Can Rockets Alperen Sengun meet lofty expectations in 2022?

There are going to be a lot of eyes on Alperen Sengun with the Houston Rockets in 2022. The expectations are going to be very high for the young big man.

There may not be any higher expectations on a player for the Rockets in 2022 than the ones that have been forming for the last year with Alperen Sengun.

Sengun was toted as a steal from the time that he arrived in the NBA, and between his promising play and impressive numbers when taken over the course of a normal game, it makes sense that the fanbase will be rabid about one of their young up and comers.

Sengun has been good. Perhaps not at the All-NBA level that some Rockets fans have pushed him towards by extrapolating his points on a per-36 basis, but he has been good enough that Houston felt comofrtable moving on from Christian Wood.

Moving on from Wood was no small task. Of all the guys on the roster, Wood was arguably the most established in the NBA and the most proven at that stage of his career (we can argue about Eric Gordon), and outside of Jalen Green, Wood was the guy.

The confidence that the Rockets have shown in Sengun by making this move is telling. They see a true starter there, and it seems like the rest of the NBA will see the same rather soon.

Will the performamce be exactly what we saw last season but over a larger sample? Likely not, but the per-36 stat can be flawed anyway. Fans probably need to throw that out before they become too reliant on it.

What the Rockets will get is competent defensive play, quality offensive ball movement through above-average passing skill, and the ability to finish in the paint at will.

This guy is going to fit with the young Rockets core like a glove. It is going to be very fun to see how he plays as a full-time starter.

Want to write about the Rockets? Apply here!