Lowe: The five most intriguing players in the NBA this season (Okeke)
Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 11:33 pm
Chuma Okeke, Orlando Magic
Okeke sat out what would have been his rookie season recovering from knee surgery. He spent time with the Magic's G League team, leaving him a somewhat shy mystery.
"He barely talked to anyone that year," says Evan Fournier, now with the New York Knicks.
Fournier's trade to the Boston Celtics was one of three deadline moves that signaled a new teardown -- the rebuild of the rebuild in Orlando's endless post-Dwight Howard nightmare -- transforming Okeke in a blink from unknown kiddo to one of Orlando's longest-tenured players. "It's weird everyone is gone," Okeke says. "But next man up."
Orlando is well-stocked with guards and bigs -- especially once Jonathan Isaac reclaims his starting power forward spot. Okeke and Franz Wagner loom as the essential bridge between those groups -- the extra-large, 3-and-D wing who can do a little of everything on offense and switch across all five positions on defense.
Okeke spent most of last season at power forward, which made things easier for him on offense. Toggling to the wing shouldn't impact him on defense, but he'll have to navigate tighter confines on the other end.
Okeke spends a lot of time spotting up -- in the corners and along the wing. He hit 35% from deep on decent volume -- encouraging, even if defenders ignored him to clog the paint. Down the stretch, he dared to hoist against strong contests and dabbled in off-the-bounce 3s -- though he hit just 4-of-26 on those.
The Magic are confident Okeke's shot will come. That could empower his catch-and-go driving game, since defenders would close out harder -- easy prey for dustings. Okeke is not a blow-away athlete. He does not have a killer first step. Optimists see Okeke as Orlando's Mikal Bridges on defense, but he has not yet shown the same nimble feet and preternatural instincts.
But Okeke is a smart, well-rounded player with feel. If he knifes into the lane, he makes the right play. Okeke lets some driving opportunities slip away by pausing on the catch -- allowing the defense to reset. "I need to make quicker decisions," he says.
The Magic started using him as a ball handler in pick-and-rolls, and Okeke flashed advanced playmaking:
Jamahl Mosley, Orlando's new coach, says we will see more of Okeke handling -- and more of him screening for Orlando's guards. Mosley will mix up Orlando's two-man combinations -- to maximize the element of surprise, and so that each player is familiar with different roles. Mosley hopes that engenders teamwide empathy. "You've experienced things from teammates' perspectives," Mosley says.
Pairing Okeke with guards in the two-man game will coax switches, and Okeke has some bully ball in him:
Okeke needs to embrace that cruelty instead of fading for turnarounds. (He does have a nascent face-up game, and a smooth pull-up midranger.)
If Okeke starts drawing help, watch out. He is a canny inside-out playmaker; the Magic have used him as trigger man on the block:
The Magic scored 1.211 points per possession when Okeke shot out of the post, or dished to a teammate who fired -- sixth among 102 players who recorded at least 40 post touches, per Second Spectrum.
Okeke wants to be the sort of versatile, switchy defender who gives Orlando access to any scheme. "That would take pressure off our coaches -- to know, 'Chuma can do whatever,'" he says.
The right ingredients are there -- balance, strength, size, and an appetite for defense. It's not easy stonewalling Anthony Davis like this:
"Chuma is about the right things," Fournier says.
(For Magic staffers, Fournier's fondness for Okeke is the ultimate proof Okeke has a galvanizing personality; Fournier is a prickly sort who does not easily dole out affection. Okeke has come out of his shell, and is popular with teammates. He bikes to the arena, and everyone knows they can borrow his bike for errands. "It's the team bike now," Okeke says.)
Okeke has a long list of improvements he wants to make on defense: getting around screens, nailing help-and-recover rotations, staying attuned to more complex schemes. He is hard on himself, and craves honest feedback. Okeke raps in his spare time, and when J. Cole visited a recent practice, the team played an Okeke track for him. Okeke was mortified -- not because he thought his music unworthy; Okeke feared J. Cole in that setting would withhold his harshest constructive criticism.
"I want his genuine opinion," Okeke says.
If Okeke brings that mentality to basketball, the Magic might have an ace role player -- and maybe much more.
