What We Learned Houston Rockets Edition: Game 41/Midseason Awards

Halfway. We are halfway through this strange year that has not seemed to let up, whether that be disappointment, injuries, lack of development by a certain someone.

We made it this far. Much farther than any of us expected. It’s time to execute in these final 41 games (Maybe not tonight against the Celtics due to half of the team being out along with a back to back.) Still got 40 more, baby! What We Learned Houston Rockets Edition: Game 41/Midseason Awards.

Amen Thompson had a game saving block. The Rockets actually performed well enough down the stretch in a fatigued overtime game. Alperen Sengun dropped a career high 37 points. Jabari Smith Jr. showed out. This game had it all, top to bottom.

Is Sengun making the next leap in to becoming a great defender? Last night gave us plenty of ammo to load any and all clips.

This win was very encouraging, but overall, not the greatest weekend in Houston sports.

Go win it all Baltimore.

If you don’t like Lamar Jackson, you need to work on yourself and appreciate greatness.

Back to basketball.

I’m going to do a thing.

I’m going to throw four awards at your face. Here we go

MVP: Is it even a question?

Jale- excuse me, I mean Alperen Sengun.

The leaps we have through the halfway mark put him in the top three center conversation immediately. I cannot believe how blessed we are to have him. It’s like seeing your child somehow hit his first coach-pitch home run at 5 years old. He is miles ahead of the rest of that draft class.

VOTY (veteran of the year):

Jeff Green

Jeff Green’s second stint in a Rockets uniform has been much different than the first. No Harden, no Westbrook, just vibes. Seeing his bench presence along with how hard he always plays made this award easier than Jeff Green hitting a LeFuckYou three pointer. Love you Jeff. Some people call him the Michael Brantley of the Houston Rockets, and I would have to agree. His bounce seemed to never leave either.

Leadership Award:

Fred VanVleet

While, Fred isn’t shooting the greatest this year, the stat is kind of skewed due to his high three point shooting percentage. The guy has been automatic from midrange this year. It feels like shades of Chris Paul in a rockets uniform at times. He slows the game down and makes the right looks much more often than not. His leadership at late points in games could be the difference between 20 wins or 16 wins at the halfway point. That connection with Alperen Sengun seems stronger than ever.

Rookie of the Year:

Cam Whitmore

This past month has really opened my eyes as to how raw Cam is. The guy can jump out of the gym and will take a shot with any lick of given space. That slight trigger could make or break him, but at this point in his young career, it’s clear he has the tools to work it all out.

Seeing how this team is working through the nooks and crannies of how grueling an NBA season can be on a nightly basis, you can’t help but enjoy what you are seeing in front of your eyes. With an entirely new team essentially flipped upside down over night, practically being at .500 is one of the best case scenarios possible.

It’s time we take these next 41 games and make them our bitch. The scheduling is on our side and the squad will be facing plenty of mid-tier eastern conference teams to bring confidence to the team as they are working towards a play-in run.

EXCECUTE!

If you want to see more mid-season awards, be sure to check out our flagship NBA podcast releasing on Mondays and Thursdays on the ApolloHOU Youtube channel hosted by Stone (@apollostoney) and Josh (@joshgarcia64).

What We Learned Houston Rockets Edition: Game 41/Midseason Awards.