Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who has been sidelined since March 10 due to knee and ankle injuries, had hoped to get back on the court in the season’s final week, but it doesn’t look like it’ll happen, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).
“I would say (it’s) unlikely,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “Alperen still has swelling. A lot was going to be based on our results and how we finished the season. No need to really rush him back.”
Sengun enjoyed a breakout year for the Rockets this season, averaging 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 32.5 minutes per game across 63 starts. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension as of this July.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- The Spurs will hold Victor Wembanyama out of action on Wednesday at Oklahoma City in the second end of a back-to-back set due to right ankle management, writes Andrew Lopez of ESPN. San Antonio appears to just be playing it safe with its franchise player as the season winds down, but it means Wembanyama won’t get one more matchup with fellow rookie standout Chet Holmgren. The two big men are virtual locks to be the top two vote-getters for this season’s Rookie of the Year award.
- Mavericks wing Josh Green has missed the club’s past 12 games due to a sprained right ankle, but he appears to be on the verge of a return. As Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets, Green’s status for Wednesday’s game in Miami has been upgraded to questionable.
- The Pelicans are getting more comfortable playing small-ball, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com, who notes that Jonas Valanciunas‘ playing time has declined in recent weeks — the veteran center played a season-low four minutes in Sunday’s win over Phoenix. “It’s something I have been watching and studying and feeling for a long time,” head coach Willie Green said. “We are getting more and more comfortable playing a small unit. We got to continue to rebound. We outrebounded them (on Sunday). When we go small, play fast and open up the floor, it’s harder for teams to load up the paint on us.”
According to rumors, Rockets are targeting the following 3 stars this summer
Donovan Mitchell
Ingram
Zion
That’s all I care.
Patience = play lotto
Trade = Playoffs
I read the news this morning. Lakers still have a chance to be the 6th seed.
Next 5 days
If Pelicans lose 3 in a row …
If Suns lose 3 in a row …
If Kings lose 2 in a row
Lakers have a better shot at the 10th seed then they do the 6th.
I know this is random, but I saw that Val’s minutes are shrinking with the Pels going to small ball, I thought I would check out Jonas’ stats to see if he’s been struggling. I was shocked to see that he has 11.5K points and more than 8K rebounds in his career. I know dude has been around for a while, but he’s just not a guy that I think of when talking about players in the last decade who have had good careers.
If they lose on Sunday vs Pelicans they might finish tenth (of course they’re not losing on friday vs grizzlies, who are going to play with a bunch of d-leaguers)