Welcome Okafor: Thread 2

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

seems like he is going through the same stuff Noel did earlier...


y'kno being played out of position and all that. I'm not saying Jah is bad and should be shot out of a cannon but yo neither guy will be able to prosper if this is how they have to go. Neither guy is capable to sacrifice a major aspect of their game and not stink up the joint at this point in their careers.

Both guys need to realize that the guy with best possibility to play the 4 spot will stay. Well, maybe they want out.

If it comes down to that, I think Okafor stays. I know he can't guard Brad Beal if Beal is playing power forward, but Beal can't guard him either. Better yet, lets use Jabari Parker as an example lol. I would eat hot buttery popcorn watching Parker trying to guard Okafor. If in fact he does play minutes at the four we need to force teams to adjust to us....not the other way around. I think Okafor creates a bigger matchup problem if that happens. Take Noel away from being a center, you seemingly take away any effectiveness he has on the court. Why? I honestly can't say, but I think over these last thirty games or so, the Okafor at power forward experiment needs to be tried. So far he's done an adequate job defensively at the spot minus a few lapses in communication and pick and roll defense (which takes a while to learn). He's a rook and we need to chill, but as one of his biggest supporters here I can't ignore how bad he's looked these last two games. It's alarming for a guy I am really rooting for. I'm rooting for Noel too, along with Canaan, Hell...the whole team. He'll be alright.

[Foshan]

Okafor just really needs to get some more conditioning in. There are times where the has fast feet & hands, and i think, man he could guard a 4. then other times (lots of times) he looks like he's run a marathon and is flatfooted and slow.

[76ciology]

I also think that defending as a PF and a C also needs familiarizing the role and the defensive scheme. At C, you are just the last line on defense (although for Jah it means preventing your man to rebound to score). At PF you need to move your feet when you defend PnR, defend on Iso against quicker player and a more complex defensive rotation. From what I notice, we are crappy with defensive rotation, there are times we will have multiple players rotating on a single player. Sometimes we even don't cover the player expecting one of the guys to rotate at him (Teague and Wall open shots last game). It's complex and dynamic, requires a lot of read and react while Jah has been really poor at this due to inexperience. Defensively, it's not the "chasing" of guys that gets him in trouble. It's the when and where to chase them that is giving him problems.

What's bothersome for me is that he's playing weird on the offensive end. Does he have a number of screens he needs to set? Sometimes he will be in the middle of an Iso or post play then he will opt to hand or throw it out with little time for perimeter player to operate. He should probably watch the tapes of his games on January and build on that.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

I also think that defending as a PF and a C also needs familiarizing the role and the defensive scheme. At C, you are just the last line on defense (although for Jah it means preventing your man to rebound to score). At PF you need to move your feet when you defend PnR, defend on Iso against quicker player and a more complex defensive rotation. From what I notice, we are crappy with defensive rotation, there are times we will have multiple players rotating on a single player. Sometimes we even don't cover the player expecting one of the guys to rotate at him (Teague and Wall open shots last game). It's complex and dynamic, requires a lot of read and react while Jah has been really poor at this due to inexperience. Defensively, it's not the "chasing" of guys that gets him in trouble. It's the when and where to chase them that is giving him problems.

What's bothersome for me is that he's playing weird on the offensive end. Does he have a number of screens he needs to set? Sometimes he will be in the middle of an Iso or post play then he will opt to hand or throw it out with little time for perimeter player to operate. He should probably watch the tapes of his games on January and build on that.

Aside from conditioning issues (which most rookies go through),I think defensively for Okafor his biggest issue from what I can see is his read and reaction time. It has nothing to do with lack of athleticism and more with IQ (reflexes) so to speak. I'm not saying he's a dumb defensive player, but he looks just a step too late a lot of the time. Everything else looks good though, his stance, base is always stable and facing straight ahead, his eyes are always focused on his man. He's got his guy, he just does not give a crap about yours haha. His help defense is terrible and that is what I mean by read and reaction. He doesn't read the play fast enough to react to it and that in my opinion is a lack of experience and nothing more. Just knowing where to be on defense is his biggest problem and it translates to his rebounding issues as well. He doesn't react fast enough when a shot goes up to put himself in a position to get a rebound. I mean...he's boxed out before he knows it and yeah.. he'll throw an arm up in the air like "see I tried to get it", but he's already beaten, it's already too late. So all in all defensively/rebounding, it's that reaction time that has got to improve and I think it will be improved as time goes on. It's like reflexes but in terms of basketball, some people are naturally good at knowing where to be when a shot goes up. I think you can learn that skill though and improve upon it. Jah should be fine there by year three...He'll have it figured out by then.

