Rockets Star Makes Public Comments on Warriors Series: Are His Statements Valid?

For the second year in a row, Turkish forward Alperen Sengun has taken a step up to elevate his game. He earned the first all-star nod of his young career in the 2024-2025 season and quickly became an integral part of the Rockets’ regular-season success. However, as he said in a recent interview with Turkish magazine Socrates Dergi, drawing the Warriors “would give them the most trouble.” Surely enough, Golden State beat the Rockets in Game Seven, prematurely ending a promising playoff run for H-Town. 

However, that’s not all Sengun had to say about the series. In the same interview, he claimed that the Warriors “cried” all series long about getting no fouls called in their favor. He gave credit to Golden State’s playoff experience, but used that fact to offer a backhanded compliment. Sengun claimed that the Warriors fouled a lot themselves, insinuating that they use their recent success to know that referees will not call as many violations in the playoffs. In all fairness to his statements, this series was extremely physical, simply because that was a strength of both teams. 

What I think gives some validity to Sengun’s feelings has to do with a difference in coaching mentality. Steve Kerr has always given rope to his players to constantly have conversations with referees, not just to complain but to ask genuine questions about calls or point out little things. Ime Udoka has implemented a more mentally-rigid and emotionless structure, which Sengun confirmed when he said that coach Udoka “will lose his mind” if his players voice their frustrations to the officials. Knowing that the Rockets ultimately lost that series, it makes sense for them to feel like their treatment lacked fairness.

While I don’t think that Sengun is grasping at straws here, I believe he might need a reality check. It’s entirely possible for someone as young as the Rockets forward, 23, to have felt overwhelmed in this new experience. I get it. New star on the block and part of a young team’s core with aspirations of winning now. He did his part, averaging just under 21 points per game and recording a double-double in five of the seven games. Yet, Houston’s desired outcome never became reality.

Here’s what was objectively real. Despite having ridden serious momentum into the playoffs and having a hunger about their character during the entire season, Sengun and the Rockets ran into a wall. They were thrown in the deep end right away, facing a team that has won nearly half of this last decade’s championships. For Sengun specifically, he matched up against a defensive catalyst during this Warriors dynasty in Draymond Green, who has proven to intimidate opponents constantly. These facts lead me to ask myself: could the ability of players like Green to flip a switch and ramp up their intensity have caught the 23-year-old by surprise? 

Look, this is a grown man’s league. No one likes being the little brother in a physical war, especially not in the playoffs. The Rockets forward does make good points, and Udoka’s stance on the player-official relationship adds fuel to Sengun’s fire. Yet, at the end of the day, I don’t think these are feelings he would bother voicing if the Rockets won that series.