How facing Draymond Green, Warriors changed Alperen Sengun’s playoff approach

Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets are gearing up for their best-of-seven series against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

It is Sengun’s second straight appearance in the playoffs, and he is expected to carry a heavy load for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who will have homecourt disadvantage.

Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard, and others gained ample experience from their maiden stint in the playoffs last season, wherein they lost to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the opening round despite being the higher seed.

Drawing several lessons from it, the 23-year-old Sengun now knows that he has to up the ante against the fourth-seeded Lakers even though they are handicapped without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

“I would say we had one of the best first playoff experiences ever, playing against the team that played in the finals, been in the playoffs for years, bringing the series to a Game 7,” said Sengun in the video posted by Sports Illustrated’s Lachard Binkley.

“They were a really good team. Draymond (Green) was amazing and taught me a lot with the matchups. Now I know what I am going to do out there. I just can’t be soft, I (must) go over there and dominate, and mental (toughness) matters a lot.”

Here, @kimydavis asked Alperen what he learned from last year's playoffs and how he has grown from that experience.

Sengun said facing Golden State was the best first playoff experience he could have had, especially going against Draymond Green.

“Draymond was amazing and taught… pic.twitter.com/4T4C8Dd3hb

— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) April 16, 2026

Sengun will be matched up against Deandre Ayton, who was initially clueless about their first-round opponent, and Jaxson Hayes. But that should not be a problem for the pride of Turkey, who has the versatility to tussle with them despite their contrasting styles.

Sengun will try to lead the Rockets past the first round for the first time since 2020.

He averaged career-highs of 20.4 points, 6.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks on top of 8.9 rebounds in the regular season.

The Rockets lost their season series against the Lakers, 2-1.

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