RealGM

This PF/C duo is probably best in the NBA.

In the post, in the midrange, on the perimeter, passing out of double teams. You choose.

Durant 26 points on 17 shots and getting to the line more than he's done since he was 25 years old in OKC (7.4 FTA).
Sengun 23 points on 17 shots with 7.4 assists while makinig 44% of his 3's

We're 9-1 in our last 10 games. Watch them steal this game from the Magic who are throwing everything at them:

https://youtu.be/TjHAhP2-77s?si=vu40IxZ9z2HBB4rb

Still not as good as the Nuggets and Thunder.
Thex are leading the rest of the pack though.

If only FVV didnt get injured man... They'd be my favorite with him at the point and Sheppard as a super guard

It's a good duo, and a good solution to not having a regular table-setter. I do still kinda worry about it in the PO, I have a lot of faith in KD to make tough shots and Sengun is showing counters for basically everything, but it's still a tough way to make a living against a good locked in defense in today's NBA. Fun team either way.

Also that game was completely wild. Curious why you say they 'stole' it though--if anything it seems like the Magic should've stolen it and the Rockets had to make some big time plays to force it to OT. And then they just outplayed them by a little bit in OT, which isn't unusual. Just a good hard win.

Yes, Sengun is a much better compliment to Durant compared to guys like Kyrie and Booker.

Match made in heaven. I can't imagine what it's like for Rockets dans to go from Jalen Green to Kevin Durant. I guess the perfect opposite of going from Lukas to AD.

Sengun is a versatile player that pairs nicely with KD. I think he does have some weaknesses as a center with only a 7 foot wingspan similar to Sabonis. Rockets have other big bodies to use but it will require smart rotations. They will likely have trouble with OKCs bigs if to meet in playoffs.

316Hornets wrote:Sengun is a versatile player that pairs nicely with KD. I think he does have some weaknesses as a center with only a 7 foot wingspan similar to Sabonis. Rockets have other big bodies to use but it will require smart rotations. They will likely have trouble with OKCs bigs if to meet in playoffs.

I'm not sure they'll have THAT much trouble.
The Rockets have Sengun, Adams, Smith Jr, even Capela to come in and give them a few minutes of 100% energy if need be.

PistolPeteJR wrote:

316Hornets wrote:Sengun is a versatile player that pairs nicely with KD. I think he does have some weaknesses as a center with only a 7 foot wingspan similar to Sabonis. Rockets have other big bodies to use but it will require smart rotations. They will likely have trouble with OKCs bigs if to meet in playoffs.

I'm not sure they'll have THAT much trouble.
The Rockets have Sengun, Adams, Smith Jr, even Capela to come in and give them a few minutes of 100% energy if need be.

They also have a bunch of lengthy guys like Amen Thompson & Jabari Smith that can disrupt other teams.

Capela & Adams are there for bodying up other bigs in spot mins in the playoffs.

Sane wrote:This PF/C duo is probably best in the NBA.

In the post, in the midrange, on the perimeter, passing out of double teams. You choose.

Durant 26 points on 17 shots and getting to the line more than he's done since he was 25 years old in OKC (7.4 FTA).
Sengun 23 points on 17 shots with 7.4 assists while makinig 44% of his 3's

We're 9-1 in our last 10 games. Watch them steal this game from the Magic who are throwing everything at them:

https://youtu.be/TjHAhP2-77s?si=vu40IxZ9z2HBB4rb

First maybe if Jokic and AG didn’t exist and that’s if we are strictly using PF/C duos.

TheGeneral99 wrote:Yes, Sengun is a much better compliment to Durant compared to guys like Kyrie and Booker.

Agreed. With KD, (especially old man KD, but really any version), he's at his best playing next to a source of rim pressure. Russ was this, Steph/Draymond was this, Harden was this. Kyrie and Booker are also guys who are at their best playing off someone else's pressure. They simply don't amplify each other the way the other duos do. KD is basically the best weakside attacker ever. In his prime, he was a very capable primary/strongside attacker too, but now he doesn't pressure the rim as much on his old legs.