Offensively he needs to be the focal point, when he's not the focal point and he starts to miss shots it seems to effect him mentally. Jah's a bully most nights, but last night he ran into a bigger bully in Marcin Gortat. I think Gortat really messed with his head last night, that dude is a monster to bang with. Again though, over time Okafor will become the same force that Gortat is. Guys wont want to physically battle with him in the post. Gortat has taken years to get to this point proving to be worth the wait.
Offensively I think Okafor needs to keep building on that mid range/outside game. He'll certainly conserve some energy if he can consistently hit in that 14-16 foot range too. Seems like when he hits that shot, his confidence is peaking and he can literally do anything he wants on that side of the floor.

[HartfordWhalers]

Tonight was good.

[kriss73]

Didn't I watch the game with Jah best effort and fight?
Shame on me!

[Agnostifarian]

Okafor was very solid in the win over BRK. His conditioning is good. He is getting up and down and even scoring on the fast break. That being said, I think he will benefit from this midseason break. Three things I'll be watching for from Jah going down the stretch: (1) better rebounding, (2) better help defense and (3) better pick setting.

Setting picks is so important. Our PGs are not able to rub their defenders off on the Okafor screens because Jah doesn't set his feet and establish position. Instead, he moves away from the ball handler and he ruins the execution of PNR. I think this is a mental block on Okafor's part. I expect that it will click for him eventually and lead to more easy baskets.

[theo42]

Okafor and Noel looked great last night and I don't move either one until you know what you have. These two could be special. Noel is an absolute freak of nature athletically and is starting to use it. Okafor is a beast and will only get better. I marvel at his ability to handle the rock and his plethora of moves. His ability to beat big 5s off the dribble and pummell smaller 4 is a mismatch waiting to happen. Basically teams have to pick their poison with him.

The offseason will do wonders for Okafor...

[shlo]

I can't help but think how great Towns would have worked out with Noel. I'm still holding hope that Okafor and Noel can coexist, and this last game gives me hope, but I'm skeptical.

[Ericb5]

I can't help but think how great Towns would have worked out with Noel. I'm still holding hope that Okafor and Noel can coexist, and this last game gives me hope, but I'm skeptical.

Well obviously Towns would work out better for us, but he wasn't an option.

That being said, this past game was EASILY the best that Noel and Okafor played together.

I really think that we are finally getting somewhere with them. We tried a few things, but we finally are realizing that Noel is a Center(we knew that before, but we know now that he really IS that, and can't be a 4), and that Okafor really CAN play the 4.

For the rest of the year we should be playing Noel at the 5 and Okafor at the 4, and just see where it leads us. After the season we will then be able to make a decision on trading one of them before next season, or maybe at next year's trade deadline.

[roma258]

I can't help but think how great Towns would have worked out with Noel. I'm still holding hope that Okafor and Noel can coexist, and this last game gives me hope, but I'm skeptical.

Well obviously Towns would work out better for us, but he wasn't an option.

That being said, this past game was EASILY the best that Noel and Okafor played together.

I really think that we are finally getting somewhere with them. We tried a few things, but we finally are realizing that Noel is a Center(we knew that before, but we know now that he really IS that, and can't be a 4), and that Okafor really CAN play the 4.

For the rest of the year we should be playing Noel at the 5 and Okafor at the 4, and just see where it leads us. After the season we will then be able to make a decision on trading one of them before next season, or maybe at next year's trade deadline.

Agreed, let's see what happens with Okafor at the 4. His ball handling and jumper make him a plausible 4 on offense.

[Ericb5]

I can't help but think how great Towns would have worked out with Noel. I'm still holding hope that Okafor and Noel can coexist, and this last game gives me hope, but I'm skeptical.

Well obviously Towns would work out better for us, but he wasn't an option.

That being said, this past game was EASILY the best that Noel and Okafor played together.

I really think that we are finally getting somewhere with them. We tried a few things, but we finally are realizing that Noel is a Center(we knew that before, but we know now that he really IS that, and can't be a 4), and that Okafor really CAN play the 4.

For the rest of the year we should be playing Noel at the 5 and Okafor at the 4, and just see where it leads us. After the season we will then be able to make a decision on trading one of them before next season, or maybe at next year's trade deadline.

Agreed, let's see what happens with Okafor at the 4. His ball handling and jumper make him a plausible 4 on offense.

...and his one on one defensive ability, and his increased fitness have made him plausible on defense too. I would argue that he is beyond plausible on offense. He will always be susceptible to stretch fours, and having to chase around 4's at the perimeter, but that doesn't mean that he can't play the position. He will just have a weakness that other teams will try to exploit. He will abuse those same teams on the other end of the floor though too, so it will be a give and take thing.

[roma258]

Well obviously Towns would work out better for us, but he wasn't an option.

That being said, this past game was EASILY the best that Noel and Okafor played together.

I really think that we are finally getting somewhere with them. We tried a few things, but we finally are realizing that Noel is a Center(we knew that before, but we know now that he really IS that, and can't be a 4), and that Okafor really CAN play the 4.

For the rest of the year we should be playing Noel at the 5 and Okafor at the 4, and just see where it leads us. After the season we will then be able to make a decision on trading one of them before next season, or maybe at next year's trade deadline.

