In Defense of Okafor and Nene

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

While most say Wall's outside shooting and improved offensive efficiency is the key to the Wizards success, I think this team will go as far as Nene and Okafor control opponents defensively.

I wonder how well Washington will do now with the best defensive big man tandem they have had in the last 30 years?

Ted Leonsis and Ernie Grunfeld have invested in players who must win now. Other ownership and GMs have invested in youth. Brook Lopez (60M, 4 yrs), Roy Hibbert (58M, 4 yrs), and Javale McGee (44M, 4yrs), are all paid in the same neighborhood of Okafor and Nene.

Where do the Wizards big men stack up with the likes of the young Cs?

Nene vs Brook Lopez
Head-2-Head match ups: Advantage Nene
Okafor vs Brook Lopez
H2H match ups: Advantage Okafor

Nene and Okafor both have outshot, outscored, and out rebounded Brook Lopez. Judging from the past I think the Wizards will more than handle Brook Lopez.

Nene vs Hibbert
H2H match ups: Fairly Even
Okafor vs Hibbert
H2H match ups: Strong advantage Okafor

Nene will be glad to have Okafor covering Big Roy.

Nene vs McGee
H2H match ups: Advantage Hilario, McGee on Boards and Gaining
Okafor vs McGee
H2H match ups: Strong scoring advantage Okafor, Javale on the boards

Both Okafor and Nene have had an easy time scoring with efficiency and McGee's offense has suffered against them. McGee has shown better against them than either Lopez or Hibbert on the boards.

Make what you will of the stats. The shocker to me was Okafor vs Hibbert being radically different than Nene vs Hibbert.

Thoughts or comments?

[nate33]

No offense, but I don't put much stock in head-to-head matchups. The sample sizes are too small, and basketball isn't a one-on-one sport.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I am not offended at all, nate. At least you commented. Thanks.

When the Wizards signed Okafor, he commented about his previous games against Nene. He called Nene a warrior and said that was one player he didn't look forward to play against. Why would he say that? Five years and 12 games against each other, perhaps? Nene and Okafor have played 12 times. The Lopez and McGee match ups are all 6 meetings. Hibbert covered 7 and 9 games against Okafor and Nene.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... =okafoem01

My opinion is basketball is a game of match ups. The game is not a one-on-one sport, but if you get a team where each player is better than his counterpart, you'll win. I believe the investment in both Nene and Okafor is probably going to make or break Wittman and the Wizards.

[doclinkin]

I've been vocal in support of the move since we landed Okafor. Neither of these guys has ever played with a Big as active and strong as the other. And to have Seraphin as an understudy for Nene is ideal, an embarrassment of riches. Or bruisers.

But I'll reiterate. Under Wittman Nene's game was suddenly unleashed. Granted we saw a small sample size, but with the Wiz he posted career highs in PER, eFG%, defensive rebounding %, assist %, his lowest TO % of his career, all while carrying the highest usage rate of his career.

This is not entirely a fluke but a function of the offense. Wittman encourages his Bigs to take that midrange shot if open after a screen. Nene has been grooving that shot in recent offseasons but has always instead had to play as the Center in whatever scheme he's posted. He's the biggest guy on the court.

Next to KSera this was not the case. Teams had to choose which to let loose. And Seraphin benefited to the point where he posted some absurdly efficient games, as under Wittman he too bloomed, showing off that midrange hook that offseason videos showed Witt encouraging from him.

Either one of these players if left alone or guarded by a smaller player, can make a team pay by efficiently dropping in buckets from a few steps from the painted area. And Nene displayed a beautiful game by becoming one of the team's most reliable and dependable passers. Imagine the alley oop possibilities that Okafor used to feed off of with Chris Paul, now coming from a 6'10" guy able to flick it over his shoulder and overhead. Or JWall on a drive and dump. Or Beal who showed steady and clever passing in Summer League.

Okafor has played with ranged PFs before (David West notably) but has never played with Bigs this large and burly. He too has almost always been forced to play as a center. He can do this at his size because he has a weight room work ethic that is unrivaled since Zo Mourning was patrolling the paint. He's strong athletic, tough, hardworking and above all he's a rebounder. He gets the boards that he has no business getting. He gets those Jamison boards, but with a bit of actual defense.