I'm not even saying this in a hierarchical kind of way. You need a good strongside attacker and weakside attacker to have a good offense. Having two strongside attackers doesn't always work well, because they both need the ball to initiate to create value. Two strongside guys can't help each other much. A weakside guy takes the pressure off by punishing the defense for overplaying the strongside guy. Two weakside guys can't help each other because one needs to create the initial pressure. Booker and Durant were so bad at that.

Sengun and KD are pretty perfect for each other. Sengun wants to mash in the paint, go hard at the rim, and look for playmaking opportunities. KD is so good off the catch, and is unguardable in iso. If you're their opponent, sending help at Sengun, but that resulting in KD getting the ball weakside... that's Houston's main game plan you fell into.

AleksandarN wrote:

Sane wrote:This PF/C duo is probably best in the NBA.

In the post, in the midrange, on the perimeter, passing out of double teams. You choose.

Durant 26 points on 17 shots and getting to the line more than he's done since he was 25 years old in OKC (7.4 FTA).
Sengun 23 points on 17 shots with 7.4 assists while makinig 44% of his 3's

We're 9-1 in our last 10 games. Watch them steal this game from the Magic who are throwing everything at them:

https://youtu.be/TjHAhP2-77s?si=vu40IxZ9z2HBB4rb

First maybe if Jokic and AG didn’t exist and that’s if we are strictly using PF/C duos.

Especially if Gordon keeps playing like this.
Initially, this debate looks like 2x All-NBA level guys vs. and MVP and a borderline all-star. Gordon has been playing like an actual all-star though. Not only is he doing his normal defense and finishing stuff, but this year he's been such a versatile bucket getter for Denver. He's simply solid in all kinds of scoring play types. He's hitting his catch & shoot looks. He posts guys, or drives into post ups, or drives into strong finishes. His pull up game off the dribble from midrange has been a reliable go-to for the Nuggets when their other stuff doesn't work.

Gordon's 3-point shooting wont stay at this level, but the rest of his improvements look real.

That's why I predicted in my profile that KD will win multiple championships in Houston.
Rockets are too big, and shoot too well, for anyone to stop them over 7 games
And the shortest Rocket is an absolute machine = Reed Sheppard = .491 field, .478 downtown, 12.6 points, 3.6 assists, 1.3 turnovers
And last season VanVleet only shot .378 field, .345 downtown, so him being injured isn't a disaster, plus it gives Amen ball experience

schnakenpopanz wrote:Still not as good as the Nuggets and Thunder.
Thex are leading the rest of the pack though.

Thunder needed double-OT to beat Rockets in the season opener by ONE point, when Rockets had no chemistry

Sane wrote:This PF/C duo is probably best in the NBA.

In the post, in the midrange, on the perimeter, passing out of double teams. You choose.

Durant 26 points on 17 shots and getting to the line more than he's done since he was 25 years old in OKC (7.4 FTA).
Sengun 23 points on 17 shots with 7.4 assists while makinig 44% of his 3's

We're 9-1 in our last 10 games. Watch them steal this game from the Magic who are throwing everything at them:

https://youtu.be/TjHAhP2-77s?si=vu40IxZ9z2HBB4rb

The behind the back pass by Sengun after battling for all those offensive rebounds, loved it

cupcakesnake wrote:

AleksandarN wrote:

Sane wrote:This PF/C duo is probably best in the NBA.

In the post, in the midrange, on the perimeter, passing out of double teams. You choose.

Durant 26 points on 17 shots and getting to the line more than he's done since he was 25 years old in OKC (7.4 FTA).
Sengun 23 points on 17 shots with 7.4 assists while makinig 44% of his 3's

We're 9-1 in our last 10 games. Watch them steal this game from the Magic who are throwing everything at them:

https://youtu.be/TjHAhP2-77s?si=vu40IxZ9z2HBB4rb

First maybe if Jokic and AG didn’t exist and that’s if we are strictly using PF/C duos.

