One week ago, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said he wasn’t comfortable with two-big lineups featuring Christian Wood and Alperen Sengun. That could be changing after a strong showing Wednesday.
With Cleveland featuring a rotation of three quality bigs with Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Kevin Love, and generally with two on the court at all times (barring foul trouble), Houston used it as an opportunity to play Wood and Sengun together for the first time in weeks.
Best of all, the experiment showed some promising signs. Silas turned to the Wood-Sengun pairing midway through the first quarter with the Rockets down seven points, and Houston outscored Cleveland by eight over the final 6:21 of the period to take a lead into the second quarter.
In all, Sengun scored 9 points in his 12 first-half minutes, and the Rockets were an impressive +17 with the rookie on the floor. He made both of his shots from the field and drew six free-throw attempts, making five.
#Rockets were +8 in the Wood/Sengun minutes in the first quarter, -7 in the other minutes
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) February 3, 2022
Sengun and Green have 9 and 11, respectively. Sengun is +17 in just 12 minutes of play.
This is so far the breakout game for the rookie duo that we knew was eventually coming.
— RedNinetyFour (@RedNinetyFour) February 3, 2022
The viability of Wood-Sengun minutes could have both short-term and long-term implications. Besides giving the Rockets another large body to throw against bigger frontcourts like the Cavaliers, the fact is that if Wood and Sengun are unable to play together, it’s not realistically possible for Sengun to exceed an average of 18 minutes per game. Wood, as Houston’s top scorer and rebounder, is understandably going to average at least 30 minutes, and he will often play more than that.
Over time, the Rockets would clearly like their rookie big man — taken at No. 16 overall in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft — to earn more than bench minutes as part of his development. Given that conundrum, it sparked a new wave of Wood trade speculation among fans.
But if Wood and Sengun are able to play together, that could present a path for Houston to increase the rookie’s minutes without having to send away arguably their most accomplished veteran player.
It remains to be seen whether Wood-Sengun lineups will be deemed viable versus teams that aren’t as big as the Cavaliers, but their showing Wednesday offered hope on that front for the first time in a while.
Christian Wood with the double high-five and brief hug to Sengun on his way off the court. Those two really support each other a lot
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) February 3, 2022
