Where is Jahlil Okafor?

[76ciology]

Woah, stop right there. If that's the case, Embiid will put up monster numbers and the Sixers will be in great position to win the basketball game.

Look deeper, and try to back read my post why it's not THAT ideal.

I'd rather have the PF guarding Okafor and have 4 guys spacing the floor.

Similar to this..

I'm not sure if that's an efficient shot attempt. Also look at all the possible dig situations, extremely hard for Okafor to limit his turnovers. I'd rather see him putting more effort in gaining deeper post position.

- see shot chart at previous post
- Jah at Iso .98 points per possession at 5%TO Freq vs. Jah at post .78 points per possession at 12.8% TO Freq.
- BB said how Jah show face up more (after I said it here).

P.S. Biid again should limit his post frequency. Currently at .77 points per possession and a whooping 24% TO Freq.

[Unbreakable99]

Prokafor lol.

[JoJoEmbiid]

And I think he can. He's shown that he isn't great defensively at the 5, and he probably won't improve dramatically. But hes lost a bunch of weight, has slimmed down, and is quick enough to guard 4s. Offensively he will get easier buckets against non centers. And if his man get by him, they can meet Embiid. I hope that with the minutes "bump" Embiid and Okafor can play together a couple of minutes per game. We have Richuan off the bench who can play the 5 too. I want to see more of Jah at the 4, although Ersan and Dario may make that hard.

[TTP]

You forgot the green font.

[CoreyGallagher]

And I think he can. He's shown that he isn't great defensively at the 5, and he probably won't improve dramatically. But hes lost a bunch of weight, has slimmed down, and is quick enough to guard 4s. Offensively he will get easier buckets against non centers. And if his man get by him, they can meet Embiid. I hope that with the minutes "bump" Embiid and Okafor can play together a couple of minutes per game. We have Richuan off the bench who can play the 5 too. I want to see more of Jah at the 4, although Ersan and Dario may make that hard.

Merged into the Okafor thread, it's been discussed here before and I don't think it will encourage much more/different discussion than this other thread does.

[LloydFree]

And I think he can. He's shown that he isn't great defensively at the 5, and he probably won't improve dramatically. But hes lost a bunch of weight, has slimmed down, and is quick enough to guard 4s. Offensively he will get easier buckets against non centers. And if his man get by him, they can meet Embiid. I hope that with the minutes "bump" Embiid and Okafor can play together a couple of minutes per game. We have Richuan off the bench who can play the 5 too. I want to see more of Jah at the 4, although Ersan and Dario may make that hard.

This is comical.

[JoJoEmbiid]

And I think he can. He's shown that he isn't great defensively at the 5, and he probably won't improve dramatically. But hes lost a bunch of weight, has slimmed down, and is quick enough to guard 4s. Offensively he will get easier buckets against non centers. And if his man get by him, they can meet Embiid. I hope that with the minutes "bump" Embiid and Okafor can play together a couple of minutes per game. We have Richuan off the bench who can play the 5 too. I want to see more of Jah at the 4, although Ersan and Dario may make that hard.

This is comical.

What is? You seen him on offense, he can MOVE! He just needs to play with some that will motivate him to play D, like his good friend JoJo.

[Kobblehead]

What is? You seen him on offense, he can MOVE! He just needs to play with some that will motivate him to play D, like his good friend JoJo.

He can't move in any of the useful ways you need to as a defender. His backpedal is oafy and uncoordinated and he can't slide laterally either.

Okafor is useless on defense unless he's bodying up on a man in the post. Thinking he can defend Fs is absolutely bonkers.

[SelfishPlayer]

Okafor is useless on defense unless he's bodying up on a man in the post. Thinking he can defend Fs is absolutely bonkers.

I liked the way Okafor looked when defending Kevin Love when the Cavs put Love at center. I also liked the way he looked with Tristan Thompson defending him. Both players are NBA forwards placed at center which I believe Okafor has been miscast at his entire NBA career to date by the same coach that plans to make Ben Simmons a point guard! This is like watching Chip Kelly misuse Demarco Murray but the average fan was not knowledgeable enough to understand that was happening and it was not DeMarco simply not performing well enough.

[76ciology]

..he can't move
..his backpedal is uncoordinated

[flat_eric]

..he can't move
..his backpedal is uncoordinated

Haha mate you choose to use a video where quite clearly Okafor made a good play by blocking the shot to tear the guy down. Some of you are unbelievable in your relentlessness in attacking the guy, even after a 16-13 game.

[eagereyez]

..he can't move
..his backpedal is uncoordinated

Haha mate you choose to use a video where quite clearly Okafor made a good play by blocking the shot to tear the guy down. Some of you are unbelievable in your relentlessness in attacking the guy, even after a 16-13 game.

