Rockets star thriving in big lineups at EuroBasket

Sengun stuffed the stat sheet in Friday's 92-78 win over the Czech Republic. He finished one assist shy of a triple-double in just 27:51 of action, shooting 8-for-9 from the field while scoring 23 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, delivering nine assists and blocking two shots in a game where he finished +14.

At the end of the season and especially in the playoffs, the Rockets were increasingly pairing the 6-foot-10 Sengun with center Steven Adams in "double big" lineups. The combination helped Houston to a massive rebounding advantage in the first round of the playoffs, where it collected 51 more rebounds than the Golden State Warriors in their seven-game series.

This summer, the Rockets doubled down on double bigs. They signed center Clint Capela to a three-year contract while they still have 6-foot-11 Jabari Smith Jr. coming off the bench. The idea is that Sengun's excellent passing and ability to hit mid-range jump shots makes up for playing him with a non-three-point shooter, given the advantages in defense and rebounding.

The Turkish team seems to be following a similar approach. Sengun is often sharing the court with 6-foot-11 center Ercan Osmani, Philadelphia 76ers center Adem Bona and former NBA center Omer Yurtseven. 

It's working well so far. Turkey is 2-0 after the Czech Republic game and a blowout of the Latvian national team in the Latvian capital of Riga. In that one, Sengun exploded early as Turkey took a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter and went on to win, 93-73.

Sengun finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the win Wednesday, working as the hub on offense as he and his teammates shut down the paint on defense.

The NBA and FIBA are different, but Latvia has many past and future NBA players, including star center Kristaps Porzingis, and the Turkish team dominated them. Playing Sengun at the four creates a matchup nightmare, as the All-Star is too fast and agile for many opposing centers and can shoot over smaller forwards. Send double teams and Sengun can carve up defenses with his passing.

Double big lineups appear to be bad news for Turkey's opponents and Sengun's NBA opponents, as well.