Four Things With Frank: Alperen Şengün’s Scoring Leap, An Intriguing Cavs Lineup And More

Key Highlights

• Alperen Şengün is making a career-high 52 percent of his shots from midrange, which ranks in the 84th percentile among big men, according to Cleaning the Glass
• The Cleveland Cavaliers have outscored opponents by 27 points in the 25 minutes that Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Max Strus and Evan Mobley have played together this season
• Reggie Jackson is averaging 12.9 points on 58.2 percent true shooting

Another edition of “Four Things With Frank” is here, with a slant toward the young guys and one veteran turning back the clock.

Let’s get to it.

Alperen Şengün Is Expanding His Game

In his third season, Sengun is asserting himself as a bona fide star for the upstart Houston Rockets, which find themselves 8-8 and amid the crowded playoff race out West. Through 16 contests, the Turkish center is averaging 21.0 points (60.6 percent true shooting), 8.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists. He’s been especially potent as a scorer lately, averaging 23.1 points over his last nine games, compared to 18.3 points during his initial seven outings.

Scoring is the biggest leap for the 21-year-old. In his first two seasons, he averaged 23.7 points per 100 possessions. This year, he’s averaging 32.1 points per 100 possessions. Much of this growth stems from his newfound, versatile intermediate game.

A year ago, his midrange frequency spiked from 24 percent as a rookie to 40 percent and has steadied to 42 percent in 2023-24. Yet he only converted 45 percent (54th percentile) of those looks in 2022-23. It was clearly a work in progress as he expanded his arsenal beyond the rim and free-throw line.

It’s not been an issue to open this season. He’s drilling 52 percent (84th percentile) of his midrange jumpers and holsters an assortment of moves: the one-legged fadeaway, a shotput floater, a pull-up off the catch, and comfort scoring through contact.

His bag is an amalgamation of some premier scoring big man. The fadeaway is a nod to Dirk Nowitzki. The floater honors Nikola Jokic. The jump-stop-into-the-jumper is a move Joel Embiid frequents these days. Sengun’s arsenal has embers of each.

During his rookie season, Sengun came off the bench and often pummeled backups with his physicality, strength and flexibility to live at the foul line. But given his lack of vertical leaping, length and size, I was hesitant about how he’d scale up into a starting role and continue dominating as a scorer against longer, more physically equipped centers. While he’s seemingly become quicker and more explosive, his midrange prowess is among the leading factors for why I’ve been so wrong and why he’s blossomed.

His .279 free-throw rate is nearly half his rookie year clip of .442. He doesn’t rely on the charity stripe like he used to, yet his true shooting percentage is the highest it’s ever been (60.6). He’s knocking down a career-best 61.1 percent of his two-pointers as well — up from 53.9 percent in 2021-22 and 57.0 in 2022-23.

Whenever All-Star teams are announced in a few months, Sengun should be included. He’s a tremendously good player who’s developed considerably to reach this level, and the heart of that development resides in the midrange.

Have The Cavs Discovered A Juggernaut Lineup?

With linchpins Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen all missing time, the first month of the season has been a bumpy ride for the 10-8 Cavaliers, which are trending up and have won six of their past eight games. As their core regains full health, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Co. are now afforded options to establish the optimal lineups. And recently, they might’ve landed on quite the lethal unit that’s rampaged opponents thus far: Garland, Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Max Strus and Evan Mobley.

In their 128-105 rout of the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, that group shared the floor for nine minutes and outscored the Hawks, 28-20. On the season, they’ve played 25 minutes together. Cleveland has won those minutes, 70-43.

The appeal is wide-ranging and obvious. It puts four ball-handlers and floor-spacers around a dominant defensive anchor and excellent play-finishing center. Each of those perimeter players are physical defensively and capable of holding up. The Cavs switch 1-5 in this lineup and Mobley’s ground coverage ensures nobody is really left on an island. The offense hums with this quintet. I could — and maybe already did — watch the following clip on repeat for hours.

Poetry in motion pic.twitter.com/ayMvitHhK6

— Tony Pesta (@Tony_Pesta) November 29, 2023

The benefit of signing both Strus and Georges Niang last summer is there’s some interchange available with this identity. Swap Niang in for Garland and Cleveland is plus-22 in 39 minutes. Swap Niang for Mitchell and it’s plus-three in 13 minutes. Niang for LeVert? Plus-four in eight minutes.

A singular game against the Atlanta Hawks, the league’s 23rd-ranked defense, cannot be the only affirmation, nor can the entire, brief 25-minute sample. Whether it’s Niang or Strus, the lack of size and mobility at the 4-spot could spell trouble. It’s not matchup-proof.

But the intrigue is easy to understand and the early returns are encouraging. It should help inform how Cleveland approaches upgrades this season and long-term around Mobley. In the interim, trading for Kelly Olynyk would be a savvy move. He’s an excellent shooter and savvy connective playmaker who can drive closeouts and survive defensively. He’s also 6’11” and offers legitimate size at the 4, despite not being a rim protector.

At some point, it feels like the Cavaliers must make a decision about the Mobley-Allen frontcourt. It doesn’t have to be immediate. They shouldn’t rush to move Allen, who’s a very good player helping fortify a menacing defense. But given his offensive limitations — minimal shooting and true ball skills — I’m dubious he’s the ideal player next to Mobley as the budding star reaches his prime.

The allure and promise of this new lineup could shape Cleveland’s future plans and amplify its present goals.

The Reggie Jackson Renaissance

Earlier this week, on a Monday sporting only five NBA games and a single West Coast battle, Reggie Jackson detonated against his old team, the Los Angeles Clippers. With Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon all sidelined, the veteran point guard led the shorthanded Denver Nuggets to a 113-104 road win behind a captivating 35 points (15-of-19 shooting) and 13 dimes. The dude held court all evening long.

It marked his final start before Murray returned from a three-week absence. During those 11 starts, Jackson averaged 15.6 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds on a .527/.432/.714 slash line (61.3 percent true shooting). Subtract Monday’s performance and he still slapped down a nightly 14-4-3 on 57.3 percent true shooting in place of Murray.

For the year, he’s averaging 12.9 points (58.2 percent true shooting), 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds. He’s shooting 44 percent on catch-and-shoot triples and 56.1 percent on two-pointers. Monday may have been his blow-the-roof-off bonanza, but it was far from the lone time he’s stepped up and played well this season.

Jackson operates with such a distinct, joyful verve. He slaloms, skips and bounds his way into buckets. It’s like he’s playing hop-scotch and there simply happens to be a basketball hoop nearby. Whether it’s at the rim (67 percent, 62nd percentile), in the midrange (49 percent, 69th percentile) or beyond the arc (41 percent, 86th percentile), the 33-year-old is cooking.

Jackson’s been candid about how he would have retired years ago if it weren’t for Paul George. He’s talked about once losing his joy for the game of basketball. But here he is, an NBA champion thriving in a crucial role for a title contender. It’s a pleasure to watch.