1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

Alpi to the 6th man role is the answer

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by DaDakota, Feb 28, 2026 at 5:57 PM.

  1. DaDakota

    DaDakota Arrest all Pedophiles
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 1999
    Messages:
    132,569
    Likes Received:
    43,984
    It's not though, it is a well thought out how do pieces fit vs not fit, if you think that this Miami game is the only game Alpi is cooked by more athletic longer centers you aren't paying attention he is not a good defender, his ability to focus on defense is piss poor.

    He isn't a superstar player, he is a very good player, there is a massive difference.

    DD
     
  2. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2003
    Messages:
    63,283
    Likes Received:
    43,995
    If the Rockets are allowed to go 6 on 5 this plan can and will work
     
  3. Le$$

    Le$$ Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2016
    Messages:
    4,780
    Likes Received:
    4,151
    Easy and clos4life like this.
  4. MystikArkitect

    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2006
    Messages:
    15,970
    Likes Received:
    26,141
    They throwing around All Star nominations these days. Didnt Norman Powell get one?

    I got one in a Cracker Jacks box and threw it away.
     
    Dobbizzle, SkareKrow and javal_lon like this.
  5. Dacamel

    Dacamel Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2009
    Messages:
    966
    Likes Received:
    1,423
    Oh I am so sure my edibles have really kicked in. No way I just read what this topic is. The dude just had a triple double the other day. Lol
     
    Dobbizzle and Os Trigonum like this.
  6. Stephen_A

    Stephen_A Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2016
    Messages:
    7,211
    Likes Received:
    5,800
    You know i first said this for months now. Give credit where it’s due.
     
  7. clos4life

    clos4life Member

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2007
    Messages:
    13,659
    Likes Received:
    18,019
    Don't worry, it's DD, Sengun will be fine. Only be worried about players DD actually cheers for, their career will be ruined.
     
    KUNTEPER_S, Dobbizzle and subtomic like this.
  8. nomiz1987

    nomiz1987 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2017
    Messages:
    693
    Likes Received:
    1,186
    Yeah It's so obvious he struggles against athletic centers. We will be perennial 1st round fodder with this current lineup. Second round at best. No way we win anything with 2 starting players who can't shoot.
     
  9. JHarden713

    JHarden713 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2014
    Messages:
    3,070
    Likes Received:
    1,413
    He wasn't an allstar this year tho. Got in because someone got hurt
     
    SkareKrow and Arnel like this.
  10. javal_lon

    javal_lon Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2010
    Messages:
    12,189
    Likes Received:
    10,125
    Switching from your " Build around Sengun " talk to making him 6th man and being traded off ASAP , in a matter of weeks , should be studied for research .. lol

    But seriously, Sengun would be unbearable to watch if they made him 6th man.. And I'm not talking about his play... He'd sulk so much it'd make Luka wanna reach out and offer advice.. Now as far as his play in that role, I think he'd become a black hole on offense.. His numbers might still be good on the surface but he'd basically be Al Jefferson
     
  11. Aruba77

    Aruba77 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 1999
    Messages:
    16,545
    Likes Received:
    21,351
    It felt like we won the minutes with the starters on the court (Amen playing his natural position). Am I wrong? Anyone have those stats?

    we know Sengun doesn’t play well against Bam. It’s not shocking he didn’t play well. But if he doesn’t clean up his act around the rim and solidify his mid-range game, he’s never gonna be the player he’s capable of being. I still think we have to exact a very high price if we move off Sengun. I also think a better coach would make better use of him. But today was just bad play.
     
    #31 Aruba77, Feb 28, 2026 at 8:58 PM
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2026 at 9:05 PM
    KUNTEPER_S and Arnel like this.
  12. xtruroyaltyx

    xtruroyaltyx Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    Messages:
    13,529
    Likes Received:
    18,152
    Dont have the exact numbers for all 5 starters but Eason was -15, Sengun and Amen -18, Reed -3, KD +5

    They dont have the 5man lineup data up yet for this past game.
    Interestingly enough, this was the first game we've seen the lineup that started play together at all:

    https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/a...eamID=1610612745&dir=D&slug=advanced&sort=MIN

    I sorted it by lineups with Reed in them.

    Then sorted by minutes played.

    Of all the lineups Reed has played in a with a decent sample size, ALL of the ones with him and Sengun have a neg net rating. Without Reed Sengun has some good lineups but none as good as the lineup of Reed without Sengun of Reed, Amen, DFS, KD, Capela. That lineup has played 60 mins together and has a whopping +33 net rating. I cant imagine that lineup would be worse swapping put Jabari or even Tari for DFS.

    Reeds best lineups by minutes played are with either Capela or Adams at center with the other starters. Those lineups have been extremely good.
     
    Aruba77 likes this.
  13. Aruba77

    Aruba77 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 1999
    Messages:
    16,545
    Likes Received:
    21,351
    but wouldn’t most of those minutes come against backups then?
     
  14. xtruroyaltyx

    xtruroyaltyx Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    Messages:
    13,529
    Likes Received:
    18,152
    Im pretty sure all of the lineups have been played against backups for some amount of minutes. But if we have 3-4 starters in the game I doubt the other team has all back ups in.

    But it doesnt mean all of Reed without Sengun mins came against backups. Reed started 8 games so far... Its possible Sengun got into early foul trouble or something and was subbed out for Clint or Sengun. And I mean, teams substitution patterns dont always match.

    Finding out which lineups were played against however other many starters is a layers too deep that Im not going to look into.

    Who the opponent is and which starters are on the floor would obviously play a role but that'd be a lot of investigation and then on top of that itd basically boil down to only starting lineup data against other starters for good teams mattering.
     
    Aruba77 likes this.
  15. nolimitnp

    nolimitnp Member

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2007
    Messages:
    3,993
    Likes Received:
    935
    I've noticed about 25 points from the bench is mandatory (absent an ungodly 40+ performance from a starter), especially in the playoffs. Today the bench only scored 16 and we lost by 10.

    I wouldn't be completely against it.
     
  16. prodigy08

    prodigy08 Clutchfans Lurker

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2006
    Messages:
    1,859
    Likes Received:
    2,696
    @DaDakota i get you man. It would work but it won't happen. For Alpi to come off the bench means him demanding a trade and total locker room disruption at the moment. I think the logical move right now is to move him in the offseason where he can be properly utilized in return for potentially a spot in this year's draft plus some fillers. If we can get a better package outside of going to this year's upcoming draft then hopefully we get a big man with good defense
     
  17. roslolian

    roslolian Member

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2008
    Messages:
    32,027
    Likes Received:
    22,184
    Lots of teams spend over 56M on the center position. Sixers and Nuggets pay that much just for Embiid and Jokic since the max contact is around 55M.

    For backcourt we have:

    FVV 25M
    Reed Sheppard 10M
    Amen Thompson 10M
    Aaron Holiday 3M

    So we are spending 48M just for pg spot where is the weirdness???
     
    #37 roslolian, Feb 28, 2026 at 11:24 PM
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2026 at 11:35 PM
  18. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Atomic Playboy

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2002
    Messages:
    60,084
    Likes Received:
    54,411
  19. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2006
    Messages:
    104,879
    Likes Received:
    53,019
    You might as well trade him because his team would not allow that for more than a few months.
     
  20. James Harden Stepback 3

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2025
    Messages:
    970
    Likes Received:
    773
    Alfred shitgun is a fat lazy ugly turk
     

Share This Page