Official Ochai Agbaji Thread - Welcome to Toronto, Ochai!

[LoveMyRaps]

I want to see what he does over the summer before deciding anything on him... Maybe put him on the Gradey 2 week plan and see what happens.

I'm not willing to judge anyone too harshly for their performances, based on the lineups we've been throwing out there. Except Bruce Brown and McDaniels, **** those guys, they are awful lol.

I think Ochai will excel next season when he can come off the bench for a fully healthy Raps squad.
Right now he’s being forced to play with bums and he’s unable to play to his strengths.

He’s being forced to create for himself which is not his game. He had two really good performances with Scottie, because he was being setup for open, corner 3s. Since Scottie went down, it’s been downhill for Ochai. He’s got nothing going for him and it’s really not his fault. Constant lineup changes, zero team chemistry, etc.

[Scase]

I want to see what he does over the summer before deciding anything on him... Maybe put him on the Gradey 2 week plan and see what happens.

I'm not willing to judge anyone too harshly for their performances, based on the lineups we've been throwing out there. Except Bruce Brown and McDaniels, **** those guys, they are awful lol.

I think Ochai will excel next season when he can come off the bench for a fully healthy Raps squad.
Right now he’s being forced to play with bums and he’s unable to play to his strengths.

He’s being forced to create for himself which is not his game. He had two really good performances with Scottie, because he was being setup for open, corner 3s. Since Scottie went down, it’s been downhill for Ochai. He’s got nothing going for him and it’s really not his fault. Constant lineup changes, zero team chemistry, etc.

I don't expect him to be a huge needle mover, but Scottie being out is pretty much bad for the entire roster, he creates so much offence for the team, most players will end up worse.

[OakleyDokely]

Cade shot 3-10 when being defended by Ochai last night. He's become a very good good guard defender. His future role is to defend the opposing teams best guard, hit some corner 3s and get some easy buckets off cuts. He isn't a player capable of taking on a big offensive role, he doesn't have the skillset to do so.

[Tripod]

And for the Raps, they don't NEED him for offense. They have enough other guys for that role who are much better. But he has shown he can be a very good defensive guys guarding guards....which the Raps need in the starting lineup and off the bench.....or late in games when protecting a lead.

Let's get him on the same training program that Gradey was on, and a full offseason, and see how he shows up next year.

[LoveMyRaps]

Cade shot 3-10 when being defended by Ochai last night. He's become a very good good guard defender. His future role is to defend the opposing teams best guard, hit some corner 3s and get some easy buckets off cuts. He isn't a player capable of taking on a big offensive role, he doesn't have the skillset to do so.

He doesn't have the ability to create for himself. He's great at cutting to the rim and hitting corner 3s.

[LoveMyRaps]

And for the Raps, they don't NEED him for offense. They have enough other guys for that role who are much better. But he has shown he can be a very good defensive guys guarding guards....which the Raps need in the starting lineup and off the bench.....or late in games when protecting a lead.

Let's get him on the same training program that Gradey was on, and a full offseason, and see how he shows up next year.

That training program was for strength and conditioning. That's the least of Ochai's concerns.

[Chandan]

And for the Raps, they don't NEED him for offense. They have enough other guys for that role who are much better. But he has shown he can be a very good defensive guys guarding guards....which the Raps need in the starting lineup and off the bench.....or late in games when protecting a lead.

Let's get him on the same training program that Gradey was on, and a full offseason, and see how he shows up next year.

For a team very prone to having scoring droughts, i hear a lot of "we don't need ____ for his offense"

[Tripod]

And for the Raps, they don't NEED him for offense. They have enough other guys for that role who are much better. But he has shown he can be a very good defensive guys guarding guards....which the Raps need in the starting lineup and off the bench.....or late in games when protecting a lead.

Let's get him on the same training program that Gradey was on, and a full offseason, and see how he shows up next year.

For a team very prone to having scoring droughts, i hear a lot of "we don't need ____ for his offense"

We have totally re-vamped our team though

[Scase]

Cade shot 3-10 when being defended by Ochai last night. He's become a very good good guard defender. His future role is to defend the opposing teams best guard, hit some corner 3s and get some easy buckets off cuts. He isn't a player capable of taking on a big offensive role, he doesn't have the skillset to do so.

Cade shot 8-20 last night, 2-5 from 3.
Cade shot 8-20 the game prior, 2-10 from 3.

That second game? The hornets. I wouldn't suggest this is an Ochai thing, unless charlotte has some crazy defensive stoppers all of a sudden.

Cade has shot 8-20 in 3 of the last 5 games played, he's also shot this bad, or worse 20 times this season...he's only played 55 games. He's just not efficient.

This isn't a knock at Ochai, but rather using a single game sample size against an inefficient player is probably just a bad benchmark.

