The Houston Rockets have suffered a crucial blow to their front-court ahead of the game vs. the Suns on Monday, January 5. Rockets C Alperen Sengun exited his team’s Saturday game against the Dallas Mavericks with an ankle injury just one minute into the first quarter and did not return.
The versatile 2025 All-Star could miss more than Monday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns with the ankle injury. His absence will have a significant impact on Houston's flourishing offense.
Below, we’ll provide an Alperen Sengun injury update ahead of the Rockets vs. Suns game and identify a player worth targeting for your Rockets vs. Suns picks, plus PrizePicks NBA projections and analysis for Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.
Alperen Sengun Injury Update vs. Suns Tonight
Sengun has been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Suns. It’s unclear whether he’ll miss multiple games at this point.
The fifth-year big man has acted as Houston's primary initiator on offense with PG Fred VanVleet out for the year. That’s helped the Rockets post the league’s fifth-best scoring offense so far in 2025-26.
Sengun is averaging career-highs in points (21.8) and assists (6.5) per game. His passing has been especially impressive.
C Steven Adams will likely be Houston’s first choice to start down low while Sengun is on the mend, but he’s missed two straight games with a right ankle sprain and is questionable for Monday. The player who’ll likely see his stats improve most this week could very well end up being a guard as opposed to another big man.
Who Will Benefit With Alperen Sengun Out?
Amen Thompson is Houston’s third-leading scorer with an average of 18.0 points per contest. However, he’s also second to Sengun in total rebounds (237) and total assists (167).
Thompson's versatile playing style is suited to keep Houston afloat without its best connector, as the offense is now likely to run through him.
Thompson has showcased tremendous potential as a primary creator in his first season as a full-time lead guard. He’s spending 30.3% of his time on the ball, per databallr. That’s a 97th-percentile figure. The 22-year-old has made it a point not to waste the possessions he’s asked to orchestrate the offense.
The Overtime Elite product is averaging 13.6 potential assists per 100 possessions, per databallr. That’s a 95th-percentile figure. He’s also been active on the glass when his teammates can’t finish and is rebounding their misses 9.3% of the time, per databallr., which is 98th percentile in the NBA.
Thompson might need to be more active than usual against Phoenix on Monday, and has already racked up a season-high 31 points against the Suns this campaign.
Amen Thompson Projections vs. Suns Today
Here are the most popular Amen Thompson player picks vs. the Suns tonight, via PrizePicks, where you can cash in if you're right by picking More or Less on player stats.
- 18.5 Points
- 24.5 Pts+Asts
- 26.5 Pts+Rebs
- 31.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts
- 13.5 Rebs+Asts
Make Rockets vs. Suns Picks on PrizePicks
Alperen Sengun has been ruled out for the Rockets’ Monday matchup with the Suns after suffering an ankle injury over the weekend. While the big man plays a major role in Houston’s elite offense, Amen Thompson stands out as a key player who can help pick up the slack in this Western Conference battle.
No matter how you think Monday's game between the Rockets vs. Suns plays out, you can cash in on your NBA picks on PrizePicks. Just pick your players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in if your picks are right.
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