HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets secured their first road victory in impressive fashion, defeating the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, who boasted a fully healthy squad. This was no small feat, especially considering the presence of Nikola Jokic, widely regarded as one of the best players in the league.
Returning back to Denver for a fourth and final season matchup with barely over a month into the season might call for NBA schedule mischief. Nevertheless, Houston came out with a win. This breakthrough road win wasn't solely the result of the Rockets tenacious defense, which stifled Denver's late fourth-quarter rally. A key factor was the aggressive play of Alperen Sengun against Jokic on both ends of the court.
Possible Two-Way Player?
Sengun's defensive efforts limited the two-time MVP Jokic to a mere 31.8% shooting on 7-of-22 attempts. On the offensive end, Sengun had a clear mission: relentlessly attack Jokic off the dribble or in the paint. He finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, with 14 of those points guarded by Jokic. Sengun's determination to challenge arguably the league's best player, someone he considers his idol, further establishes his franchise star reputation around the league on both sides of the court.
Given this crucial road win, Rockets are now set to leverage their impressive 9-1 home record as they face the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. In stark contrast to their road struggles (1-8), Houston's performance at the Toyota Center has been nothing short of spectacular, adding onto a nine-game winning home streak.
Meanwhile, the Spurs are in a streak of their own, losing sixteen straight games, with their last victory dating back to November 2nd. This is mainly due to their misusage of French phenom star Victor Wembanyama.
How Is Wemby Doing?
Looking at overall numbers, the 19-year old rookie has had an outstanding rookie season, averaging a double-double of 19 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. In his recent game against the Chicago Bulls, Wembanyama notched a 22-point, 20-rebound performance, becoming the first rookie to achieve a 20-20 game in over thirty years since Shaquille O'Neal in the 1992-1993 season.
To think his overall stats are to this level of dominance might have people perplexed with their 16-game skid. There are many reasons behind this, mainly due to Victor's shot selection, particularly in three-point shooting and turnovers. Wemby shoots threes at a low 25.5% success rate on 5.1 attempts per game. He has committed 3.3 turnovers per game while averaging just 2.5 assists converts to a 0.77 assist to turnover ratio.
Another key reason behind the constant losing this is due rotational placement issues within the team. On the Spurs depth chart, Victor is questionably listed as the power forward with Zach Collins assuming the center position. Jeremy Sochan takes the bulk of the point guard duties and has been struggling to fit the bill.
Sengun Should Be Wemby's Primary Defender
The question arises: Will Sengun be assigned the primary defensive role against Wembanyama? If so, can he prevent Wembanyama from replicating his stellar stats on Monday? On a positional head to head, Jabari Smith Jr. would take over the defensive duties. In the previous matchup, Houston's defensive strategy against the towering 7'4″ phenom was divided among Dillon Brooks, Jabari, and Sengun.
While it did limit Wembanyama to an 8-of-20 shooting performance, most of his successful shots came in crunch time when guarded by Jabari in the post. This played a significant role in the Spurs' 126-121 overtime victory.
Along with his timely shots, Wembanyama's offensive threat caused the need for Houston to focus more energy on him. This left room for his supporting cast to contribute easy baskets.
In order to hand the Spurs their 17th straight loss, the Rockets should adopt a strategy akin to the one employed by the Denver Nuggets against Jokic that translated into two wins. Let Wembanyama get his shots up and have Sengun switch on him to provide solid contests inside the arc. When he's on the perimeter, have Brooks guard him. This can disrupt Wembanyama's ability to receive the basketball cleanly and involve his teammates, potentially leading to more turnovers.
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