Rockets star Alperen Sengun on playoff anxiety: ‘It helps, it shows how much I want it'
Rockets star Alperen Sengun on playoff anxiety: 'It helps, it shows how much I want it' 'I can't sleep well, but I don't feel tired,' Alperen Sengun said prior to Sunday's Rockets-Warriors Game 7 of the playoffs. 'The anxiety I have is helping me a lot. It shows how much I want it.'
Led by veteran players including Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, the Golden State Warriors have previous Game 7 experience heading into Sunday's winner-take-all showdown in their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.
For the most part, the younger Rockets lack that experience. But as All-Star big man Alperen Sengun explained at Sunday's gameday shootaround, Houston is attempting to channel the emotions and use them in the proper ways.
'Of course it feels different,' said the Turkish center, who leads Houston in most major statistical categories for the 2025 playoffs. 'It's win or go home. Everybody has to give everything, and we know that.'
'I can't sleep well, but I don't feel tired,' Sengun explained. 'The anxiety I have is helping me a lot. It shows how much I want it, and how much I want to play the game. That's helped me a lot in the games, how focused I am and how much I want it.'
Game 7 tips off at 7:30 p.m. Central from Houston's Toyota Center, with televised broadcasts available on both TNT and Space City Home Network. After losing three of the first four games of the best-of-seven series, the Rockets have stormed back with two consecutive wins to set up a winner-take-all finale.
'I don't think they've beaten us yet,' Sengun said of his perspective entering Game 7. 'We beat ourselves this series. We missed free throws, easy shots. Then, we were locked in, defensively and offensively. We have all the talent in the world, so there's no reason for us to lose the game.'
More: Statistically, Alperen Sengun is carrying the Rockets in 2025 playoff run
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