The Houston Rockets have built upon their return to relevancy during the 2023-24 season quite well, as they are blossoming into a playoff-caliber team right before our very eyes. Their strong start to the 2024-25 campaign continued on Wednesday when they took a dominant 130-113 win over the Indiana Pacers at home to move to 11-5 on the year.
At the heart of the Rockets’ victorious efforts, as is usually the case, was Alperen Sengun. Known for his stat-sheet stuffing ways, Sengun put the Pacers’ defense to the sword and did the bulk of his damage as a scorer, getting the best of Myles Turner throughout the night. He finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds, and (a bit uncharacteristically) just two assists, and in so doing, Sengun established himself even further as one of the best playmaking centers in the game at such a young age.
As pointed out by StatMamba on X (formerly known as Twitter), Sengun is now the record-holder for most assists by a center in NBA history before turning 23 years old, with 864 career dimes.
Sengun is as close a player as there is in the NBA to the likes of Domantas Sabonis and even Nikola Jokic; all three are European-born big men who can function as a team’s de facto floor general. Sengun’s advantage, however, is that he established himself much earlier as a starting center in the league, allowing him to rack up dimes that much faster.
The Rockets have built their offense around Sengun’s unique skillset for a five-man, and playing to one of, if not the team’s outright best player’s strengths is quite the recipe for success. Sengun’s feel for the game is incredible, and the Rockets, as a team, have been matching the 22-year-old’s ascent.
Rockets continue take-off towards league’s elite
The Rockets are finally reaping the rewards of their rebuilding efforts to start off the decade. Their young core has been very impressive to begin the 2024-25 campaign, and the team has come together, especially on the defensive end, to fuel their impressive 11-5 start. And none of what they’re doing is a fluke; they have a net rating of +8.5, which is good for the fifth-best in the league at the moment.
Last season, the Rockets simply fell short of their bid to make it at least to the play-in tournament. But now, they’re looking like a favorite to secure an outright playoff berth, provided, of course, that they maintain their current level of play or at least avoid any major drop-offs.
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