Noel/Saric or Okafor/Noel...

[Hussien Fatal]

The more i think about it i honestly believe a Noel/Saric front court fits a lot better moving forward then Okafor/Noel. Lets face the fact that Noel is a center, and any team will get the most out of him at the center position. With the way Dario plays i cant help but think how much more Noel would benefit by playing him vs playing with Okafor.

Saric's improving jumper and incredible playmaking skills could become lethal weapons when paired with Noel. The defense should also be better as well considering Noel will be in the paint where he belongs and also considering Saric is quicker on defense then Okafor and generally plays harder on that end. Also Saric is a comparable rebounder (maybe even better) to Okafor, so the team wouldn't miss a beat on the boards.

I know Saric isn't the talent Okafor is but Saric potentially seems to fit along side Noel better then Jahlil. In 2017 i would like to see a rotation that favors Noel/Saric more than Okafor/Noel. So my question is which pairing do you favor more?

(I intentionally left Joel out anticipating hes not going to be playing much)

[Eyeamok]

x

[76ciology]

I see potential with the Jah/Noel frontcourt. Because both guys have the mobility and skillset of a PF or tweener while Jah's length and Noel's athleticism allows them to play C.

Most frontcourt built has a tweener PF or a stretch 4 as a dynamic PnR option with a not so offensive threat defensive anchor C. And this works in our advantage where we can have Noel guarding opposing PFs letting him hedge and roam around on defense while we can have Jahlil waiting at the paint defending guys like Jordan, Whiteside, Gobert, Mozgov or Bogut, where he is not asked to move much while he can put his 7'6" wingspan and 9'3" standing reach into his advantage. You got both guys who can be a rim protector, Noel with his athleticism Jah with his length.

Offensively, both Noel and Jah can play PnR. Both guys can attack the paint off the dribble and pass the ball. Opposing teams also would have a hard time switching to neutralize the two man game since both guys have the tools to take advantage of their size. And eventually, I expect both Noel and Jah to be reliable shooters.

If you look at the current situation, you'd say Noel is better off playing C at defense and there's poor spacing with these two. But you need to look at long term. I see Noel having the quickness to create havoc on the defensive end, matching-up against big PFs like LMA or tweeners, maybe in time even defending close to 7'0 SFs like Durant. I think Noel just fits very well as a prime time defensive SF/PF, asking him to add 20-30lbs would weaken his athleticism and supreme quickness that makes him a very special player in the league. While offensively, both guys have shooting as the main focus of their development. Jah has shown a developing mid range game in college, he actually has pretty good shooting mechanics. He was OK shooting 3s with his workout with the Lakers. Noel has shown improvement with his FTs, and we saw that he is working hard in the offseason to improve in his shooting rather than adding weight and focusing to be a full time C.

If Jah and Noel's shooting do continue to gain progress, we will have something very special in our hands that would give a tough time for opposing teams to match. If you look at the trend, small ball is what's popular right now. After small ball the trend is leaning on having very mobile, skilled and play making bigs like Blake Griffin and Spurs' Diaw/TD frontcourt that allows versatility on defense while still maintaining crisp ball/player movement and spacing.

[MRxBLACK]

I'll go with the Noel/Saric pairing. We would probably be better defensively as well as offensively.

Offense: Spacing and free throw shooting would be greatly improved with Saric, he's a better passer than Okafor, also a better ball handler and defensive rebounder so he could grab the board and lead the break. We could also play at a faster pace and not waste time waiting for Okafor to establish position every possession, 3pt shooting/Earlier offense/Transition offense = very very good, Post up heavy offense and slower pace = bad.

Defense: Neither Oak or Saric will be stand out defenders but Saric shows much more effort on that end, is a better defensive rebounder, is a natural PF, and would allow Noel to move to his most effective area in the paint.

Negatives of the Noel/Saric pairing: We obviously wouldn't have the same caliber of post up ability without Okafor. Luckily Saric has a pretty decent one to mitigate that loss and with all the positives with pace and space due to Saric who really cares, and like I said before the research says post up heavy offense is not favorable. I imagine offensive rebounding would take a hit and guarding bulky, offensively skilled centers would be tougher.

[Eyeamok]

x

[leorautins]

Saric/Okafor?

[No-Man]

Saric is going to be at his best as a bench player, like Odom or Diaw.
Having Saric, Noel and Okafor plus a situational shooting big, alla Jason Smith, would be ideal.

[steveb21]

Ill take Okafor/Embiid please.

[Ericb5]

Ill take Okafor/Embiid please.

If he can get healthy, I'll take Embiid and Saric over pairing him with Noel or Okafor.

However, I think that any combination of those four guys will play well together. It may not be ideal, but hey would all have their strengths and weaknesses.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[LeonJordanJr24]

embiid and Okafor could be a alltime dominant frontcourt. Too big, too strong , too mobile and too skilled for anyteam.to handle.

[Foshan]

I'm actually pretty excited to have this problem. I'm really hoping Saric keeps working on his outside shot, i'd love to be able to run him at the 3 with any two of those big guys under neath. If Saric can't play half his time at the 3, i think we will have minutes issues down the road, but if he can get some of his time there (as a super sub who gets 30mins at the 3/4)... man that would be a beautiful thing.

Really cant say which set i like better having never seen the two guys play, i'm thinking i'll probablylike Noel/Saric better because of the speed we could play at... but If Okafor really is a stud...

too many questions! Lets start some basketball!

[MRxBLACK]

[ImChillin01]

What are you trying to say with these stats

[MRxBLACK]

What are you trying to say with these stats

That it's not a good idea building a post up heavy offense around a player, especially if that player can't shoot or defend.

[Unbreakable99]

What are you trying to say with these stats

That it's not a good idea building a post up heavy offense around a player, especially if that player can't shoot or defend.

Well Okafor doesn't fall into that category since he can score down low. At least he could in college. We will see about the NBA. He can't defend but at least he has the offense. And when Embiid gets back he definitely doesn't fall into that category.

[SparksFly87]

I want to hear a debate about who is potentially better as our frontcourt longterm is it Noel and Okafor or Embiid and Saric . Overlooking injuries and focusing on potential to dominate as a duo who do you got ?

[Unbreakable99]

I want to hear a debate about who is potentially better as our frontcourt longterm is it Noel and Okafor or Embiid and Saric . Overlooking injuries and focusing on potential to dominate as a duo who do you got ?

We need them to play first. Only Noel has played in the NBA so far. Off the top of my head I would say a healthy Embiid trumps everyone so he's definitely in the starting frontcourt. Among the other 3 it depends on matchups and how the game unfolds. If we are in crunch time I think a defensive savant like Noel would be ideal. And I think we could put Sarci at the 3 in small increments so all 3 could be on the floor. If Okafor is a dominant offensive player then he and Embiid on the court together could be sick.

[83SixersRocked]

This won't be a popular opinion, but I think that if Nerlens added a sky hook, he'd make it very tough on the defense regardless of whether he's a 4 or a 5.

[Tony Franciosa]

I wanna see them all honestly. Noel, Okafor, Embiid, Saric... put them on the floor and keep the best ones. It's a great potential problem to have...