Rockets have Alperen Sengun defensive problem without Fred VanVleet

As the Houston Rockets attempt to make a title run this season in spite of their loss of Fred VanVleet, the team will depend more than ever on franchise center Alperen Sengun in order to dominate both sides of the ball.

Yet, according to Sam Vecenie on the latest episode of The Game Theory podcast, VanVleet's absence could have a serious impact on Sengun's defensive game given his importance at the point of attack, and it remains to be seen whether Sengun can have the same defensive impact with VanVleet out of the lineup.

Undoubtedly, the Rockets will still put out a strong defensive front night in and night out, but the level to which Sengun's game can be elevated this season has a strong impact on their championship hopes, and VanVleet's absence could spell trouble on this front.

Fred VanVleet had an unnoticed impact on Sengun's defensive development

While the world finally got to see it on an international stage through Turkiye's historic run in the EuroBasket tournament, Sengun has proven to be one of the best centers in the world over the last two seasons. In 2024-25, he averaged 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists while taking large strides forward in his defensive capabilities in the paint and around the rim.

According to Vecenie, however, the injury to VanVleet could affect Sengun's responsibilities on that end of the floor: "[VanVleet] has been awesome at the point of attack. He's been really important for Alperen Sengun's growth on defense. Sengun has gotten much, much better on defense in large part because the team around him has gotten better at getting over the top of screens, and Fred is really, really good [at that]."

Although VanVleet is a smaller guard, and has his defensive limitations, he has always been an intense defender at the point of attack, managing to stay with his man and hold his own against quicker opposing guards.

For Sengun, who is not the speediest player, his ability to play help defense and hold his own in the paint has been dependent upon the ability of the team's perimeter defenders to prevent opposing players from blowing by them towards the basket.

Last season, en route to a nomination the All Star Game, Sengun posted a career-best 108 defensive rating: a statistic that was buoyed by the growing prowess of the team's perimeter defenders.

Now, while Houston will still have Amen Thompson available to take on some of that workload, much more of the team's defensive burden will fall on Sengun to shut down the paint, and this season will present the ultimate test of Sengun's budding defensive capabilities.