Confidence growing for second-year Rockets big Alperen Sengun

HOUSTON — Standing at his locker after a tough 109-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, second-year center Alperen Sengun looked as if he was ready to go back on the court for another quarter of action. He did everything that he could to keep the Rockets within striking distance throughout the game with a low-post presence that caused chaos for any player that the Clippers used to defend him.

Sengun, 20, finished the game with a team-high 26 points and 13 rebounds and showed a tremendous amount of court awareness when making his moves toward the basket.

“He was patient when he caught the ball,” Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said from Toyota Center. “We ran a good amount of stuff (plays) for him because he played well two nights ago. I wanted to be intentional about going to him a little more in this game.”

For Houston to take that next step, they will need the production Sengun has provided so far this season, averaging 16.7 points (56.8% FG) and 10.3 rebounds in 27.1 minutes per game.

With the trade of former center Christian Wood to the Dallas Mavericks in the offseason, Sengun was seen as his successor in the starting rotation that featured Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green. Yet, he initially came off the bench after Silas inserted fourth-year player Bruno Fernando into the starting lineup to begin the season.

After losing Fernando to a knee injury early in the season, Sengun was inserted into the lineup after missing games due to illness.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Sengun said when asked how he felt playing with starters. “I know I have to play great this season. I have to show what I am going to do this season. I am playing with confidence.”

As Houston heads out on the road for its next four games, Sengun will be tested by some strong defensive centers including Rudy Gobert, the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, on Saturday in Minnesota. Tipoff from Target Center is at 7:00 p.m. Central.