Alperen Sengun’s Defense at the Rim vs. Other Centers

Virtually every metric shows the that Sengun is a good defender for his age. It’s just that some on here choose to focus on their biased eyes rather than objective facts. Confirmation bias at its finest.

 

I don't think he has the tools to be an elite defender--just like Pau Gasol was never known for his defense--but it's silly to me that some of our posters seem to think a 6'11" guy with decent athleticism and good basketball instincts can only ever be a defensive liability. It is normal for 21-year-olds to need some work on their defense, only defensive phenoms like Amen come into the league ready to make a serious impact on that end.

Sengun will always be an offense-first player, but there is no reason he can't become a solid-average defensive big man.

Nice analysis, @RudyTBag.

 

Tbag losing his mind!!!
ANOTHER quality post/thread!!!


Go Rockets!!!
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Im in agreement that he is there BUT the question is what does he do when he get there?? I see opposing players rebounding on top of him, which is a direct result of him being too short. And I don’t see him blocking shots at a high rate, which is also a direct result of him being too short.

Is a he a smart player, yes. Your numbers prove that, however if he knows where to be and he is there but he can't do anything, what does that say??

I've said on many occassions, I like Alpi but he needs help and the only way he's going to be effective is if he is put in a situation similar or better than Jokic. He needs to be paired with a 6'11 - 7ft SF and a 7ft PF. Two players that can makeup for his weaknesses.

I think Jabari would be perfect as a SF. The Rockets need to find a PF.

 

So basically Sengun can get there and contest but his contest isn't very effective at actually stopping people from scoring.

 

Somebody on Twitter said that the reason why they call foul on him even when he is vertical is because he pushes out his chest on air to embrace the contact and they think it breaks his verticality. If that's true these refs need to be shot dead.

 

NBA games are almost always close until the 4th q and the difference makers are either beasts like Giannis who will show up when it matters the most and score on you no matter what and sharpshooters that will keep you at arms reach. If you don't have your Giannis you have to have sharpshooters. Remember the Indiana-Bucks games. 142-130 Pacers W (40% 3pt shooting) 126-124 Pacers W (41.7%). Only way to beat these teams is to have sharpshooters. To beat the teams that have sharpshooters you have to have sharpshooters and play perimeter defense. Poor rim protector will cost you 5 games while nonshooting guards will cost you 20 and lack of perimeter defense will cost you another 20. People who are hyperfixating on Sengun's defense are dumbest mfs in our fanbase. You can consistently make playoffs with a poor rim protector (Sabonis) while poor shooting guards will guarantee you being one of the worst teams itl every single season. That one is guaranteed.

 

I think that's the main problem, he is not altering shots. Wemby, Chet and even Jokic alter shots. Their length help them to alter shots. Sabonis and Sengun don't alter shots.

Think of Chuck Hayes. Really good position defender. He was always in good position, drew charges and played well postionally but players consistently played over the top of him.

Sengun is obviously taller than Hayes but they both struggled against length.

 

Nice thread/numbers.

This data is always easy to "analyze" on an x/y scatter chart often with the size of circles changing type thing.
Worth noting there is still some sample size issues. Not that 5 shots don't make a difference, but as an example if dudes missed 5 more shots on Alpi and made 5 more on Jabari, Alpi's dfg% would be better.

I concur with most - he has high IQ, is active, tries his best, but will ofc ultimately be limited.

There are the obvious good teams that have equally meh defensive centers.... but also worth noting those are the obvious teams that have emphasized shooting, spacing and ball movement around their offensive big... which we haven't done.

I'm willing to try this... but also think it probably isn't the best idea either. Like... Jabari can barely dribble. If we're thinking MPJ mold... ok, not a bad idea, but even MPJ seems to have way more fluidity than Bari. Not just dribbling, but movement shooting, cutting. Nvm the fact he's just a consistently much better shooter.

 

Before Feb hit he was around 58ish%, which is pretty damn great in today's nba and the fact that he will be the hub of the offense.

If you listen to away broadcasts like I do, you'll always hear the commentators say a variation of " get their big man in the pick and roll, he has trouble defending it" (insert 29 broadcasts)

 

You hear that even more on Rocketswatch.

 

This was probably a good deal of work, and it's really good analysis. Thank you!

 

I think Bari will get better at it as he bulks up, a lot of his interior defensive issues is just him being a 20 year old that hasn't added grown man strength yet. When he does, along with having Amen and hopefully Tari back, these three will forever mask most defensive issues on the court that any other player has.

That said, I never felt like Alpi was exactly a liability, some nights he does get hunted with those alley oops but I feel like in an ideal situation Alpi will make up for what he brings on offense.

My look at it is always on how it works for the team. I think Bari, Tari, and Amen will lead this to be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA in a couple of years.

 

Love your optimism man, I agree.

Even more so if we can get Adams in the mix and get him back fully healthy and hopefully extend him.

 

haha. For example I was watching a bit of the Spurs v Okc, " Why are they getting away from the Pick and Roll. They had the Spurs defenders on skates."

 

A related stat is the same thing for 6ft.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-lt6?Season=2023-24

 

Oh yeah. Wemby really altered Sengun's shot tonight.