[ItsDanger]

If he shoots <35% from 3, and/or poor % at rim, Agbaji will be a liability out there.

[OakleyDokely]

Cade shot 3-10 when being defended by Ochai last night. He's become a very good good guard defender. His future role is to defend the opposing teams best guard, hit some corner 3s and get some easy buckets off cuts. He isn't a player capable of taking on a big offensive role, he doesn't have the skillset to do so.

Cade shot 8-20 last night, 2-5 from 3.
Cade shot 8-20 the game prior, 2-10 from 3.

That second game? The hornets. I wouldn't suggest this is an Ochai thing, unless charlotte has some crazy defensive stoppers all of a sudden.

Cade has shot 8-20 in 3 of the last 5 games played, he's also shot this bad, or worse 20 times this season...he's only played 55 games. He's just not efficient.

This isn't a knock at Ochai, but rather using a single game sample size against an inefficient player is probably just a bad benchmark.

Ochai has been really good defending guards all season, it wasn't a one game thing.

Guards are shooting just 37.6% against him this season.

[Scase]

Cade shot 3-10 when being defended by Ochai last night. He's become a very good good guard defender. His future role is to defend the opposing teams best guard, hit some corner 3s and get some easy buckets off cuts. He isn't a player capable of taking on a big offensive role, he doesn't have the skillset to do so.

Cade shot 8-20 last night, 2-5 from 3.
Cade shot 8-20 the game prior, 2-10 from 3.

That second game? The hornets. I wouldn't suggest this is an Ochai thing, unless charlotte has some crazy defensive stoppers all of a sudden.

Cade has shot 8-20 in 3 of the last 5 games played, he's also shot this bad, or worse 20 times this season...he's only played 55 games. He's just not efficient.

This isn't a knock at Ochai, but rather using a single game sample size against an inefficient player is probably just a bad benchmark.

Ochai has been really good defending guards all season, it wasn't a one game thing.

Guards are shooting just 37.6% against him this season.

It looks like he was good in Utah, but he's been bad here at most everything but perimeter defence and transition defence.

As per cleaning the glass:

On/Off for opposing team FG%

eFG% - 32nd percentile
Rim - 1st percentile, 78th with Utah
Short mid - 0"th" percentile, 72nd with Utah
Long Mid - 60th percentile, 24th with Utah
All mid - 2nd percentile, 62nd with Utah
Corner 3 - 97th percentile, 58th with Utah
Non corner 3 - 94th percentile, 74th with Utah
All 3 - 99th percentile, 70th with Utah

On/Off Halfcourt defence
PPP - 3rd percentile, 80th with Utah
OREB% - 23rd percentile, 29th with Utah

On/Off Putbacks defence
Points per 100 misses - 3rd percentile, 12th with Utah
Putback plays per 100 possessions - 4th percentile, 22nd with Utah
Points per 100 plays - 10th, 13th with Utah

Conversely his transition defence is quite good.

On/Off Transition
Points added per 100 possessions - 81st percentile, 53rd with Utah
Points per 100 possessions - 64th percentile, 54th with Utah

He's particularly good at defending vs transition steals, but overall his defensive stats since joining the Raps have taken a huge step back vs Utah.

Now in his defence, the sample size isn't huge by any stretch. 248mp vs 956mp this year with Utah, but the only improvement since joining here has been his perimeter defence, everything else has fallen off a cliff. Maybe a system thing, maybe a familiarity thing, but all in all, his defence has been mediocre since joining the Raps.

Full disclosure, I don't think he's this bad, but I don't think it can be ignored either, especially since he provides virtually nothing on offence. His defence in general looks better via the eye test, so could just be the overall crappiness of our defence/small sample size.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Cade's a really inefficient shooter, so I don't see how this spins into a positive for Ochai. Cade still put up close to 20 and they won.

I certainly didn't see this "impact" while watching the game.

[agkagk]

Cade's a really inefficient shooter, so I don't see how this spins into a positive for Ochai. Cade still put up close to 20 and they won.

I certainly didn't see this "impact" while watching the game.

Articles just went out a few days ago saying hes turned the corner since january and emerged as a true 3 dimensional scorer.

Sounds like hes taken a step. His stats over that period show it.

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/03/central-notes-cunningham-weaver-toppin-walker.html

[Scase]

Cade's a really inefficient shooter, so I don't see how this spins into a positive for Ochai. Cade still put up close to 20 and they won.

I certainly didn't see this "impact" while watching the game.

Articles just went out a few days ago saying hes turned the corner since january and emerged as a true 3 dimensional scorer.

Sounds like hes taken a step. His stats over that period show it.

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/03/central-notes-cunningham-weaver-toppin-walker.html

Do they though? From 3, prior to Jan he made 1.9 on 5.6 attempts. Since Jan he's made 2 on 5.3 attempts.