Agreed, let's see what happens with Okafor at the 4. His ball handling and jumper make him a plausible 4 on offense.

...and his one on one defensive ability, and his increased fitness have made him plausible on defense too. I would argue that he is beyond plausible on offense. He will always be susceptible to stretch fours, and having to chase around 4's at the perimeter, but that doesn't mean that he can't play the position. He will just have a weakness that other teams will try to exploit. He will abuse those same teams on the other end of the floor though too, so it will be a give and take thing.

Agreed. Clips starting Wesley Johnson tonight at the four. Should be fascinating.

[76ciology]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/pjeffersonlim/status/696958438786465792[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/pjeffersonlim/status/696958076436361216[/tweet]

Jah's ball handling

[76ciology]

Regarding Jah's defense. I think one way to improve his defensive impact is to should focus less on being an individual defender and shift his personal defensive philosophy into help defense + chasing rebounds.

Look at Love and Bosh, both are poor individual defenders (love's horrible individual defense; see their opponents FG% in shots less than 6ft and 10ft) but both are getting almost 2-2.5 DRPM. Nerlens, like KP, doesn't have the strength to not get pushed around on defense and rebounding but they are getting good DRPM.

Watch how DeAndre plays defense, the guy acts like he's committed in playing individual defense, but he's more like just semi-challenging the shot and getting the board. And that's why Jah tried to attack him early on, altho it came to the point where DeAndre got sick of getting disrespected (hahahaha) that he blocked that shot of Jah in the 2nd quarter.

Help defense and chasing boards at all cost > Individual defense and boxing your man out. Stationary defense sucks. Ask Andrew Wiggins.

[76ciology]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/pjeffersonlim/status/696964618439135233[/tweet]

*4 games sample size
*just shooting 45FG%

[joyeuxnoel]

I was right, okafor is perfect for the 4

Hes going go be a great 2-way player for us


Starters: Dunn, Stauskas, Simmons, Okafor, Embiid

Bench: Ish/TJ, SG, Covington/Grant, Saric/Holmes, Noel

That makes me drool if this happens

[76ciology]

I was right, okafor is perfect for the 4

Hes going go be a great 2-way player for us


Starters: Dunn, Stauskas, Simmons, Okafor, Embiid

Bench: Ish/TJ, SG, Covington/Grant, Saric/Holmes, Noel

That makes me drool if this happens

Man, if he keeps his motor up on the defensive end of the floor. It's his offense that would need improvement. Seems like the combination of his versatility and lack of motor is messing up with his decision making and consistency on offense. Sometimes he just makes you angry with how indecisive he is on some possessions (see Celtics and Wizards game).

BTW, he had a good balanced FGA against the Clipps. He shot like 8-10 attempts in jumpers and in the paint, equally. But he's been struggling with his jumper ever since he missed a couple of game due to illness.

[Ericb5]

I was right, okafor is perfect for the 4

Hes going go be a great 2-way player for us


Starters: Dunn, Stauskas, Simmons, Okafor, Embiid

Bench: Ish/TJ, SG, Covington/Grant, Saric/Holmes, Noel

That makes me drool if this happens

Man, if he keeps his motor up on the defensive end of the floor. It's his offense that would need improvement. Seems like the combination of his versatility and lack of motor is messing up with his decision making and consistency on offense. Sometimes he just makes you angry with how indecisive he is on some possessions (see Celtics and Wizards game).

BTW, he had a good balanced FGA against the Clipps. He shot like 8-10 attempts in jumpers and in the paint, equally. But he's been struggling with his jumper ever since he missed a couple of game due to illness.

I think that there are some universal truths that we can say about Okafor.

1. He has a gift for scoring the ball.
2. He doesn't have quick feet or quick hands
3. He is rapidly improving
4. His conditioning is improving, but still a limiting factor
5. His rebounding is below average at this point

I think he should be very aggressive on offense, and very conservative on defense. He needs to slow the game down defensively, and play position more than trying to make a play like a block or steal. He doesn't have the physical tools like Noel does to recover quickly or react late. He has to think it out, and play the percentages. That means challenging shots, but not going for pump fakes, and boxing out his man and focusing on rebounding.

I don't think that he has completely proven it that he can be a star at the 4, but he is getting there. I have much more confidence today in him playing the 4 than I do Noel, and that is the opposite of how I felt coming into the season.

Kobble always says that Noel is Embiid insurance, where I always thought of Okafor as being Embiid insurance. Well Kobble I think is right on this one. What that means though is that Okafor is more likely the keeper between the two of them if Embiid can be healthy.

I'm not trading Noel until I know more about Embiid, unless in the off season someone makes us an offer that we can't refuse.

BTW, that crossover clip of Okafor is just silly. What other guy his size makes that move in the nba today? And he does it so naturally.

In the NFL receivers can get open without a lot of natural quickness by running crisp routes. Well Okafor have those kinds of moves allows him to create separation without the natural quickness.

[76ciology]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/pjeffersonlim/status/697090316407480320[/tweet]