Where is Jahlil Okafor?

[Sixerscan]

**** it right?

might as well try it out and see before deciding what will and won't work.

Leaning more this way now that Simmons is hurt. His injury is terrible but they have to use it as an opportunity to try stuff out. There are now minutes available, whereas before it would have had to cut into Simmons/Saric minutes.

And if it turns out to be the dumpster fire many predict, Simmons' return will provide a convenient reason to scrap it. If it works out then the team has another dimension they can go to. Either way people can't say that they didn't try it out.

[MatthewGeigerII]

i don't get why people get so offended for them "trying" ... like 10 min after the BB comments there was an article online (LB) that "it's a bad idea"

1- how can we assume that - yes it looks bad on paper/in theory but the only people who know are the guys looking at it in practice (until we can see it in game time).
2- like someone said - they are the two best players ( for now) - it's worth a try to see if it will work.
3- joel was looking good with his footwork guarding john wall. not saying he will always be able to stay with someone fast but he SHOULD be able to guard most PFs?
4- yes, maybe they both "excel" at playing under the net - but so would any big man. it's like saying a center at hockey excels at rebound goals - literally it's the best opp. and chance any player has on the floor. the key here is that we have a player like embiid who can potentially be great at shooting as well. Okafor will still get the baskets from under (he can finish) - but if it's not there, you will have an option in embiid as well... and vice versa with them both crashing the boards from both sides of the rim.

i know d is everyone concern - but if embiid has the abilities we all think (and have seen in some preseason switches with forwards and guards)... it just may be able to work.

TLDR - we will never know unless it is tried. Embiid, again, is the key.

[Ericb5]

Obviously it needs to be tried, but I don't want Embiid guarding the 4's.

The real trying of this scenario is with Embiid playing the 5, and Okafor playing the 4, both offensively and defensively.

It needs to be tried for the full season before we close the book on it. Of course minutes at the 4 will be more scarce once Simmons comes back, but even then it could still be tried for 5 min a game.

The long term scenario, if it works, would be Okafor splitting a total of 30mpg between the 4 and the 5.


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[rzzzzz]

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/sixers/Okafor-scrimmages-with-Sixers-teams-up-with-Embiid.html

SO, Jah hurt his knee playing against Joel. (Joel should save the tough stuff for other teams.) won't start together, but will finish games. that sounds like a plan. and entertaining.

[Winejk]

Denver is trying the twin towers with Nurkic and Jokic, and no one seems to be hypercritical of that pairing. Embiid/Okafor is way more athletic than Nurkic/Jokic. Probably has more offensive potential too. Give it a chance before it is condemned.

Watched a bit of preseason game between Denver and Portland yesterday. The way Nurkic was used, should be the way Okafor is used at times. They gave Nurkic the ball in the post and let him do his thing, but he didn't disrupt the offensive flow too much because he was making his move fairly quickly. If not, he kicked the ball out and the offense flowed.

Philly dribbles too much on the perimeter. Rodriguez pounds the ball because 1) no one sets a screen for him or takes forever to set a screen for him, 2) he can't blow by his man by himself, 3) nobody else is moving or cutting and 4) nobody else really creates shots for others. I don't know who is to blame for Philly's stagnate offense - Brett Brown, Colangelo or the players. There needs to be more movement and passing. Right now it is all isolation ball with occasional pick and roll.

[phantom84]

Denver is trying the twin towers with Nurkic and Jokic, and no one seems to be hypercritical of that pairing. Embiid/Okafor is way more athletic than Nurkic/Jokic. Probably has more offensive potential too. Give it a chance before it is condemned.

Watched a bit of preseason game between Denver and Portland yesterday. The way Nurkic was used, should be the way Okafor is used at times. They gave Nurkic the ball in the post and let him do his thing, but he didn't disrupt the offensive flow too much because he was making his move fairly quickly. If not, he kicked the ball out and the offense flowed.

Philly dribbles too much on the perimeter. Rodriguez pounds the ball because 1) no one sets a screen for him or takes forever to set a screen for him, 2) he can't blow by his man by himself, 3) nobody else is moving or cutting and 4) nobody else really creates shots for others. I don't know who is to blame for Philly's stagnate offense - Brett Brown, Colangelo or the players. There needs to be more movement and passing. Right now it is all isolation ball with occasional pick and roll.

Or copy Memphis playbook and see how they make Gasol (Embiid) and Randolph (Okafor) work.

[Mik317]

Denver is trying the twin towers with Nurkic and Jokic, and no one seems to be hypercritical of that pairing. Embiid/Okafor is way more athletic than Nurkic/Jokic. Probably has more offensive potential too. Give it a chance before it is condemned.

