Şengün’s Efficiency Over Last 4 Games A Renewed Concern
· Yahoo Sports
The Houston Rockets lost on Saturday night, 102-99, to the Phoenix Suns. The defeat marked the first time the team had lost consecutive games this season, and while it leaves the Rockets at a still-impressive 7-3 record, it includes a worrying sign. Maybe this isn’t the season Rockets All-Star Alperen Şengün finally leaves his efficiency woes behind after all.
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Şengün’s Efficiency Issues Are Back and Fizzling Houston Possessions
Nov 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) flips the ball backwards to forward Kevin Durant (7) (not shown) as Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (15) defends in the third quarter at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn ImagesAfter some terrific Şengün scoring games to start the year, the big man has had three sub-40 % field-goal games in his last four outings. He shot 35.3% against the Oklahoma City Thunder to wrap up October. He shot 33.3% in a loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Then, on Saturday night, he shot 31.3% in Houston’s loss to Phoenix.
Şengün attempted 15 or more shots in all three of those games, and no more than two three-pointers in any of them. On Saturday, he had four points through the first three quarters.
To Şengün’s credit, the other two games in the last five saw him go a combined 23-of-30 from the field for a whopping 76.7%. He put up 29 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists against the Atlanta Hawks, and 26 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists versus the Boston Celtics.
Şengün also achieved his first triple-double of the season in the loss to the Wolves, with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, showcasing his usefulness outside of efficient scoring. Even so, it’s no coincidence that Şengün’s drop in efficiency coincides with Houston losing its first consecutive games of the season.
Examining How and Why Şengün’s Efficiency Dropped
One detail that’s important to consider is that Şengün has only played four games since briefly dipping out of the Rockets’ lineup with “back soreness”. His great game against Atlanta was before that hiatus, leaving the Boston matchup as his only efficient outing since he came back.
In the four 2026-27 games before Şengün’s absence, he hadn’t shot below 50% from the field and was averaging 24.5 points per game on 58.1% field goal shooting. In the four games since, 18.5 points on 44.4% from the field.
Delving further into the numbers, it becomes evident that Şengün’s problem isn’t settling for jumpers or anything like that. Rather, his efficiency within five feet of the basket has simply cratered. He went from 74.3% within that range to 51.5%.
It would be tempting to attribute such a drop to some kind of physical limitation on Şengün due to ongoing back soreness. But such an explanation would seem inconsistent with stretches such as his early fourth-quarter run against the Suns. Not only did Şengün make four of his five total baskets in the quarter, finishing with 15 points, but he was making contested layups off of mid-post isolations.
How the Rockets Are Using Şengün
Şengün’s actual finishing prowess seems largely unaffected. What is visibly different from the Rockets’ first few games of the season is that he is no longer getting easy dunks off of pick-and-rolls with the returned Fred VanVleet. When Şengün is used as the roll man in pick-and-roll, his efficiency remains elite. He is averaging 73.7% from the field on 3.0 possessions per game, good for an 86.2 percentile.
But Şengün is being used less as a roll man and more as a high-post initiator. Partly, this has been because of an increased emphasis on staggering Şengün and VanVleet’s minutes. The Turkish center has been playing less with VanVleet and more with the Rockets’ score-first guards like Reed Sheppard and Bogdan Bogdanović.
The logic is easy enough to follow. VanVleet and Şengün are the Rockets’ two best facilitators. Splitting them up means that the Rockets’ new, more passing-oriented offense can remain functional for 48 minutes. While Marcus Smart‘s passing chops might have initially seemed like a good fit with Şengün, it appears as though the former Celtics guard has struggled so far to mesh with his new big man’s game.
But the Rockets are also seemingly declining to play through the Şengün-VanVleet pick-and-roll even when both players are on the court. At this stage of the season, though, that makes sense. They know by now that that play is their best offense. Now is the time to be finding out what could be their second-best offense.
The Last Word
The Rockets will assuredly continue experimenting with their rotations as the season goes along. Just because their best looks come from the Şengün-VanVleet pick-and-roll doesn’t mean they should be spamming it in November.
That does mean there will be more theoretically avoidable losses like against the Suns along the way, but the goal is to find out what else can work to help Houston get through the 82-game regular season grind. Şengün’s efficiency will take a hit in the meantime, but fans should feel sanguine about the efficacy of Houston’s approach.
Featured Image: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
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