Averaging 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, Alpern Şengün was the most impactful player for the Rockets against the Lakers this postseason.
So, slowing him down and disrupting what makes him effective became critical for the Lakers in Game 6.
In previous contests, the Lakers tried to double Şengün, which led him to find open shooters and give Houston offensive advantages they capitalized on.
The counter the Lakers went with in Game 6 was to trust their bigs to handle him in one-on-one situations.
It worked as the Lakers went on to win and close out the series.
“Jaxson and [Ayton], with the adjustment we made going into Game 5, made a small tweak to some Şengün stuff this morning, those guys were just phenomenal defensively and really did a great job of protecting the rim,” head coach JJ Redick said postgame. “The adjustment we made was [Ayton] was going to guard Şengün one-on-one and we were going to crossmatch if [Ayton] was not on the floor. That allowed us to keep our big at the rim on most possessions.”
Thanks to Redick’s adjustment and the player’s execution, Şengün struggled. He had just one assist, turned the ball over four times and had a game-worst plus-minus of -27,.
Containing Şengün isn’t an easy task, and it’s even harder to do alone on an island, but Ayton did well, and Hayes also was able to defend without fouling. With no doubles, there were no open players for Şengün to find and he couldn’t score over the Lakers centers enough to force another adjustment.
“I went up to him right after the game and told him he was one of the biggest factors in us winning tonight,” Austin Reaves said of Ayton. “His physicality guarding Şengün, the way he rebounded the ball offensively, defensively. Sixteen rebounds is a big number. Just his presence and his physicality and the way that he can guard in the post one-on-one and if we’re getting hurt with something else, he can switch one through five.”
Ayton overall did a great job defending Şengün. The latter had his moments, but for the most part, Ayton got the better of him.
The key in Game 6 was Ayton handling Şengün and Jaxson Hayes matching that intensity. Ayton can’t play every moment, so with Hayes holding his own, the Lakers got good defensive minutes at the five for the entire contest.
The credit goes to Redick for making the adjustment and his players for being good enough to get it done.
This was in stark contrast to last year’s playoffs, when it seemed Redick didn’t trust any bigs and the ones who played did a poor job.
Fast forward a year later, and Ayton is thriving and the Lakers are moving on to the second round thanks to their efforts.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
