NBA fans generally expected there to be at least one young Southwestern Division team hovering near the top of the Western Conference standings. The Oklahoma City Thunder, unsurprisingly, top the conference so far. But just a game and a half behind them are the breakout Houston Rockets, who are humming on all cylinders.
Part of Houston’s stellar start can be traced to the continued solid play of center Alperen Şengün. The fourth-year Turkish star developed rapidly in his first three years in the NBA, establishing himself as an upper-echelon player and finishing third in Most Improved Player voting in 2023-24. This season, Şengün is averaging 19.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, and he has eliminated many of the defensive lapses that limited his upside in his first three seasons.
Şengün and the Rockets will try to keep pressure on the Thunder on Thursday night when they face the Golden State Warriors at 10 pm. ET. The Warriors will be without forward Draymond Green (calf) and star point guard Stephen Curry (injury management).
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Rockets (-162) are slight favorites and the point total is set to 219.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around Houston’s man in the middle.
Best Alperen Şengün Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Alperen Şengün O10.5 Rebounds (-115)
The Warriors have been somewhat of a surprise this season, relying on a deep roster and a 12-man rotation to open 12-8, good for sixth place in the West. But, for all their strengths, they are undersized, starting the six-foot-six Green at power forward and six-foot-nine Trayce Jackson-Davis at center. Opponents to gobbled up 46.1 rebounds per game against them, tied for the third-most in basketball. Golden State’s woes on the boards are unlikely to be alleviated on Thursday night in the absence of Green and Curry, two of the better pound-for-pound rebounders in the league.
The Warriors’ lack of size plays right into Şengün’s — and the Rockets’ — hands. Houston ranks first in the league with 50.1 boards per game and a 52.9% rebounding percentage, led by their talisman Şengün, who has improved as a rebounder in each season of his NBA career. Şengün ranks ninth so far this year in rebounds and is snagging a career-best 18.0% of available boards when he’s on the court. With both teams playing at an above-average pace and Curry, the greatest shooter of all time, sidelined, Şengün should have plenty of opportunities to dominate the glass.
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