Watched a bit of preseason game between Denver and Portland yesterday. The way Nurkic was used, should be the way Okafor is used at times. They gave Nurkic the ball in the post and let him do his thing, but he didn't disrupt the offensive flow too much because he was making his move fairly quickly. If not, he kicked the ball out and the offense flowed.

Philly dribbles too much on the perimeter. Rodriguez pounds the ball because 1) no one sets a screen for him or takes forever to set a screen for him, 2) he can't blow by his man by himself, 3) nobody else is moving or cutting and 4) nobody else really creates shots for others. I don't know who is to blame for Philly's stagnate offense - Brett Brown, Colangelo or the players. There needs to be more movement and passing. Right now it is all isolation ball with occasional pick and roll.

TBF tho...how much of this working is due to Denver having shooters at the 2 and 3 and guys who can create off the bounce in Mudiay and Barton?

[Sportfan73]

Denver is trying the twin towers with Nurkic and Jokic, and no one seems to be hypercritical of that pairing. Embiid/Okafor is way more athletic than Nurkic/Jokic. Probably has more offensive potential too. Give it a chance before it is condemned.

Watched a bit of preseason game between Denver and Portland yesterday. The way Nurkic was used, should be the way Okafor is used at times. They gave Nurkic the ball in the post and let him do his thing, but he didn't disrupt the offensive flow too much because he was making his move fairly quickly. If not, he kicked the ball out and the offense flowed.

Philly dribbles too much on the perimeter. Rodriguez pounds the ball because 1) no one sets a screen for him or takes forever to set a screen for him, 2) he can't blow by his man by himself, 3) nobody else is moving or cutting and 4) nobody else really creates shots for others. I don't know who is to blame for Philly's stagnate offense - Brett Brown, Colangelo or the players. There needs to be more movement and passing. Right now it is all isolation ball with occasional pick and roll.

TBF tho...how much of this working is due to Denver having shooters at the 2 and 3 and guys who can create off the bounce in Mudiay and Barton?

Plug Simmons into Mudiay role, give me Bayless and Covington on the wings

[Sixerscan]

Denver is trying the twin towers with Nurkic and Jokic, and no one seems to be hypercritical of that pairing. Embiid/Okafor is way more athletic than Nurkic/Jokic. Probably has more offensive potential too. Give it a chance before it is condemned.

Watched a bit of preseason game between Denver and Portland yesterday. The way Nurkic was used, should be the way Okafor is used at times. They gave Nurkic the ball in the post and let him do his thing, but he didn't disrupt the offensive flow too much because he was making his move fairly quickly. If not, he kicked the ball out and the offense flowed.

Philly dribbles too much on the perimeter. Rodriguez pounds the ball because 1) no one sets a screen for him or takes forever to set a screen for him, 2) he can't blow by his man by himself, 3) nobody else is moving or cutting and 4) nobody else really creates shots for others. I don't know who is to blame for Philly's stagnate offense - Brett Brown, Colangelo or the players. There needs to be more movement and passing. Right now it is all isolation ball with occasional pick and roll.

Okafor not making quick decisions with the ball was probably his biggest issue on offense though. I'm not sure if that was an issue with how he was "used" as much as he hasn't processed his decision making very quickly to this point, which is obviously also an issue on defense. The only aspect of the game that he's "quick" at (post moves) is generally proceeded by him taking his time figuring out what he's going to do. He has to make decisions quicker for the offense to work like that, and we're not even getting into the defensive issues.

Also Denver is going to be a bottom 10 team this year let's not act like they have some sort of magic bullet.

[Wilfried]

Also Denver is going to be a bottom 10 team this year let's not act like they have some sort of magic bullet.

They have a very nice collection of young talent (Jokic - Murray - Mudiay - Harris - ...) but none of them has elite talent.

That's where you end when you don't tank

[Kolkmania]

Denver is trying the twin towers with Nurkic and Jokic, and no one seems to be hypercritical of that pairing. Embiid/Okafor is way more athletic than Nurkic/Jokic. Probably has more offensive potential too. Give it a chance before it is condemned.

Watched a bit of preseason game between Denver and Portland yesterday. The way Nurkic was used, should be the way Okafor is used at times. They gave Nurkic the ball in the post and let him do his thing, but he didn't disrupt the offensive flow too much because he was making his move fairly quickly. If not, he kicked the ball out and the offense flowed.

Philly dribbles too much on the perimeter. Rodriguez pounds the ball because 1) no one sets a screen for him or takes forever to set a screen for him, 2) he can't blow by his man by himself, 3) nobody else is moving or cutting and 4) nobody else really creates shots for others. I don't know who is to blame for Philly's stagnate offense - Brett Brown, Colangelo or the players. There needs to be more movement and passing. Right now it is all isolation ball with occasional pick and roll.