Dude... it's called sarcasm.

[SelfishPlayer]

His name is Jahlil Oka4! OkaFORWARD!

[TeamHigh]

..he can't move
..his backpedal is uncoordinated

To be fair, this is him running forward in a straight line, which is not really something that is mentioned as tough for him to do.

The concern is whether he can move laterally fast enough in defensive sets, and whether he'll react quick enough to position himself well enough for good team defense.

Watch on YouTube

Take a look at the highlights with Embiid and Okafor on the floor. The same concerns we mentioned exists. Embiid is the one spacing the floor and taking threes, and they put Biyombo on him and Vucevic on Okafor. Embiid here is essentially playing the 4 in order to give Okafor space. Look how he scores, threes and jumpers from outside the paint.

It works because Embiid is a good shooter, not because it's his optimum position. And because the Magic are one of the few teams in the NBA that plays with two centers. But as the team's best player, Embiid should get to play his best position.

[76ciology]

..he can't move
..his backpedal is uncoordinated

To be fair, this is him running forward in a straight line, which is not really something that is mentioned as tough for him to do.

The concern is whether he can move laterally fast enough in defensive sets, and whether he'll react quick enough to position himself well enough for good team defense.

Watch on YouTube

Take a look at the highlights with Embiid and Okafor on the floor. The same concerns we mentioned exists. Embiid is the one spacing the floor and taking threes, and they put Biyombo on him and Vucevic on Okafor. Embiid here is essentially playing the 4 in order to give Okafor space. Look how he scores, threes and jumpers from outside the paint.

It works because Embiid is a good shooter, not because it's his optimum position. And because the Magic are one of the few teams in the NBA that plays with two centers. But as the team's best player, Embiid should get to play his best position.

Biid is only shooting 60FG% at the paint, elite shooter from 16ft out and is only scoring .77 PPP with 25% TO rate on post plays. OK, don't get me wrong as to think I'm saying he needs to be a bargnani. I'm just saying he needs to have a right balanced offense.

Look at the modern bigs who are big plus on offense. DMC, KP and KAT. All these guys are becoming more and more perimeter oriented.

I'll go even further to say that Biid as a heavy jump shooter in today's game was a big plus on offense (109ORtg on court vs 72 ORtg off court) relative to his games when he forced the ball down low.

I don't really care if people agree with me because I know the coaching staff also see the same thing and this includes Jah attacking the basket and posting less on offense.

To simplify things. It's hard to see the court when you are back against the basket. When you are fronting the basket, you can read the defense and rotate the ball to the open man which how the game (and the NBA) rewards you on offense.

[rzzzzz]

But as the team's best player, Embiid should get to play his best position.

how about he gets to play with the team mate who he has the most chemistry with, even if he happens to be another talented big. and then we rotate in our other talented big to hold down the fort. (woe to those who underestimate Hinkie, especially his admirers.)

[76ciology]

I know we all are stat driven. But if Okafor is not happy playing the 4, he can easily mess it up by showing less enthusiasm to play this position. These things happen with these players who look out for their career and listen to the advise of their agents (ask Noel).

Bright side is that Okafor seems to genuinely like to make the Biid/Okafor tandem work. And quite frankly, it's not like he has a choice.

[76ciology]

But as the team's best player, Embiid should get to play his best position.

how about he gets to play with the team mate who he has the most chemistry with, even if he happens to be another talented big. and then we rotate in our other talented big to hold down the fort. (woe to those who underestimate Hinkie, especially his admirers.)

On a sidenote, this is a big praise I have for Biid. He makes his team better similarly to how you see most star/superstar plays. He can play with the most toxic John Doe and still make the team better.

If you are a shooter, he can draw defense from the interior. If you are an interior scorer, he can space the floor. And on the other side, he'll always be there to anchor the D at an elite level. That is a trait the other promising bigs in the league can't provide.

[Sportfan73]

But as the team's best player, Embiid should get to play his best position.

how about he gets to play with the team mate who he has the most chemistry with, even if he happens to be another talented big. and then we rotate in our other talented big to hold down the fort. (woe to those who underestimate Hinkie, especially his admirers.)

On a sidenote, this is a big praise I have for Biid. He makes his team better similarly to how you see most star/superstar plays. He can play with the most toxic John Doe and still make the team better.

If you are a shooter, he can draw defense from the interior. If you are an interior scorer, he can space the floor. And on the other side, he'll always be there to anchor the D at an elite level. That is a trait the other promising bigs in the league can't provide.

The thing I see with Embiid is he affects winning more than any of the young bigs. For most of the reasons you said

[76ciology]

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