Alperen Şengün is 22nd on our 9-cat board and 38th in the consensus, and the assists explain most of the gap
Şengün's 12-for-15 night against Boston pushed him up our 9-cat board again. The free throws that worried us in October have held up so far, and his playmaking is doing the rest.
By James · 3 min read
Alperen SengunAmen ThompsonFred VanVleetPhotos: NBAProIn October we called Alperen Şengün a 9-cat problem, a points-league bargain whose free throws, missing threes and turnovers would drag him down two rounds in categories. Six games into the season, our own 9-cat board disagrees with the analysts' consensus about him by 16 places, with Şengün 22nd on ours and 38th on theirs, and the reason is less that the problems went away than that one of his strengths has grown large enough to carry them.
- Alperen Sengun HOU22ndvs 38th
- Amen Thompson HOU34thvs 22nd
- Fred VanVleet HOU88thvs 112th
- Kevin Durant HOU19thvs 14th
He gave the clearest example yet on Monday, when Houston beat Boston 109-93. Şengün scored 26 points on 12-for-15 shooting with 10 assists, seven rebounds, two steals, two blocks and one turnover in 38 minutes, a 76-point line under ESPN's standard scoring. ESPN's recap noted that the Rockets never trailed and outscored the Celtics 50-34 in the paint, with Paul George rested for Boston and Clint Capela out for Houston with a right ankle sprain.
Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