And now he'll be the 2nd biggest guy on the court. With centers drifting out to shade Nene in the midrange on offense, and on defense, Nene able to either chase a faster 4 outside or clear the opposing titans out of the way.

Nene commonly has anemic totals in board tallies, but a look at his +/- stats shows that his team rebounds better with him on court. He screens his man and your man with that wide body, focusing on boxing out for others to grab the board. Seraphin seems to have a similar aim. I suspect Okafor will undergo a renaissance next to these two beasts. He's a consistent double digit rebounder, who may now add another 2-3 boards to his averages.

If we add rearcourt and wing rebounders like Beal and John Wall suddenly we're off to the races on every possession.

And never underestimate the value of adding weight room champions like Okafor. Both Beal and John Wall figure to get stronger. Beal has a frame that can pack on Dwyane Wade type muscle. Kid is only 19 but weighs more than Wade did as a freshman. Where Nick YOung and JaVale were self-impressed if their downtime exploits made it on youtube, Okafor is nowhere to be found because he is in the gym pounding steel. Boring, solid dependable, and now moving into city where his activism (various causes to benefit Africa) can find a voice. We have veteran players now who want to be here because of the opportunities and upside of the city more than the availability of latenight poontang and bad happenstance. This is your captain speaking, get your ass in that training room and match me. Imagine Seraphin in a few years after building that grown man muscle under the tutelage of Oke...

As Ted iterated in his recent interview: the team expects to be uptempo but Witt prefers a deep rotation. There will be minutes and touches for everybody, provided you give max effort while on the court. Bigs tire quickly, but here it will be opposing Bigs who tire first trying to chase down active and speedy subs like Vesely and Booker. And we needn't only go small, evenly distributing minutes between Ok/Ne/Sera substituting freely and interchangeably to keep all fresh and fierce. Imagine going to the bench and the guy coming off is bigger, younger, stronger and more willing to foul. And we're deep on hard tough fouls too. Nene's arrival gave the example of how to set a solid screen. Booker and Vesely didn't need the lesson on how not to flinch from contact, actively seeking it (invariably racking foul trouble in the case of Ves, but hopefully he learns). Consider how much of a pain it will be to chase John Wall once he really learns how to use a triple screen past Nene, Seraphin and Booker. Ouch. And ditto Bradley B-Ball running those Rip patterns to spring free to receive the ball. Beat up the opponent and play your thug defense even on offense.

Fans bitch about cap space and such filigree, flouncery, abstractions. Understood all that matters significantly and this move kicks that can down the road an extra year while the new CBA takes full vicious effect. For now amnesty gave many GMs false comfort, allowing some teams to overspend anyway on 3rd tier players.

But regardless of the business angles, fans will greatly appreciate the effort on the floor this year. This team will battle. We have no fiery vocal and demonstrative leaders (except on the bench) but we are deep deep deep in hustle. It will be as easy to cheer for this team as it will be a pain in the ass (and everywhere else) to play against them. We may get beat, but it's gonna hurt you more than it hurts us.

Personally I'm looking forward to it. And if the chemistry catalyzes like I can see it could then this team can kick a lot of people in the nads by surprise. Like my avatar: that was one Ball, singular, wham! now you can go plural.

[dangermouse]

Its hard not to be excited about this new Wizards team (especially considering the product that has been on the court the last few years).

Its hard not to be excited about our front line of Okafor and Nene with Seraphin off the bench. And then we have a dynamic young duo in the back court.

But its hard to be excited about mediocrity, which we will inevitably be stuck in unless JW and Beal become legit all star calibre at least.

[payitforward]

No offense, but I don't put much stock in head-to-head matchups. The sample sizes are too small, and basketball isn't a one-on-one sport.

True what nate says, plus the Okafor vs. Hibbert matchups are too long ago to be conclusive. Okafor is in the declining half of his career, and Hibbert has developed a lot over the last 18 months.

That said, the data is still interesting and possibly useful -- I'd be kinda upset if the matchup went the other way!

[payitforward]

I've been vocal in support of the move since we landed Okafor. Neither of these guys has ever played with a Big as active and strong as the other. And to have Seraphin as an understudy for Nene is ideal, an embarrassment of riches. Or bruisers.

But I'll reiterate....

...wham!

What a wonderful post! And may it all come true as well. And, especially if James Singleton is re-signed, who knows... it might! With his new-found jumper, James can play the 3 and the 4. Be hard to get a board against us! Especially given Wall and Beal have rebounding among their special strengths.

