Without Alperen Sengun, Houston’s offense has cratered in January

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The Rockets opened a three-game Western Conference road trip with Wednesday’s 103-102 loss (box score) to the Trail Blazers. Houston (22-12) fell to No. 6 in the Western Conference standings, while Portland (18-20) remains at No. 9.

One game after the Rockets won on a last-second shot, a potential game-winning tip shot by Tari Eason was ruled a fraction of a second late. (On the floor, it was ruled good before being overturned on a replay review.)

Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 41 points and 6 rebounds while making 13-of-24 shots (54.2%) and 13-of-15 free throws (86.7%).

Kevin Durant led Houston with 37 points on 14-of-26 shooting (53.8%) and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line (77.8%), while Amen Thompson added 24 points (50.0% FG), 12 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Rockets center Alperen Sengun remained sidelined by right ankle sprain, as is expected to be the case for at least another week.

In Sengun’s absence, the Rockets have struggled offensively. After ranking in the league’s top-three offenses for the 2025-26 season as a whole, Houston rates No. 15 in January — when Sengun has missed three of the four games to date.

In Wednesday’s loss, the Rockets shot a woeful 8-of-36 from 3-point range (22.2%), while the Trail Blazers were a much better 12-of-40 (30.0%). Unfortunately for Houston, that’s part of a larger trend.

Though the Rockets rank No. 4 in the NBA in 3-point accuracy for the season (38.2%), they are dead last (No. 30, at 27.3%) in January. Slumping shooters include:

Reed Sheppard: 26.1% on 3-pointers at 5.8 attempts per game
Jabari Smith Jr.: 25% on 3-pointers at 7.0 attempts
Kevin Durant: 25% on 3-pointers at 8.0 attempts
Aaron Holiday: 11.1% on 3-pointers on 2.3 attempts

During Wednesday’s loss, those four players combined to shoot just 4-of-21 from 3-point range (19.0%). For the 2025-26 season as a whole, each is shooting 37.4% or better from deep.

While some of that downturn likely comes down to randomness from a small sample, not having Sengun to generate higher-quality looks is certainly a factor, as well. A 2025 All-Star, Sengun leads the Rockets in assists per game (6.5), and his scoring and playmaking presence often draws additional defenders — which opens up the floor for teammates.

If there is any silver lining for the Rockets, it’s that after struggling on defense in December, they seem to have improved on that end of the court. In January, Houston ranks No. 6 in defense after finishing at No. 17 in December.

But those defensive improvements have been offset by a decline in offensive efficiency, and that is largely why the Rockets are just 2-2 in the month despite being favored to win each game. In the most recent three games that Sengun has missed, Houston’s offensive rating ranks No. 23 among the league’s 30 teams.

Next up for the Rockets and Trail Blazers is Friday’s rematch at Portland’s Moda Center, where tipoff is set for 9:00 p.m. Central. The game will televised regionally on Space City Home Network (SCHN) and nationally via NBA League Pass.

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This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Without Alperen Sengun, Houston’s offense has cratered in January

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