Late in the 2024-25 NBA season, the Houston Rockets found surprising success utilizing two-center lineups featuring both starter Alperen Sengun and backup Steven Adams.

The advantages in size, rebounding, and physicality were obvious, but there were always questions regarding how it could hold up in space, defensively.

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To mitigate that, head coach Ime Udoka often utilized a zone defense when Sengun and Adams shared the floor, and it fared relatively well.

So, who deserves the credit? Via his recent Turkish interview with with Socrates Dergi, Sengun gives much of the credit to his veteran backup.

Regarding Adams and the zone, Sengun said (translated via English subtitles):

Steven was really effective in the zone. He talks a lot. He’s got a ton of experience. He knows where to stand and directs me and Jabari (Smith Jr.) a lot. We adapted super quickly.

Steven and I kind of run things from the back. We talk constantly. I’m talking to Jabari, Steven is talking to me.

And when Fred (VanVleet) is out there, too… Fred is so smart, he always knows exactly where to be. That’s why zone defense really worked for us. It’s all about being smart and reading the game.

To that end, even though Adams is clearly a starting caliber center in the NBA and has functioned as one for most of his career, Sengun is glad to have him around.

“The day he signed with us, I immediately called our head coach (Udoka) and GM (Rafael Stone),” Sengun said. “Having such a great big man behind you might have bothered another player, but I was really happy.”

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“I learn a lot from him,” Sengun concluded. “He focuses entirely on us being the best we can be. He’s a great veteran. Steven’s main focus is for us to get better.”

With the Rockets having recently signed a third starting-caliber center in Clint Capela, expect even more double-big lineups and zone defensive schemes in the upcoming 2025-26 season.

More: Interview: Alperen Sengun on his offseason and the 2025-26 Rockets

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: As Rockets play more zone defense, Alperen Sengun credits Steven Adams