(doc, I'm going to repost your thoughts on the wizards blog....)

[DCZards]

Well done, doc, well done.

[penbeast0]

I've always been an Okafor supporter (it's Ariza that I think is the bad contract) but if healthy, I would say they are both reasonably predictable in terms of impact. Wall and Beal/Crawford are the keys to the Wizard's success this season because they have a much greater variance in their projected impact (again, if healthy).

I do agree that if the wings aren't a disaster and we stay healthy, this should be a much more entertaining Wizard team to watch than we've had in years -- takes me back to the Bruise Brothers (or as Johnny Most called them, "McNasty and McFilthy."

[leswizards]

Until it is obvious to me how Wittman intends to use his bigs, and get minutes for Vesely, Booker and Seraphin, I will continue to be worried about have both Okafor and Nene on the same team.

If Wittman gives Nene about 30 MPG at C, and gives the rest to Okafor, and Vesely with his new found jump shot proves capable of playing SF just as effectively as he did PF to end last season, then I can learn to love having both Nene and Okafor on the same team. If not, I will hate it.

[montestewart]

Very positive post, doclinkin. I hope at least some of that comes true. I liked this thought:

We have veteran players now who want to be here because of the opportunities and upside of the city more than the availability of latenight poontang and bad happenstance.

Thinking about high profile activist players like Motumbo and lesser known ones like Craig Hodges (great shooter) might have appreciated the atmosphere here. Bol likely did. As well, players thinking ahead to a post-playing career in television might connect to the 3rd largest film and television industry in the country (I assume it still is).

Players who appreciate these aspects of what Washington has to offer, coming here and garnering benefits from those opportunities, would go a long way toward changing the image of the franchise into that of a desired destination. Such a promotion too is likely to appeal more to a more thoughtful and dedicated type of player, and couldn't this franchise use more of them.

[closg00]

Didn't know where to put this, Nene backs-up splitter at the Olympics.
Ihttp://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/201 ... ameId=1046

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I've been vocal in support of the move since we landed Okafor. Neither of these guys has ever played with a Big as active and strong as the other. And to have Seraphin as an understudy for Nene is ideal, an embarrassment of riches. Or bruisers.

But I'll reiterate. Under Wittman Nene's game was suddenly unleashed. Granted we saw a small sample size, but with the Wiz he posted career highs in PER, eFG%, defensive rebounding %, assist %, his lowest TO % of his career, all while carrying the highest usage rate of his career.

This is not entirely a fluke but a function of the offense. Wittman encourages his Bigs to take that midrange shot if open after a screen. Nene has been grooving that shot in recent offseasons but has always instead had to play as the Center in whatever scheme he's posted. He's the biggest guy on the court.

Next to KSera this was not the case. Teams had to choose which to let loose. And Seraphin benefited to the point where he posted some absurdly efficient games, as under Wittman he too bloomed, showing off that midrange hook that offseason videos showed Witt encouraging from him.

Either one of these players if left alone or guarded by a smaller player, can make a team pay by efficiently dropping in buckets from a few steps from the painted area. And Nene displayed a beautiful game by becoming one of the team's most reliable and dependable passers. Imagine the alley oop possibilities that Okafor used to feed off of with Chris Paul, now coming from a 6'10" guy able to flick it over his shoulder and overhead. Or JWall on a drive and dump. Or Beal who showed steady and clever passing in Summer League.

Okafor has played with ranged PFs before (David West notably) but has never played with Bigs this large and burly. He too has almost always been forced to play as a center. He can do this at his size because he has a weight room work ethic that is unrivaled since Zo Mourning was patrolling the paint. He's strong athletic, tough, hardworking and above all he's a rebounder. He gets the boards that he has no business getting. He gets those Jamison boards, but with a bit of actual defense.

And now he'll be the 2nd biggest guy on the court. With centers drifting out to shade Nene in the midrange on offense, and on defense, Nene able to either chase a faster 4 outside or clear the opposing titans out of the way.

Nene commonly has anemic totals in board tallies, but a look at his +/- stats shows that his team rebounds better with him on court. He screens his man and your man with that wide body, focusing on boxing out for others to grab the board. Seraphin seems to have a similar aim. I suspect Okafor will undergo a renaissance next to these two beasts. He's a consistent double digit rebounder, who may now add another 2-3 boards to his averages.

