Where is Jahlil Okafor?

[eagereyez]

Okafor's defense is overblown. His horrible rebounding and super negative impact on offense is understated.

Whether you think he has the tools to improve vastly on rebounding and offense, varies on every individual.

If you got carried away with the 15 games sample size of this season, the possibility is almost zero. And I can't blame you because it's frustrating most times.

Are you still a Prokafor?

If the definition of Prokafor is someone who thinks Okafor can be a two way player, yes.

Although I'm now less certain, I still think he's talented enough to be a plus player on offense while I think he has the size to be a good rebounder that will really make up for his slightly above average defense (considering 15 games sample size this season).

For me bigs have the toughest transition among positions. You can't be effective just by being big in the NBA. You need to lose a lot of weight to be mobile while also changing your game into a more wing type offense that involves a lot of shooting, driving and dishing.

And man.. Okafor has A LOT to change on his game that might take his entire rookie contract.

Man you got it completely backwards. All a big has to do to be effective in the NBA is run around and contest shots. They don't have to bring the ball up the court, set up the offense, shoot, or do anything that takes any amount of skill. If you're big and athletic, you can make an immediate impact on day 1. It's the guards that take the most amount of time to develop.

[76ciology]

Are you still a Prokafor?

If the definition of Prokafor is someone who thinks Okafor can be a two way player, yes.

Although I'm now less certain, I still think he's talented enough to be a plus player on offense while I think he has the size to be a good rebounder that will really make up for his slightly above average defense (considering 15 games sample size this season).

For me bigs have the toughest transition among positions. You can't be effective just by being big in the NBA. You need to lose a lot of weight to be mobile while also changing your game into a more wing type offense that involves a lot of shooting, driving and dishing.

And man.. Okafor has A LOT to change on his game that might take his entire rookie contract.

Man you got it completely backwards. All a big has to do to be effective in the NBA is run around and contest shots. They don't have to bring the ball up the court, set up the offense, shoot, or do anything that takes any amount of skill. If you're big and athletic, you can make an immediate impact on day 1. It's the guards that take the most amount of time to develop.

except that if you look deeper at the trend bigs nowadays needs to space the floor and most of them can space the floor and neutralize a shot blocker (see Grizz neutralizes DeAndre in that article). Blk rate and 2PTA/100 possessions have been trending downwards. You also need to be able to switch at perimeter with players being better scarily shooters every year, thats the defense everyone run in playoffs.

https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2016/11/22/13673818/marc-gasol-3-pointers-stats-highlights-nba-trend?client=safari

It made bigs like Hibbert (DPOY candidate at one time) obsolete.

[SelfishPlayer]

When it appears as if he's regressing though, I'm starting to lose faith.

Do you have faith in Brett Brown, TJ McConnell, Sergio Rodriguez, and Jerryd Bayless?

I've seen improvement from Brown, so yes I have faith in him.

You are placing faith in the wrong places. Brett Brown has done nothing but lose games as an NBA head coach, yet you have faith in him to put players in the right position for their careers?

[Sixerscan]

Are you still a Prokafor?

It doesn't matter what you call yourself. If you're too stubborn to admit you were wrong and still believe Okafor isn't a terrible defensive big man, then you are hopeless. Not surprised though. We saw this when Evan Turner was here.

Actually he has much improved DBPM,DRPM and deflections (around 30% improved stl%&blk%)this season, something related to what I've said before the season.

It's his rebounding and offense that is on a slump this season.

He's still 54th in DRPM among centers. So he grades out as a well below average backup on that end. I'm not sure how that isn't "terrible."

I also do like how with his numbers that are better its an "improvement" but the numbers that are worse are "in a slump" or a "small sample size." Referring to his steal rate going up from 0.7% to 0.9% as a "30% improvement!" is my favorite there.

[76ciology]

It doesn't matter what you call yourself. If you're too stubborn to admit you were wrong and still believe Okafor isn't a terrible defensive big man, then you are hopeless. Not surprised though. We saw this when Evan Turner was here.

Actually he has much improved DBPM,DRPM and deflections (around 30% improved stl%&blk%)this season, something related to what I've said before the season.

It's his rebounding and offense that is on a slump this season.

He's still 54th in DRPM among centers. So he grades out as a well below average backup on that end. I'm not sure how that isn't "terrible."

