Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey.
The Houston Rockets are currently one of the best teams in the Western Conference and Alperen Sengun is a primary reason why.
Houston (6-3) is playing very well and Sengun is considered one of the early favorites to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player. As noticed by NBA Finals MVP winner Nikola Jokic, the big man has seen a large increase in his usage rate and his overall offensive load.
The big man, sometimes called Baby Joker because his playing style can sometimes resemble the interior playmaking of Jokic, led the Rockets to a victory over Jokic’s Nuggets on Sunday. His sharp passing continued to shine during the victory.
Sengun currently has an assist percentage above 30.0 percent and a turnover percentage below 15.0 percent. The only other qualified players 6-foot-9 or taller to accomplish as much since 2000-01 are just Jokic, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Sure, he isn’t Jokic and he isn’t LeBron and he isn’t Giannis. But he is doing remarkable things for someone his age. Additionally noteworthy, it isn’t just his playmaking that has taken a significant leap.
He leads the league in points scored as the roll man after ball screens, per Synergy. In fact, he is currently averaging the most points as the roll man of any player on record since 2015-16 except for when Joel Embiid won MVP last season.
Maybe what we are seeing isn’t sustainable for an entire season but what he has already accomplished is already historic. For example, check this out:
There are only two other players 23 years or younger to average at least 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists during their first nine games of a season, via Stathead: Luka Doncic and Magic Johnson.
Meanwhile, on the defensive end of the floor, he is exceeding expectations and contributing well for head coach Ime Udoka.
Sengun currently ranks as the NBA’s third-best center, per HoopsHype’s Global Rating, behind only Jokic and Embiid. He ranks third-best among qualified big men in the catch-all metric box plus-minus (BPM) as well.
Last season, Jokic described Sengun as “very talented” and argued that the Rockets should play through him more often. Udoka is doing exactly that and the results have worked great for Houston.
Trouble in New Orleans?
My colleague, Mike Sykes, noticed that things aren’t exactly going great with the Pelicans right now. Here are more of his observations:
“Things are not going well for the New Orleans Pelicans right now and Zion Williamson is a big part of the problem.
The vibe is just off with Zion right now.
He’s still the Pelicans’ best player, and is the one who things run through the most. His usage rate of 30.6 percent is significant. The team is going to go as he goes. Right now, it’s just not going. New Orleans is 4-6 and has lost five straight games.
The ball is out of his hands more and we’re seeing less of the point-Zion stuff we’ve seen in the past. So for this year, he’s shooting a career-low 51 percent from the floor and getting to the free throw line a career-low 7.1 times per game. He’s only shooting 61 percent from the charity stripe.
He was asked about his role in the Pelicans’ offense so far this season and, well, if you were looking for a pick-me-up, Pelicans fans, you won’t find it here.”
This isn’t a good look for New Orleans but it’s still early enough that they could potentially turn it around soon. The question is whether or not Zion will want to be a part of that process though.
Shootaround
— Mic picks up Anthony Edwards trash-talking Draymond Green: ‘Ain’t nobody worried about you, bruh’
— James Harden was brutally roasted by Mavericks’ broadcaster Brian Dameris: ‘You’re the problem’
— 76ers coach Nick Nurse provided an update on Kelly Oubre after his car accident
— HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan examines the trade value of players on the Bulls