If we add rearcourt and wing rebounders like Beal and John Wall suddenly we're off to the races on every possession.

And never underestimate the value of adding weight room champions like Okafor. Both Beal and John Wall figure to get stronger. Beal has a frame that can pack on Dwyane Wade type muscle. Kid is only 19 but weighs more than Wade did as a freshman. Where Nick YOung and JaVale were self-impressed if their downtime exploits made it on youtube, Okafor is nowhere to be found because he is in the gym pounding steel. Boring, solid dependable, and now moving into city where his activism (various causes to benefit Africa) can find a voice. We have veteran players now who want to be here because of the opportunities and upside of the city more than the availability of latenight poontang and bad happenstance. This is your captain speaking, get your ass in that training room and match me. Imagine Seraphin in a few years after building that grown man muscle under the tutelage of Oke...

As Ted iterated in his recent interview: the team expects to be uptempo but Witt prefers a deep rotation. There will be minutes and touches for everybody, provided you give max effort while on the court. Bigs tire quickly, but here it will be opposing Bigs who tire first trying to chase down active and speedy subs like Vesely and Booker. And we needn't only go small, evenly distributing minutes between Ok/Ne/Sera substituting freely and interchangeably to keep all fresh and fierce. Imagine going to the bench and the guy coming off is bigger, younger, stronger and more willing to foul. And we're deep on hard tough fouls too. Nene's arrival gave the example of how to set a solid screen. Booker and Vesely didn't need the lesson on how not to flinch from contact, actively seeking it (invariably racking foul trouble in the case of Ves, but hopefully he learns). Consider how much of a pain it will be to chase John Wall once he really learns how to use a triple screen past Nene, Seraphin and Booker. Ouch. And ditto Bradley B-Ball running those Rip patterns to spring free to receive the ball. Beat up the opponent and play your thug defense even on offense.

Fans bitch about cap space and such filigree, flouncery, abstractions. Understood all that matters significantly and this move kicks that can down the road an extra year while the new CBA takes full vicious effect. For now amnesty gave many GMs false comfort, allowing some teams to overspend anyway on 3rd tier players.

But regardless of the business angles, fans will greatly appreciate the effort on the floor this year This team will battle. We have no fiery vocal and demonstrative leaders (except on the bench) but we are deep deep deep in hustle. It will be as easy to cheer for this team as it will be a pain in the ass (and everywhere else) to play against them. We may get beat, but it's gonna hurt you more than it hurts us.

Personally I'm looking forward to it. And if the chemistry catalyzes like I can see it could then this team can kick a lot of people in the nads by surprise. Like my avatar: that was one Ball, singular, wham! now you can go plural.

Thanks, doc!

Very insightful post. I look forward to seeing synergy develop between the big men. I agree that chemistry could catalyze in a special way. Okafor really could be revitalized, just like Nene, under Wittman. Young players might emulate Okafor and Nene in good ways. Iron sharpens iron. The guy who pumps iron and the other who sets wonderful screens and who shows a deft passing touch are both good potentially good mentors. Both Nene and Okafor are the right age and have the right NBA experience to be father figures and role models to the young Wizards. They will command respect. We will see the best of Nene and Okafor. I am confident in that. I like what EG has done; but with contract costs, which players are better, and minutes distribution details not withstanding.

I believe the Wizards will be considerably better, but the key thing is going to be sacrifice.

Guys are going to have to be team-first, because no matter how you slice it they will have to root for other Wizards while they are on the bench. It all is going to come down to Randy and how deep he can go in his roster. Ideally, Nene and Okafor can batter opponents while the young guns, Seraphin, Booker, and Vesely come in and kill them with speed and even their own physicality.

doc, your post pointed out very well what we can look forward to.

[Ruzious]

Well, since Doc has shown the ability here to make us believe pigs can fly, I'd like him to do a post to make us believe the Wiz can shoot.

Piffle, that's preposterous. Pflouncerous even.

[montestewart]

Well, since Doc has shown the ability here to make us believe pigs can fly, I'd like him to do a post to make us believe the Wiz can shoot.

Piffle, that's preposterous. Pflouncerous even.

And they can dive for loose balls too. Ya gotta believe.

[Ruzious]

We we weeeeeeeeeee!!!

Go Weeeezards!