I also do like how with his numbers that are better its an "improvement" but the numbers that are worse are "in a slump" or a "small sample size." Referring to his steal rate going up from 0.7% to 0.9% as a "30% improvement!" is my favorite there.

You overlooked the DBPM (-1.5 vs -.2) and BLK% (2.9% vs 4.5%) part or you just didn't mention it on purpose?

[Negrodamus]

Do you have faith in Brett Brown, TJ McConnell, Sergio Rodriguez, and Jerryd Bayless?

I've seen improvement from Brown, so yes I have faith in him.

You are placing faith in the wrong places. Brett Brown has done nothing but lose games as an NBA head coach, yet you have faith in him to put players in the right position for their careers?

Wit her arguably the least talented starting lineup in NBA history. But yea, I'd blame him for all the losses.

[eagereyez]

If the definition of Prokafor is someone who thinks Okafor can be a two way player, yes.

Although I'm now less certain, I still think he's talented enough to be a plus player on offense while I think he has the size to be a good rebounder that will really make up for his slightly above average defense (considering 15 games sample size this season).

For me bigs have the toughest transition among positions. You can't be effective just by being big in the NBA. You need to lose a lot of weight to be mobile while also changing your game into a more wing type offense that involves a lot of shooting, driving and dishing.

And man.. Okafor has A LOT to change on his game that might take his entire rookie contract.

Man you got it completely backwards. All a big has to do to be effective in the NBA is run around and contest shots. They don't have to bring the ball up the court, set up the offense, shoot, or do anything that takes any amount of skill. If you're big and athletic, you can make an immediate impact on day 1. It's the guards that take the most amount of time to develop.

except that if you look deeper at the trend bigs nowadays needs to space the floor and most of them can space the floor and neutralize a shot blocker (see Grizz neutralizes DeAndre in that article). Blk rate and 2PTA/100 possessions have been trending downwards. You also need to be able to switch at perimeter with players being better scarily shooters every year, thats the defense everyone run in playoffs.

https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2016/11/22/13673818/marc-gasol-3-pointers-stats-highlights-nba-trend?client=safari

It made bigs like Hibbert (DPOY candidate at one time) obsolete.

Where the NBA is trending and where it's at right now are two different things. Bigs don't have to space the floor to be effective. They can just run around contesting shots and hustling for rebounds. And lucky for them, being tall/athletic gives them a huge advantage in defense/rebounding. Marc Gasol is not representative of the average NBA center.

[SelfishPlayer]

I've seen improvement from Brown, so yes I have faith in him.

You are placing faith in the wrong places. Brett Brown has done nothing but lose games as an NBA head coach, yet you have faith in him to put players in the right position for their careers?

Wit her arguably the least talented starting lineup in NBA history. But yea, I'd blame him for all the losses.

Late game coaching blunders have nothing to do with the talent of your players. But there are no advanced stats for coaching mistakes so I can't point to an advanced stat for why a head coach (on a team with low talent) shouldn't situational sub away from the players that got him the lead at the end of the game in favor of who in the hell knows why he brought in the guy off of the bench in the last minute of a tight game... That's what losers do and that he does well... There aren't advanced stats for that, just his record with and without Hinkie, still a losing head coach... Additionally his play calling out of time outs and for last second shots is atrocious. He coaches iso ball in those situations. How the hell is he running iso ball sets on what you admit is "arguably the least talented starting lineup in NBA history."

[Ericb5]

I'm not concerned with Okafor's offense at all because I know that he can be good on that end if in the right situations with the right teammates on the court.

I'm concerned about his rebounding more than anything else because I think it is his weakest skill, and I'm also concerned with his ability to defend the 4 because if he can't do that he won't be able to play with Embiid.

I want him to be focused completely on building the skills he would need to play at the 4, and I think that the time to do that is now while Simmons is out.

They lifted Okafor's minutes restriction, but he still is forced to only play when Embiid isn't on the court which means that he basically is being governed by Embiid's minutes restrictions.


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[76ciology]

Like I said, and this one is later than my posts..

Read on Twitter

[LloydFree]

According to Brett Brown, part of Jahlil Okafor's "improved"defensive abilities includes "running back the other way".
12:07 PM - 27

Like I said, and this one is later than my posts..

