If you pay attention to the lineups the Houston Rockets were throwing out late in the game against the Golden State Warriors, you’d notice quite the glaring absence: no Alperen u015eengün, their up-and-coming center on an All-Star trajectory. Why then, you would ask, did the Rockets bench arguably their best player? The answer is simple: because the Warriors defense had completely taken away u015eengün from the Rockets offense, all while highlighting his compromising presence on the defensive end for the Rockets.
u015eengün played only 20 minutes and 38 seconds. While putting up 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting doesn’t seem like a damning stat line, the Rockets were outscored by seven points in those minutes.