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/32420384/lowe-five-most-intriguing-players-nba-season ($)
Okeke sat out what would have been his rookie season recovering from knee surgery. He spent time with the Magic's G League team, leaving him a somewhat shy mystery.
"He barely talked to anyone that year," says Evan Fournier, now with the New York Knicks.
Fournier's trade to the Boston Celtics was one of three deadline moves that signaled a new teardown -- the rebuild of the rebuild in Orlando's endless post-Dwight Howard nightmare -- transforming Okeke in a blink from unknown kiddo to one of Orlando's longest-tenured players. "It's weird everyone is gone," Okeke says. "But next man up."
Orlando is well-stocked with guards and bigs -- especially once Jonathan Isaac reclaims his starting power forward spot. Okeke and Franz Wagner loom as the essential bridge between those groups -- the extra-large, 3-and-D wing who can do a little of everything on offense and switch across all five positions on defense.
Okeke spent most of last season at power forward, which made things easier for him on offense. Toggling to the wing shouldn't impact him on defense, but he'll have to navigate tighter confines on the other end.
Okeke spends a lot of time spotting up -- in the corners and along the wing. He hit 35% from deep on decent volume -- encouraging, even if defenders ignored him to clog the paint. Down the stretch, he dared to hoist against strong contests and dabbled in off-the-bounce 3s -- though he hit just 4-of-26 on those.
The Magic are confident Okeke's shot will come. That could empower his catch-and-go driving game, since defenders would close out harder -- easy prey for dustings. Okeke is not a blow-away athlete. He does not have a killer first step. Optimists see Okeke as Orlando's Mikal Bridges on defense, but he has not yet shown the same nimble feet and preternatural instincts.
But Okeke is a smart, well-rounded player with feel. If he knifes into the lane, he makes the right play. Okeke lets some driving opportunities slip away by pausing on the catch -- allowing the defense to reset. "I need to make quicker decisions," he says.
The Magic started using him as a ball handler in pick-and-rolls, and Okeke flashed advanced playmaking:
Jamahl Mosley, Orlando's new coach, says we will see more of Okeke handling -- and more of him screening for Orlando's guards. Mosley will mix up Orlando's two-man combinations -- to maximize the element of surprise, and so that each player is familiar with different roles. Mosley hopes that engenders teamwide empathy. "You've experienced things from teammates' perspectives," Mosley says.
Pairing Okeke with guards in the two-man game will coax switches, and Okeke has some bully ball in him:
Okeke needs to embrace that cruelty instead of fading for turnarounds. (He does have a nascent face-up game, and a smooth pull-up midranger.)
If Okeke starts drawing help, watch out. He is a canny inside-out playmaker; the Magic have used him as trigger man on the block:
The Magic scored 1.211 points per possession when Okeke shot out of the post, or dished to a teammate who fired -- sixth among 102 players who recorded at least 40 post touches, per Second Spectrum.
Okeke wants to be the sort of versatile, switchy defender who gives Orlando access to any scheme. "That would take pressure off our coaches -- to know, 'Chuma can do whatever,'" he says.
The right ingredients are there -- balance, strength, size, and an appetite for defense. It's not easy stonewalling Anthony Davis like this:
"Chuma is about the right things," Fournier says.
(For Magic staffers, Fournier's fondness for Okeke is the ultimate proof Okeke has a galvanizing personality; Fournier is a prickly sort who does not easily dole out affection. Okeke has come out of his shell, and is popular with teammates. He bikes to the arena, and everyone knows they can borrow his bike for errands. "It's the team bike now," Okeke says.)
Okeke has a long list of improvements he wants to make on defense: getting around screens, nailing help-and-recover rotations, staying attuned to more complex schemes. He is hard on himself, and craves honest feedback. Okeke raps in his spare time, and when J. Cole visited a recent practice, the team played an Okeke track for him. Okeke was mortified -- not because he thought his music unworthy; Okeke feared J. Cole in that setting would withhold his harshest constructive criticism.
"I want his genuine opinion," Okeke says.
If Okeke brings that mentality to basketball, the Magic might have an ace role player -- and maybe much more.
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/32420384/lowe-five-most-intriguing-players-nba-season ($)
