Alperen Sengun: Kevin McHale’s return?
Atletico certainly isn’t. Skip a little. He’s not very fast. On the first step he lacks explosiveness. By the way, it also seems a little stiff with the back. Light years away from the image of your ideal cover player. However, Alperen Sengun continues to be one of the revelations of this season (21.3 points and 9.4 rebounds on average). In the week, she overwhelmed the San Antonio Spurs with 45 points, 16 rebounds and 5 steals, leading the 224-year-old who goes by the name of Victor The animal. Not that Sengun is old (21), but he plays with a frightening maturity from the point of view of his posture on the pitch. The Houston Rockets center is a concentration of fundamentals under the basket worthy of the best Kevin McHale (legend of Boston Celtics alongside Larry Bird). Classic 211cm center, smart as a weasel, who knows a thousand and more old school tricks to remind you that “jumping five feet off the ground” doesn’t necessarily mean knowing how to play basketball. Kids who are just starting to learn the game take note. The Turkish player, with a surname that is almost Japanese on a phonetic level, is one of those who can put his back to the basket destroy you without bombastic movements, without flash. Dribble to get closer to the iron, he understands the reaction of his marker with his back and acts accordingly: turn on the pivot, feint and semi-hook, or discharge on the perimeter. Yes, because despite having feet that aren’t exactly that of a tap dancer, Sengun has a decent playmaking and game vision. Thousand roundabout, even if he isn’t exactly a radar from three (29.7%), he has a good shot on one leg falling backwards, which mainly shoots from the free throw line. And sweet hands approaching. Good rebounder (also in attack), despite a certainly not sensational lift from the ground. It’s true that the Rockets aren’t having who knows what kind of exciting season in terms of victories (they’re under 50%). However, some slivers of hope in terms of reconstruction are starting to be glimpsed. Young people to keep under observation. As Jalen Green, an explosive scorer who still needs to work on his outside shot to become a constant threat to defenses. Or Jabari Smith, who won’t be the star everyone thought he would be once he gets out of college, but he can become a solid big-man (6-foot-8) shooter. Even the rookie Amen Thompson (twin of Brave of Detroit) can be part of the game: he never puts it on from outside, but he has a great feeling for the game. Sengunif he continues like this, is destined to lead this group of young people for the next few years.
Phoenix Suns prospects
Certainly, the conditions were very different at the start of the championship. Of course, everyone was thinking of Phoenix Suns in a more rewarding ranking position at this point in the season (they are sixth in the West), with the concentration of talent they possess. The injuries certainly took their toll, without a shadow of a doubt. But even today, when they are more or less at full strength, the Suns give the impression of being a discontinuous team. In a match, they seem unbeatable even for a Dream Team. The next match, they also go down against a lower-ranked team. They’re not bad, mind you. But they have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal as a quintet. So you always expect shocking firepower, enough to blow up buildings. The feeling is that there is a bit of offensive balance missing. It almost seems as if every action is characterized by a one-on-one of one of the three stars in turn. Now Durant shoots, then it’s the turn of a Booker, the third is Beal. They seem to play little in the flow. There is little movement and the ball doesn’t spin that much. Durant (one of the best scorers in history) is not a leader, this is now clear. Devin Booker has improved in game management, but is a killer at dribble-stop-and-shoot and coming off the blocks. He’s not a point guard. There is no one capable of organizing the game well and distributing the ball continuously: hence the avalanches of balls that Phoenix loses every game. Beal is not at the levels of Washington. Furthermore, which is dangerous in the modern NBA, the Phoenix Suns shoot more from mid-range than from three points, are often in difficulty under the boards, and have a bench that is not completely convincing. Bol Bol (son of the late storehouse He was) has height, points in his hands, and offensive disorganization. Eubanks is a muscle man and nothing more. Eric Gordon can come in and provide instant baskets. There are no other truly decisive players to be seen. Positive note? A Grayson Allen who puts it from outside with 47.5% (monstrous) and always plays as if it were the last match of the your vita. It’s true that if they take the right train they can beat anyone, even in playoff. It must be said that she expected more. It’s a fact.
That’s all Folks!
To next week