Hmmn, I wonder if Maxwell's available to do some work for the Wizards.

[doclinkin]

Well, since Doc has shown the ability here to make us believe pigs can fly, I'd like him to do a post to make us believe the Wiz can shoot.

Do you think we can make stops? Do you think we can collect rebounds after the stop?

If that's the case, do you think we have the foot speed to blow past opponents in transition?

If you believe those things I suspect you might allow a case to be made that our eFG% will look better than any pretty rainbow jumpshot splashing through the net at long distance.

To be an uptempo running team you need to force turnovers or missed shots and collect the rock. Then take off running all game long. You need depth to keep fresh legs, conditioning, good passers in transition and finishers at the far end. We have front court depth which is key since bigs tired quicker from up and down pounding. And depending on oncourt personnel we might benefit from uptempo forwards like Booker and Vesely who can get out an finish. Okafor has been generally a willing runner. When you see KSera in Olympic play he moves remarkably smoothly and fast for a big. Nene prefers uptempo play and can throw a nice outlet pass.

In the halfcourt with solid picks and screens our pick and roll game should pick up. Yes we need shooters. Our backcourt isn't deep enough, our wing prospects display no reliable long range. But there are shooters late into every draft. what we're building now is a culture, an attitude. Habits.

As for permanent mediocrity, eh, with a built in flaw like a shallow back court we can still plausibly tank our way into top talent if we pull an injury in the back court. Feel free to root for that if you want. You and Ji can start that thread right now.

Me I'm looking forward to cheering a little bit for a team that fights hard and won't back down from nobody.

[Ruzious]

Doc, the Wiz had among the best transition offenses in the NBA last season, and that got them the 2nd worst record in the NBA. They aren't likely going to improve at transition offense, and if they do, it'll be a small improvement.

They don't need good shooters from the end of drafts. They need good players who are good shooters - like every successful team has in duplcate, triplicate, fourthlicate, and fifthlickit. Now, they have 1 rookie who potentially fits that description. And while their bigs are solid, they're far from dominant. And if you're going to brag on Seraphin's Olympics performance, he's playing behind Turiaf, and he was awful against the US and still apparently can't rebound.

Your last 2 paragraphs... really? You're better than that. You're a good fan. I'm a good fan. I can guarantee you that I'm rooting for the team to do well every bit as much as you are. Hopefully we don't have to wear pompons and short skirts to prove it, cuz I ain't shaving my legs. Squealing like a pig is as far as I'll go. Btw, please let me know anywhere that I suggested tanking next season was anything but a terrible plan. The Wiz have to win next season to gain any credibility, imo.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Squealing like a pig? … If this were Jeopardy I would say, "Who is Ned Beatty."

As far as shooting goes, I agree with doclinkin that stops and transition offense is going to raise the Wizards eFG%. I also think big to big interior passing is going to get them some dunks. Vesely and Booker will shoot lights out due to dunks, and so will Nene, Okafor, and Seraphin many nights. That is not to say I like this team's outside shooting one bit. Ruz and monte earlier have IMO correctly said this team has poor shooters.

Trevor Ariza had a sick playoff run where he bombed threes at well over 40% for the Lakers years back. Beal can and probably will hit an uncontested shot, even out to distance. Outside of those two the one guy I do believe can shoot is Cartier Martin. James Singleton would be a good guy to have on this roster instead of probably Booker IMO, because he can hit the outside shot.

As it is, Washington is going to have to thrive in transition and they're going to have to rely on Nene's midrange game along with Kevin's hook shots, plus dunks, to get their shooting up.

[dobrojim]

I was only mildly supportive, if that, of the trade since I did not
feel that Oke was much of an upgrade over KSera but as much
as I really like KSera, I now believe Oke probably IS an upgrade. His history
has been that of a (near) double-double machine. But perhaps
more than anything else, I like the fact that Oke is reported
to be one of the smartest players around. That's pretty much
always a good thing. I continue to feel that Witt will operate
a meritocracy, that depth is good (injuries) and that it is
more than possible to envision us as one of the better defensive
teams in the league. No, we may not be great at outside shooting
and that is something that would be nice to improve on, but
we have a chance to be solid this year barring a catastrophic
injury to Wall who as others (Fish) have said, is the biggest key to
our future success or failure.

If nothing else, we probably will not be a team that anyone looks
forward to playing.