I do blame Brett Brown if our offense will be stagnant this year, he does have NBA talent this year with passing abilities. Rodriguez, Embiid, Simmons, Saric and Noel are terrific passers, now it's time for some offensive scheme. I know BB is all about the free flowing offense, but in my opinion that works when you have players that are able to blow by their opponent.

I think the duo Noel/Embiid is more comparable to Nurkic/Jokic than Okafor/Embiid. On the defensive end Nurkic is the true center and Jokic is all over the floor. I want Embiid protecting the rim at all times, Noel is capable of a similar role as Jokic. Okafor is not and I don't want Embiid playing the 4 at the defensive end.
On the offensive end Noel can play the Nurkic role, pass from the high post out of Horns and run some P&R's, Embiid a more free flowing role and score buckets all over the floor like Jokic.

I'm very curious if Okafor is capable of playing in an offensive scheme, does he have the willingness to pass and let the offense flow or will he be a ball stopper his entire life?

[Foshan]

Denver is trying the twin towers with Nurkic and Jokic, and no one seems to be hypercritical of that pairing. Embiid/Okafor is way more athletic than Nurkic/Jokic. Probably has more offensive potential too. Give it a chance before it is condemned.

Watched a bit of preseason game between Denver and Portland yesterday. The way Nurkic was used, should be the way Okafor is used at times. They gave Nurkic the ball in the post and let him do his thing, but he didn't disrupt the offensive flow too much because he was making his move fairly quickly. If not, he kicked the ball out and the offense flowed.

Philly dribbles too much on the perimeter. Rodriguez pounds the ball because 1) no one sets a screen for him or takes forever to set a screen for him, 2) he can't blow by his man by himself, 3) nobody else is moving or cutting and 4) nobody else really creates shots for others. I don't know who is to blame for Philly's stagnate offense - Brett Brown, Colangelo or the players. There needs to be more movement and passing. Right now it is all isolation ball with occasional pick and roll.

I do blame Brett Brown if our offense will be stagnant this year, he does have NBA talent this year with passing abilities. Rodriguez, Embiid, Simmons, Saric and Noel are terrific passers, now it's time for some offensive scheme. I know BB is all about the free flowing offense, but in my opinion that works when you have players that are able to blow by their opponent.

I think the duo Noel/Embiid is more comparable to Nurkic/Jokic than Okafor/Embiid. On the defensive end Nurkic is the true center and Jokic is all over the floor. I want Embiid protecting the rim at all times, Noel is capable of a similar role as Jokic. Okafor is not and I don't want Embiid playing the 4 at the defensive end.
On the offensive end Noel can play the Nurkic role, pass from the high post out of Horns and run some P&R's, Embiid a more free flowing role and score buckets all over the floor like Jokic.

I'm very curious if Okafor is capable of playing in an offensive scheme, does he have the willingness to pass and let the offense flow or will he be a ball stopper his entire life?

I disagree with the bolded. I think if we run Noel in that role his defensive numbers will be really bad. That was basically what he was told to do last year with Okafor at C, but they ended up having to switch. While i think he 'can' do it, he isn't the same special player that he is at the 5, imo. That is what I like about Okafor at the 4... he's not that impressive on D at the 5... and he's not at the 4 either, so we're not lossing much, but letting Noel and Embiid stay at the rim is a huge plus (greater than Ok4's minus).

[Kolkmania]

Denver is trying the twin towers with Nurkic and Jokic, and no one seems to be hypercritical of that pairing. Embiid/Okafor is way more athletic than Nurkic/Jokic. Probably has more offensive potential too. Give it a chance before it is condemned.

Watched a bit of preseason game between Denver and Portland yesterday. The way Nurkic was used, should be the way Okafor is used at times. They gave Nurkic the ball in the post and let him do his thing, but he didn't disrupt the offensive flow too much because he was making his move fairly quickly. If not, he kicked the ball out and the offense flowed.

Philly dribbles too much on the perimeter. Rodriguez pounds the ball because 1) no one sets a screen for him or takes forever to set a screen for him, 2) he can't blow by his man by himself, 3) nobody else is moving or cutting and 4) nobody else really creates shots for others. I don't know who is to blame for Philly's stagnate offense - Brett Brown, Colangelo or the players. There needs to be more movement and passing. Right now it is all isolation ball with occasional pick and roll.

