As the Houston Rockets prepared to enter the season without starting point guard Fred VanVleet, everyone knew that Alperen Sengun, in some shape or form, was going to need to make whatever the next leap in his game was.
In a monstrous, 39-point performance, Sengun flashed his ability to do exactly that, and, in the course of doing so, his five made 3-pointers on the night also showed that he might have overcome his biggest weakness.
Through his first four seasons in the league, Sengun shot just 27.2% from beyond the arc. However, if he can become even a respectable shooter from deep this season, he would add an entirely new wrinkle to the Rockets' offense, cementing his case as one of the NBA's elite centers.