Alperen Sengun sent a loud message that Rockets fans need to hear

The Rockets know all about pressure on the court after two consecutive tough playoff exits in the last couple seasons, but star center Alperen Sengun also emphasized how much they face pressure off the court thanks to rabid fans. In an interview with Turkish outlet Socrates Dergi, Sengun opened up about deleting his Twitter to get away from angry fans spreading divisive rhetoric and pointing fingers at different members of the Rockets.

Sengun has had enough of fans being ridiculous

Not only did Sengun criticize fans who were nitpicking his own performances, he also spoke up about fans deflecting blame from him onto his teammates and coaches too. Sengun acknowledged his own flaws and admitted his mistakes, especially in the playoffs against the Lakers, but saw that his most diehard fans couldn't accept that reality. Instead, those fans chose to emphasize poor decisions or bad plays from other Rockets to cover up for Sengun.

Of course, all the Rockets are working on addressing their weaknesses this offseason. But Sengun makes a good point that fans can't expect perfection from any of them, especially young players that are still developing. The Rockets have yet to experience any playoff success with this version of the team, but hopefully that will come in due time as their young core grows.

Even worse, Sengun added that fans often tried to pit the Rockets against each other, which made social media a draining experience for him. Instead, true fans should be happy about any players on the team developing and playing well, since that will lead to better team outcomes. Regardless of how fans feel on the performances of individual players, the guys actually suiting up need to be united and have each other's backs.

Fans need to be better towards the Rockets and the NBA

Sengun's complaints might not even be directly targeted at Rockets fans, but rather general NBA fans who targeted the Rockets following key losses. Either way, they deserve more grace as a young team that lost most of their veteran leadership on the court - Fred VanVleet, Kevin Durant and Steven Adams - on the court by the playoffs.

Even if fans have high expectations for the Rockets next season, they can't lash out in anger at the team if they fail to meet those expectations. Obviously, the team is doing whatever they can to win games on the court and compete for a championship. But not every season can be a title run and not every game can be an easy win.

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