In Jan he shot 32%, he's just taken slightly less 3's and had a hot February shooting 44%. In March he's back to normal shooting 36%. I wouldn't draw any conclusions off 10 games in Feb lol.

His overall TS% in Jan was 51.7%, Feb 59.5%, March so far 53.5%. For context, Oct 52.4%, Nov 51.2%, Dec 59.8%. Doesn't look like anything besides a hot Feb.

[BetterCallSaul]

I'm not willing to judge anyone too harshly for their performances, based on the lineups we've been throwing out there. Except Bruce Brown and McDaniels, **** those guys, they are awful lol.

I think Ochai will excel next season when he can come off the bench for a fully healthy Raps squad.
Right now he’s being forced to play with bums and he’s unable to play to his strengths.

He’s being forced to create for himself which is not his game. He had two really good performances with Scottie, because he was being setup for open, corner 3s. Since Scottie went down, it’s been downhill for Ochai. He’s got nothing going for him and it’s really not his fault. Constant lineup changes, zero team chemistry, etc.

I don't expect him to be a huge needle mover, but Scottie being out is pretty much bad for the entire roster, he creates so much offence for the team, most players will end up worse.

I think Ochai's ceiling is pretty low. He might be a competent 8-9th man on a low seed playoff team in 2026. I don't expect too much from him next season unless he finds some spot up 3pt shooting consistency. Which doesn't feel likely. He has shown some real strengths as a cutter and defender though, which is a good start.

[Chandan]

Cade's a really inefficient shooter, so I don't see how this spins into a positive for Ochai. Cade still put up close to 20 and they won.

I certainly didn't see this "impact" while watching the game.

Articles just went out a few days ago saying hes turned the corner since january and emerged as a true 3 dimensional scorer.

Sounds like hes taken a step. His stats over that period show it.

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/03/central-notes-cunningham-weaver-toppin-walker.html

Do they though? From 3, prior to Jan he made 1.9 on 5.6 attempts. Since Jan he's made 2 on 5.3 attempts.

In Jan he shot 32%, he's just taken slightly less 3's and had a hot February shooting 44%. In March he's back to normal shooting 36%. I wouldn't draw any conclusions off 10 games in Feb lol.

His overall TS% in Jan was 51.7%, Feb 59.5%, March so far 53.5%. For context, Oct 52.4%, Nov 51.2%, Dec 59.8%. Doesn't look like anything besides a hot Feb.

whatever success he had were a small sample size.

[Scase]

I think Ochai will excel next season when he can come off the bench for a fully healthy Raps squad.
Right now he’s being forced to play with bums and he’s unable to play to his strengths.

He’s being forced to create for himself which is not his game. He had two really good performances with Scottie, because he was being setup for open, corner 3s. Since Scottie went down, it’s been downhill for Ochai. He’s got nothing going for him and it’s really not his fault. Constant lineup changes, zero team chemistry, etc.

I don't expect him to be a huge needle mover, but Scottie being out is pretty much bad for the entire roster, he creates so much offence for the team, most players will end up worse.

I think Ochai's ceiling is pretty low. He might be a competent 8-9th man on a low seed playoff team in 2026. I don't expect too much from him next season unless he finds some spot up 3pt shooting consistency. Which doesn't feel likely. He has shown some real strengths as a cutter and defender though, which is a good start.

Yeah that's pretty much the assessment I've been saying as well, 8-10th guy overall. He shoots well from literally only one place on the entire court (right corner), everywhere else is below or WAY below league average. His cuts have looked nice from time to time, but we need him to be a 3pt threat more than a cutter.

[TRik]

He’ll likely have a year or two to show something more with offence. I actually think it’s mental/confidence more than anything with him. If he can’t then his time here won’t be very long IMO, because his defence isn’t so dominant that it makes up for his offensive void.

I would have preferred keeping the pick and rolling the dice with a younger draft prospect where it’s more developmental needs over maybe a mental/confidence thing, but it is what it is.

I hope he figures it out.

[YogurtProducer]

Cade shot 3-10 when being defended by Ochai last night. He's become a very good good guard defender. His future role is to defend the opposing teams best guard, hit some corner 3s and get some easy buckets off cuts. He isn't a player capable of taking on a big offensive role, he doesn't have the skillset to do so.

Cade shot 8-20 last night, 2-5 from 3.
Cade shot 8-20 the game prior, 2-10 from 3.

That second game? The hornets. I wouldn't suggest this is an Ochai thing, unless charlotte has some crazy defensive stoppers all of a sudden.

Cade has shot 8-20 in 3 of the last 5 games played, he's also shot this bad, or worse 20 times this season...he's only played 55 games. He's just not efficient.

This isn't a knock at Ochai, but rather using a single game sample size against an inefficient player is probably just a bad benchmark.

So he had a cold shooting night against CHA from 3, nothing else to see here