Especially if Gordon keeps playing like this.
Initially, this debate looks like 2x All-NBA level guys vs. and MVP and a borderline all-star. Gordon has been playing like an actual all-star though. Not only is he doing his normal defense and finishing stuff, but this year he's been such a versatile bucket getter for Denver. He's simply solid in all kinds of scoring play types. He's hitting his catch & shoot looks. He posts guys, or drives into post ups, or drives into strong finishes. His pull up game off the dribble from midrange has been a reliable go-to for the Nuggets when their other stuff doesn't work.

Gordon's 3-point shooting wont stay at this level, but the rest of his improvements look real.

Yeah it is crazy how much he improved his shot not only from the 3pt range but from the stripe aswell. It’s unbelievable how much a leap he has taken as a shooter. I think we should treat a 40 percent 3 point shooter from now I think. Has there been anyone else who has taken such a big leap lately? He is now a three level scorer. Definitely underrated.

Not as good as the Thunder and Clippers

cupcakesnake wrote:

AleksandarN wrote:

Sane wrote:This PF/C duo is probably best in the NBA.

In the post, in the midrange, on the perimeter, passing out of double teams. You choose.

Durant 26 points on 17 shots and getting to the line more than he's done since he was 25 years old in OKC (7.4 FTA).
Sengun 23 points on 17 shots with 7.4 assists while makinig 44% of his 3's

We're 9-1 in our last 10 games. Watch them steal this game from the Magic who are throwing everything at them:

https://youtu.be/TjHAhP2-77s?si=vu40IxZ9z2HBB4rb

First maybe if Jokic and AG didn’t exist and that’s if we are strictly using PF/C duos.

Especially if Gordon keeps playing like this.
Initially, this debate looks like 2x All-NBA level guys vs. and MVP and a borderline all-star. Gordon has been playing like an actual all-star though. Not only is he doing his normal defense and finishing stuff, but this year he's been such a versatile bucket getter for Denver. He's simply solid in all kinds of scoring play types. He's hitting his catch & shoot looks. He posts guys, or drives into post ups, or drives into strong finishes. His pull up game off the dribble from midrange has been a reliable go-to for the Nuggets when their other stuff doesn't work.

Gordon's 3-point shooting wont stay at this level, but the rest of his improvements look real.

If you drop his first game alone he falls back to a very reasonable 37% which can be sustained. But it just showcases how massively skewed he was from game 1 of the year.

bonita_the_frog wrote:That's why I predicted in my profile that KD will win multiple championships in Houston.
Rockets are too big, and shoot too well, for anyone to stop them over 7 games
And the shortest Rocket is an absolute machine = Reed Sheppard = .491 field, .478 downtown, 12.6 points, 3.6 assists, 1.3 turnovers
And last season VanVleet only shot .378 field, .345 downtown, so him being injured isn't a disaster, plus it gives Amen ball experience

schnakenpopanz wrote:Still not as good as the Nuggets and Thunder.
Thex are leading the rest of the pack though.

Thunder needed double-OT to beat Rockets in the season opener by ONE point, when Rockets had no chemistry

FVV injury could be a blessing in disguise, Rockets went from 115 off rating last season to a 125 off rating this season, and i dont think all of it was KD, Sheppard getting a chance to shine is also a big part of that. The one game they were missing his presence was against okc down the stretch they were having trouble getting the ball past midcourt due to lacking a primary ballhandler. outside of the okc game they've been just fine without him.

durant is at his best when he plays with facilitators that look for him to get the ball. he's too tall to iso and create for himself consistently.

it's a shame he spent a large chunk of his prime playing with Kyrie and Westbrook

They're a lot better than I thought they'd be. It's a shame they lost FVV for the season. They might have actually been able to compete with OKC if they had him.