Rockets’ Ime Udoka discovers a glimmer of hope in Alperen Sengun’s injury setback

On Sunday night, fans of the Houston Rockets mourned the fact that Alperen Sengun’s 2023-24 season appears to be over after Sengun sustained a severely sprained ankle and a bone bruise to his knee after a hard fall in the dying embers of their 112-104 win over the Sacramento Kings. Sengun has been on quite the tear as of late, and he has functioned as the central hub of the Rockets’ offense thanks to his impeccable feel for the game at the center spot.

Now, the Rockets are an objectively worse team without Sengun’s services; they struggle enough to score with him on the court, and now, putting the ball through the hoop becomes an even bigger challenge. But head coach Ime Udoka is choosing to look at the bright side, pointing out that Sengun’s absence could make the team more versatile on the defensive end.

“I think it gives us more options without Alpi there. That’s the only benefit, I would say, that we can get to more switching and more aggressive stuff,” Udoka said in his postgame presser following the Rockets’ 103-101 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, via ClutchFans on Twitter (X).

Ime Udoka says the Rockets will miss the low post scoring of Alperen Sengun, but defensively…

“I think it gives us more options without Alpi there,” said Udoka. “That’s the only benefit, I would say, that we can get to more switching and more aggressive stuff.” pic.twitter.com/AMsNIpkgEb

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) March 13, 2024

Indeed, as gifted of a player Alperen Sengun is on the offensive end, he does not have the best skillset on the defensive end. He has active hands, which helps him rack up steals, but he is vertically and laterally-challenged compared to his peers at the position. As a result, the Rockets are limited in their coverages with Sengun on the floor.

But now, Ime Udoka can have the Rockets playing a more frenetic brand of defense to try and open up opportunities in transition. With Amen Thompson now looking like a fixture in the starting lineup with Sengun out, the Rockets have more speed and athleticism to cover more ground.

At the end of the day, filling Alperen Sengun’s shoes will be a team effort. They will sorely miss the buckets he generates with his low-post scoring, but like they did in their most recent win over the Spurs, they can more than make up for his absence with better effort in other areas of the game.