I do blame Brett Brown if our offense will be stagnant this year, he does have NBA talent this year with passing abilities. Rodriguez, Embiid, Simmons, Saric and Noel are terrific passers, now it's time for some offensive scheme. I know BB is all about the free flowing offense, but in my opinion that works when you have players that are able to blow by their opponent.

I think the duo Noel/Embiid is more comparable to Nurkic/Jokic than Okafor/Embiid. On the defensive end Nurkic is the true center and Jokic is all over the floor. I want Embiid protecting the rim at all times, Noel is capable of a similar role as Jokic. Okafor is not and I don't want Embiid playing the 4 at the defensive end.
On the offensive end Noel can play the Nurkic role, pass from the high post out of Horns and run some P&R's, Embiid a more free flowing role and score buckets all over the floor like Jokic.

I'm very curious if Okafor is capable of playing in an offensive scheme, does he have the willingness to pass and let the offense flow or will he be a ball stopper his entire life?

I disagree with the bolded. I think if we run Noel in that role his defensive numbers will be really bad. That was basically what he was told to do last year with Okafor at C, but they ended up having to switch. While i think he 'can' do it, he isn't the same special player that he is at the 5, imo. That is what I like about Okafor at the 4... he's not that impressive on D at the 5... and he's not at the 4 either, so we're not lossing much, but letting Noel and Embiid stay at the rim is a huge plus (greater than Ok4's minus).

Well, personally I think the defense wasn't that bad because Noel isn't able to fulfill the task of defending 4's, but more because Okafor's defense was really bad. Obviously Noel can't have a similar impact on the defensive end when he's playing the 4 in comparison with playing as a center, but with Embiid anchoring the defense instead of Okafor it might work.

[76ciology]

“Once we figure out, definitely we’ll be a force together,” Okafor said, also noting, “Jo is very skilled so we can put him anywhere on the floor. ... We’re both excited to play together. It’s something that we’ve talked about and we’re looking forward to it.”

In a league trending toward small ball, the Sixers see how two bigs still can pose challenges.

“It’s just a matter of us getting in shape and be able to keep up and run the floor and guard every position,” Embiid said. “But I think us playing together, I’ve always thought that if you want to put your best defender on [Okafor], that’s going to leave me open. If you want to put your small defender on me, that leaves him open. We complement each other pretty well.”

Pretty much my position ever since.

[Foshan]

“Once we figure out, definitely we’ll be a force together,” Okafor said, also noting, “Jo is very skilled so we can put him anywhere on the floor. ... We’re both excited to play together. It’s something that we’ve talked about and we’re looking forward to it.”

In a league trending toward small ball, the Sixers see how two bigs still can pose challenges.

“It’s just a matter of us getting in shape and be able to keep up and run the floor and guard every position,” Embiid said. “But I think us playing together, I’ve always thought that if you want to put your best defender on [Okafor], that’s going to leave me open. If you want to put your small defender on me, that leaves him open. We complement each other pretty well.”

Pretty much my position ever since.

totally agree.

[Tony Franciosa]

we're not winning anything anyway this year - might as well see if we can mold that duo into a productive, complementary pair.

[Sportfan73]

we're not winning anything anyway this year - might as well see if we can mold that duo into a productive, complementary pair.

Almost want them to play like Gasol Bros do on Spanish national team

[Ericb5]

Read on Twitter

I won't doubt Woj, but I remember Embiid himself telling the story of him feeling pain and telling his agent, and then they went to the hospital and got it scanned. He said it was in a workout not with one of the teams.

Maybe it was a combination of things that they put together, but Embiid said that he felt pain.

Do you have a source for that? From what I read the fracture went totally unnoticed until the Cleveland doctors caught it.

Here is an article at the time that confirms that it started with pain, and then they went to the doctor, and THEN they received the information from the Cavs.


http://m.kusports.com/news/2014/jul/16/embiids-surgeon-optimistic-about-7-footers-future/?templates=mobile

This isn't the one that I was thinking of though because I am pretty sure that Embiid himself described it as happening NOT at the Cavs workout, but right after.

Still looking for that one. I think it was later that summer when he was recounting how he got injured to someone when he was already a Sixer.



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[Misteclipse]

There's literally no logical reason whatsoever to not try those 2 together. Simmons won't be back until January at the very earliest. With our Guards and Wings, we're going to be terrible again so even if it doesn't pan out, it's going to make no difference on our record. Saric will still play a lot of minutes and have his opportunity to develop his game.

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[rzzzzz]

There's literally no logical reason whatsoever to not try those 2 together.

no reason not to play Joel with Noel as well. we got big talent on the front line, and then it gets sketchy fast. we ought to play Sam's 4 main prospects max minutes and together while we got the chance.