 19-year-old rookie had to play against. And they made an adjustment for him to guard him. That’s a sign of respect for [Sengun].”</p><p>Even with the worries about the Antetokounmpo matchup or the defense, it is still a bit puzzling that Sengun ended the game with only 15 minutes on a night like tonight. It’s understandable that the Rockets are hesitant to go back to double-big lineups, but Sengun was the best big man on the floor tonight. There’s no reason he shouldn’t have finished the game. In a vacuum, benching Christian Wood in crunch time is certainly ballsy for a coach to do, but the flow of the game dictated that Sengun should have had those minutes over Wood.</p><p>Even Wood, someone who’s playing time is directly impacted by this, believes Sengun should be playing more.</p><p>“[Alperen Sengun]’s been looking great coming off the bench,” said Wood. “I think he needs a little bit more minutes.”</p><p>Houston has been at this uncomfortable point with Sengun all season and the pressure has only gone up. We’ll see if anything changes for him on the Rockets upcoming road trip.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
19.1	10.3	4.9	0.8	1.1

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
19.1	10.3	4.9	0.8	1.1

Alperen Sengun news

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