Read on Twitter

[Sixerscan]

Actually he has much improved DBPM,DRPM and deflections (around 30% improved stl%&blk%)this season, something related to what I've said before the season.

It's his rebounding and offense that is on a slump this season.

He's still 54th in DRPM among centers. So he grades out as a well below average backup on that end. I'm not sure how that isn't "terrible."

I also do like how with his numbers that are better its an "improvement" but the numbers that are worse are "in a slump" or a "small sample size." Referring to his steal rate going up from 0.7% to 0.9% as a "30% improvement!" is my favorite there.

You overlooked the DBPM (-1.5 vs -.2) and BLK% (2.9% vs 4.5%) part or you just didn't mention it on purpose?

Well RPM is obviously the more well thought of stat of the ones you cited, but here I'll make it more clear:

I also do like how with his numbers such as DBPM and BLK% that are better its an "improvement" but the numbers that are worse such as him having a lower rebounding percentage than Hollis Thompson and Bayless he's "in a slump" or a "small sample size."

Happy?

Whatever man, I'm sure if he drops off in those numbers you'll start spouting off about how good the team's rebounding percentage is with Okafor in the game off of 3 point shots taken from the left corner with 12 seconds left on the shot clock or some other stat you'd never bring up if it didn't show Okafor in a favorable light. It's just so tired at this point.

[SelfishPlayer]

I liked what I seen of Okafor guarding the centerless Cavs. The Cavs went away from his matchup in favor of other matchups. Kevin Love scored his points mostly against other Sixers and air. Lebron James even elected to pass the ball to another player when Okafor was guarding him. There are worse defenders on the Sixers than Okafor and two of them play PF, a position Brett Brown will not allow Okafor to receive any minutes at. Richaun Holmes should be playing as well. The Cavs took turns abusing TJ, Sergio, and Nik,

[spikeslovechild]

I'm not concerned with Okafor's offense at all because I know that he can be good on that end if in the right situations with the right teammates on the court.

I'm concerned about his rebounding more than anything else because I think it is his weakest skill, and I'm also concerned with his ability to defend the 4 because if he can't do that he won't be able to play with Embiid.

I want him to be focused completely on building the skills he would need to play at the 4, and I think that the time to do that is now while Simmons is out.

They lifted Okafor's minutes restriction, but he still is forced to only play when Embiid isn't on the court which means that he basically is being governed by Embiid's minutes restrictions.


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I'm concerned because I don't really know why. He's the backup and still treated as the 4th option in alot of cases and when he does get the opportunity isn't making the most of it.

He had another good game today and I'm sort tired of saying the talent is there because it is and pardon my french those who can't see how talented Okafor is are fools. The question is why isn't that talent showing up on the court on a regular basis.

[Sixerscan]

I'm not concerned with Okafor's offense at all because I know that he can be good on that end if in the right situations with the right teammates on the court.

I'm concerned about his rebounding more than anything else because I think it is his weakest skill, and I'm also concerned with his ability to defend the 4 because if he can't do that he won't be able to play with Embiid.

I want him to be focused completely on building the skills he would need to play at the 4, and I think that the time to do that is now while Simmons is out.

They lifted Okafor's minutes restriction, but he still is forced to only play when Embiid isn't on the court which means that he basically is being governed by Embiid's minutes restrictions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm concerned because I don't really know why. He's the backup and still treated as the 4th option in alot of cases and when he does get the opportunity isn't making the most of it.

He had another good game today and I'm sort tired of saying the talent is there because it is and pardon my french those who can't see how talented Okafor is are fools. The question is why isn't that talent showing up on the court on a regular basis.

Come on man, if we're not counting the limited minutes of Bayless and Grant, Okafor has the 2nd highest usage rate on the team. The highest usage rate is Embiid, who obviously never plays with Okafor. He's consistently getting opportunities, and as you said he has to take advantage of them like he did today for the most part.

[SelfishPlayer]

Okafor dished two beautiful "dimes" to Dario Saric and Gerald Henderson when they were cutting through the lane off of his post up against the Cavs and both times those two didn't finish. Dario turned what should have been an easy dunk for an NBA PF into a difficult missed layup. Henderson simply elected not to attempt the short shot in the lane in favor of passing the basketball.

