Okafor or Towns? Which center is the better pick?

[Skin]

Towns not getting past the Magic.

[ManualRam]

There's no place for this argument to go since I think he is. He looks faster, quicker and like he can jump higher. At least to me.

both he and jah lack explosion in straight lines, off the floor AND laterally. look at towns' thin legs, high center of gravity and top heavy build, anchored by those boats he calls feet. he's not quick in space. he lacks fast twitch. he's not agile changing direction. he's not gonna be great defending in space and/or vs quality face up bigs. he's not a great leaper. he's not even a quick leaper with that build. okafor is actually a quicker leaper.
athletically there is not enough of a discernible difference b/t the 2 to say that 1 is CLEARLY more athletic than the other (except for strength and balance which are in jah's favor). neither are great athletes.

as for okafor specifically, it'd make more sense if you doubt his defensive potential bc you think he has poor instincts on that end and you dont think he has the mentality/mindset to improve much in that area, but not because of some physical limitation. if you're just going to point to the physical, then you should doubt towns' future defensive potential as well because they are similar athletes.

[Worm Guts]

I think Towns is mobile for his size, I think Okafor isn't. I think Towns is an above average athlete and Okafor is average to below average. Okafor could compensate with good instincts, but he doesn't seem to have those.

[ManualRam]

ok youre blind then

[Justwar]

Will Okafor have a 36 max vert? will okafor have a 10.66 agility cone drill? I dont think so.

[ManualRam]

Will Okafor have a 36 max vert? will okafor have a 10.66 agility cone drill? I dont think so.

he wouldnt have to. in game athleticism is what matters. you can train specifically for those drills to master them.
towns has had personal athletic trainers since he was like 15-16 cuz he used to be slow as sht. he's not a naturally athletic player. he doesnt have a naturally athletic build (again, top heavy with weak legs) and lacks fast twitch. he's built a lot like bynum without the knock knees.

[Worm Guts]

ok youre blind then

I'm thinking the same about you

[Justwar]

Worm, you'll slowly notice some on these boards are worshipped as posters. They could of been working for Givony but chose wendys because of the politics.

[djphan]

whoever is quicker or more athletic is irrelevant... the results are on the court.. projecting someone based on drill times is a foolhardy endeavor...

towns blocks more shots and is just overall a better defender... ok4 will never be as good as towns on this front...

[No-Man]

Towns not getting past the Magic.

That would be a terrible fit, Towns is not a PF.

[No-Man]

Worm, you'll slowly notice some on these boards are worshipped as posters. They could of been working for Givony but chose wendys because of the politics.

Okafor just needs to learn how to defend, period, but he has no problem whatsoever athletically, unless the board thinks that MArc Gasol does have a problem defensively too.

Towns is not a defensive player, his best attributes are passing from the high post, length and shooting touch.

Justwar, you should be out of any discussions regarding UK prospects, you cant be objective.

[Worm Guts]

Worm, you'll slowly notice some on these boards are worshipped as posters. They could of been working for Givony but chose wendys because of the politics.

I think ManuelRam normally has really good takes. I just disagree with him here.

[No-Man]

Worm, you'll slowly notice some on these boards are worshipped as posters. They could of been working for Givony but chose wendys because of the politics.

I think ManuelRam normally has really good takes. I just disagree with him here.

I seriously do not understand where you see Towns as a fast, agile or elite ahtlete, he is slower than Okafor in both ends, sure, he has Cauley-Stein covering for him so he can gamble more in defense, whereas Okafor is playing the true center role, but that wont cut it in the league.
Towns has not the ability to defend in the perimeter, nor the strength to defend in the post, he is going to be awful defensively, worse than Okafor, who at least has the strong lower body and nimble feet to defend 1on1.
If Okafor is coached defensively, and he buys into it, he has Marc Gasol-lite potential on the defensive end.
He is longer and much more stronger than Towns.
Towns might be more explosive, but that is not what defense is about.

[Talent Chaser]

Towns is top heavy. There is no way he is quick enough to be a PF on the next level and his lower body strength is no match to Jahlil's. I wouldn't be surprised if he has injury problems when he gets into the NBA.

[Worm Guts]

I didn't call Towns an elite athlete, I called him a better athlete than Okafor. He's also a better defender right now, that also doesn't make him an elite defender.

[Talent Chaser]

I didn't call Towns an elite athlete, I called him a better athlete than Okafor. He's also a better defender right now.

In what way? Do you realize how quick Jahlil is in the post and how coordinated he is? When you put that together with his strength he is far and away a better athlete than Towns. Don't talk about Towns like he has WCS jumping ability and agility. He's not an elite athlete and he is extremely weak in the lower body, especially compared to Jahlil. All of Jahlil's defensive struggles are effort related. You can't say the same for Towns.

[Worm Guts]

I didn't call Towns an elite athlete, I called him a better athlete than Okafor. He's also a better defender right now.

In what way? Do you realize how quick Jahlil is in the post and how coordinated he is? When you put that together with his strength he is far and away a better athlete than Towns. Don't talk about Towns like he has WCS jumping ability and agility. He's not an elite athlete and he is extremely weak in the lower body, especially compared to Jahlil. All of Jahlil's defensive struggles are effort related. You can't say the same for Towns.

Okafor's not quick, he's coordinated and has good footwork. If you want to call Okafor a better athlete because he's stronger and more coordinated, that's your prerogative I guess, but Towns is quicker, faster, and a better leaper even if he's not elite in any of those categories.

[Talent Chaser]

I didn't call Towns an elite athlete, I called him a better athlete than Okafor. He's also a better defender right now.

In what way? Do you realize how quick Jahlil is in the post and how coordinated he is? When you put that together with his strength he is far and away a better athlete than Towns. Don't talk about Towns like he has WCS jumping ability and agility. He's not an elite athlete and he is extremely weak in the lower body, especially compared to Jahlil. All of Jahlil's defensive struggles are effort related. You can't say the same for Towns.

Okafor's not quick, he's coordinated and has good footwork. If you want to call Okafor a better athlete because he's stronger and more coordinated, that's your prerogative I guess, but Towns is quicker, faster, and a better leaper even if he's not elite in any of those categories.

If he's not elite in those categories then how does he seperate himself as a prospect?

[Worm Guts]

In what way? Do you realize how quick Jahlil is in the post and how coordinated he is? When you put that together with his strength he is far and away a better athlete than Towns. Don't talk about Towns like he has WCS jumping ability and agility. He's not an elite athlete and he is extremely weak in the lower body, especially compared to Jahlil. All of Jahlil's defensive struggles are effort related. You can't say the same for Towns.

Okafor's not quick, he's coordinated and has good footwork. If you want to call Okafor a better athlete because he's stronger and more coordinated, that's your prerogative I guess, but Towns is quicker, faster, and a better leaper even if he's not elite in any of those categories.

If he's not elite in those categories then how does he seperate himself as a prospect?

You don't need to be elite to better than someone else. And I've never said Towns was the better prospect, I said he was the better athlete.

[Talent Chaser]

Okafor's not quick, he's coordinated and has good footwork. If you want to call Okafor a better athlete because he's stronger and more coordinated, that's your prerogative I guess, but Towns is quicker, faster, and a better leaper even if he's not elite in any of those categories.

If he's not elite in those categories then how does he seperate himself as a prospect?

You don't need to be elite to better than someone else. And I've never said Towns was the better prospect, I said he was the better athlete.

That's great and all but check out the thread title and realize this is a forum about the NBA. Towns may be able to edge Jahlil in a decathlon but does that matter when they are in an NBA game 9 months from now? Not at all.