Alperen Sengun has surpassed Fred VanVleet as the Rockets' best passer

The Rockets' identity will always be built on defense, but their offense has also come a long way this season thanks to better playmaking. Fred VanVleet gets a lot of credit for that as the team's point guard, but the real hub has been center Alperen Sengun. Sengun has looked like the better outright passer than VanVleet so far, as he's averaging 7.8 assists per game compared to Fred's 6.8.

Sengun's playmaking has been brilliant to start the season

It should be obvious by now that Sengun is turning into a star this season. He's dominating every game regardless of the opponent. And he's also making the game easier for his teammates, even outside his own brilliant scoring. In each of his last three games, he's had at least 9 assists.

The Rockets' entire offensive system looks improved this season, but Sengun is still creating a lot of assists on his own rather than relying on the team's flow. Monday night had some standout examples as he recorded 10 assists in a comfortable victory over the Celtics. Sengun had one slick backdoor bounce pass to Kevin Durant for a dunk and another no-look feed to Amen Thompson for a dunk late in the game while being pressured.

It's such a boost for the Rockets offense to have Sengun be a great passer. Most teams have a lull when their center gets the ball, but that's when the Rockets can be most active. He rarely misses open cuts, so his teammates are always trying to free themselves up when he's got the ball either in the post or the top of the key.

Fred VanVleet has an important role still

Although VanVleet hasn't been making the same nifty passes or hitting every cutter, he's still got an important job as a game manager. Compared to Sengun, VanVleet does take less risks, which result in him having just 1 turnover per game. Sengun has 3.2 per game, on the other hand.

VanVleet is on the court to keep the Rockets system flowing, and he's done just that this season. The result naturally hasn't looked the same in the two games that Sengun has missed, but Houston's offense is 2nd in the league for a reason. Many of VanVleet's assists are more in the flow of the game rather than exploiting an advantage that he created himself - and that's perfectly fine.

In fact, at this point in his career, that's probably the preferred outcome for Fred and the coaching staff alike. Everyone else should be pleased that Sengun is outpacing VanVleet in assists and making flashier passes, because that's what they need from him as the team's offensive star.

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