[rzzzzz]

Jahlil was spotted today. not enough to alter the analytics but interesting anecdotal

[Ericb5]

I'm not concerned with Okafor's offense at all because I know that he can be good on that end if in the right situations with the right teammates on the court.

I'm concerned about his rebounding more than anything else because I think it is his weakest skill, and I'm also concerned with his ability to defend the 4 because if he can't do that he won't be able to play with Embiid.

I want him to be focused completely on building the skills he would need to play at the 4, and I think that the time to do that is now while Simmons is out.

They lifted Okafor's minutes restriction, but he still is forced to only play when Embiid isn't on the court which means that he basically is being governed by Embiid's minutes restrictions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm concerned because I don't really know why. He's the backup and still treated as the 4th option in alot of cases and when he does get the opportunity isn't making the most of it.

He had another good game today and I'm sort tired of saying the talent is there because it is and pardon my french those who can't see how talented Okafor is are fools. The question is why isn't that talent showing up on the court on a regular basis.

I think that it IS showing up on a regular basis throughout his career with the Sixers. He just got healthy again, and I expect his next month to be filled with good performances. We shall see what happens.

You can't compare him to a franchise player in Embiid. He isn't capable of protecting the rim like Embiid, and if his perimeter defenders stink then he is even more at a disadvantage.

On offense, if we could get more playmakers around him, and continue to develop his skills in space then he is going to be a very effective offensive player, even at the 4. He clearly has he gift.

I know that I'm a broken record on this, but he is 20 years old, and people expect him to play like a 25 year old all the time, and it just isn't fair to the kid.




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[76ciology]

According to Brett Brown, part of Jahlil Okafor's "improved"defensive abilities includes "running back the other way".
12:07 PM - 27

Like I said, and this one is later than my posts..

Read on Twitter

But it's on the record that Bb said he has improved right, like I said? Running back on D is one of them.

[spikeslovechild]

I'm not concerned with Okafor's offense at all because I know that he can be good on that end if in the right situations with the right teammates on the court.

I'm concerned about his rebounding more than anything else because I think it is his weakest skill, and I'm also concerned with his ability to defend the 4 because if he can't do that he won't be able to play with Embiid.

I want him to be focused completely on building the skills he would need to play at the 4, and I think that the time to do that is now while Simmons is out.

They lifted Okafor's minutes restriction, but he still is forced to only play when Embiid isn't on the court which means that he basically is being governed by Embiid's minutes restrictions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm concerned because I don't really know why. He's the backup and still treated as the 4th option in alot of cases and when he does get the opportunity isn't making the most of it.

He had another good game today and I'm sort tired of saying the talent is there because it is and pardon my french those who can't see how talented Okafor is are fools. The question is why isn't that talent showing up on the court on a regular basis.

I think that it IS showing up on a regular basis throughout his career with the Sixers. He just got healthy again, and I expect his next month to be filled with good performances. We shall see what happens.

You can't compare him to a franchise player in Embiid. He isn't capable of protecting the rim like Embiid, and if his perimeter defenders stink then he is even more at a disadvantage.

On offense, if we could get more playmakers around him, and continue to develop his skills in space then he is going to be a very effective offensive player, even at the 4. He clearly has he gift.

I know that I'm a broken record on this, but he is 20 years old, and people expect him to play like a 25 year old all the time, and it just isn't fair to the kid.




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I wasn't comparing him to Embiid.

I'm also not denying his gifts. We've seen them time and time again displayed in stretches. We've also seen him utilize his length to block shots. Part of his improvement on defense is some pretty basic fundamental stuff he is doing. His hands up don't shoot for example.

But what concerns me isn't raw talent. It's getting him to display and utilize that raw talent on the court. There is no reason for his size he is as a poor rebounder. He grabbed 9 boards today that should be the norm not an outlier. Especially being matched up against backup bigs.

His offensive numbers haven't just declined inregards to efficiency but also inregards to volume. He simply needs to be more aggressive and demand the basketball. I too have criticized his teammates but he's a backup now. At some point if he wants to remain with the team he is going to have to be more demonstrative.

Even today he took what 11 shots? He is averaging about 3 shots less per 100 possessions and 2 shots less per 36 minutes then last year. Now that he is the backup he should be getting more opp not less. Everytime he is on the floor the offense should be going through him. I understand some of that is how much he's struggled but like I said even today 11 shots.