[Apathetic]Thread: Is Alperen Sengun a terrible defender?
Thread: Is Alperen Sengun a terrible defender..? lets find out using stats that are more focused towards individual defense than team defense (defensive rating).. For references I will use his comps. Sabonis and Jokic.. The first thing I look at is play type stats. pic.twitter.com/hJCLQdt2om
— Apathetic (@ftank58) January 29, 2023
by indieGenies
16 Comments
All thread tweets if you can’t find them:
https://twitter.com/ftank58/status/1619768918675177474
https://twitter.com/ftank58/status/1619768933300736001
https://twitter.com/ftank58/status/1619768941043404800
https://twitter.com/ftank58/status/1619768945539706880
https://twitter.com/ftank58/status/1619768951201988610
https://twitter.com/ftank58/status/1619768955379539968
No, he’s definitely not terrible. I don’t think he’ll ever be a defensive anchor, but he probably doesn’t need to be one if we build a good roster. Jabari is an almost ideal running mate for him if he can find his shot.
Really interesting stats. I agree that Sengun’s defensive limitations get overstated, and this proves it. Being so young and still looking good compared to guys with similar play styles really looks good for him.
However, I’d also like to see how he compares to other young centers right now. Like, how does he compare versus guys like Jalen Duren, Isaiah Jackson, Mark Williams, etc…. Is he similar from a defensive perspective, way off, or is he been better than them right now?
“To me this shows at worst Alperen is an average to below average defender”
So pretty much what the majority of people say. I would put him at below average, but like the tweets state, he’s 20.
Secondly, I’ve always maintained that it’s ok for him to be a below average defender on ball as long as his help defense improves, which we’ve seen slowly take place.
“Saying he is a terrible defender is just flat out wrong, he is a below average defender on a bad defensive team. at his age most players especially bigs struggle. Mobley’s stats without Allen are horrible. The question for Sengun is are his defensive limitations worth the upside”
When this team figure it out, Sengun’s quick feet gonna make him better than average defender for sure
Great post, appreciate the stats
really nice thread
honestly it conforms well with the eye test for me, i’ve been noting improvements in alpi’s defense compared especially to last year but even over the course of this season, and none of it speaks of ‘horrible defender’ to me. good to see the stats back that up. Though i would love to see the # of possessions per playtype per player in that thread
If you watch the Rockets games, at least he puts in effort on defense. I would always want someone who at least tries on defense than someone who just lazily stands there at times. Besides, if we look at Jokic and Sabonis, both have extremely solid playmaking and offense-building skills, which makes up for their average defense. Having someone like Jabari at the 4 can definitely help us on defense, similar to JJJ on the Grizzlies. I don’t see an issue with this at all
Alpy looked really bad defensively in some games, especially beginning of the season. But last couple games he is really showing a lot of improvement which makes me think that he can actually hold is own in that end. He is a smart kid and a quick learner, with time and experience , he can be average defender imo. He is definitely negative rn but I believe he will be ok in the future.
He’ll be like Jokic
Sengun will position himself well and be smart when defending. He won’t be great, but he won’t be terrible, but will be hunted in big moments and exposed from time to time.
He is not terrible. He makes terrible mistakes, lapses and can get worked but he is not a complete turnstile. He also isn’t the only one to blame for our defensive woes. That sadly is a team effort.
Interesting stats. Its what we all guessed though. He is a below average defender on a terrible defensive team. Give him more time and these kids more time and hopefully they only get better
His feel for the game will help his ability to position overcome the athletic limitations
He’s very young
No worse than Joker or Sabonis were at his age or experience level.
I think Sengun will fall under most other “bad defender” tags. The numbers and probably advanced numbers will never be in his favour, and he won’t be a defensive anchor.
But I also think that when you watch him, it’s not as bad as the numbers say. He will try hard, you will be a bit surprised at how he’s actually playing and that’s really all you can ask for. Reminds me of Isaiah Thomas (bad comparison haha). People use to say he was a terrible defender, well if you actually watched the games you would see he tries just as much as anyone and is decent fundamentally, it’s just his size that made him so easy to score against. Same will happen with Sengun.