Where is Jahlil Okafor?

[GlenRiceARoni]

It's really quite unfortunate that Russell didn't slip to the 76ers. I think hinkie would still be in charge had they landed him. He'd be a great fit with Simmons also.

Look at lebron/Kyrie. It works because they can alternate getting penetration and if they kick to a shooter and the defense is able to close out on the shooter the possession doesn't stall out. They can run a 2nd cycle with the other ball handler and still get an efficient possession. Not to mention it's easier to get transition opportunities when your forward or PG can push the ball.

Other teams have utilized the 2 point guard lineup like kemba/lin, dragic/bledsoe and gotten great offensive results with far inferior talent.

However, the point forward/ combo guard is much more deadly because you don't have to make as many concessions on defense by playing 2 PG together.


D'Angelo Russell, random drafted/FA SG, Simmons, Saric, and Embiid with Noel, Covington and a fairly conventional bench of shooters for spacing is a potential championship contender and a perennial playoff team at worst.

Right now the pieces don't fit. And I know the pieces have to fit because i watch them lose games . No fault, none to blame, it doesn't mean I don't desire to point the finger and blame Okafor and watch the team topple over.

I've done the math enough to know the dangers of second guessing Coleangelo. But this team is doomed to crumble unless it grows and strengthens it's communication.

And the cold silence of Noel and Jah has a tendency to atrophy any sense of team chemistry between these supposed brothers in the City of Brotherly Love.

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[SelfishPlayer]

I would take Langston Galloway in a heartbeat for Okafor. We can add T.J. to replace PG minutes they lose from the trade and it makes it a perfect financial match, too.

I'm not going to get my hopes up for that. If they trade Okafor, Im convinced it's going to be for a name player or former underperforming lottery pick. They're not going to want to deal with the media backlash from the media, for trading a top 3 pick for an undrafted free agent type.

I think more and more fans are getting smarter and understand Okafor isn't that good.

Amazing that you have come to a determination of that magnitude on such a young big man that has only ever played with pure garbage in the backcourt.

[76ciology]

Just be thankful that Okafor gives us something to talk about and can improve on your understanding of math, specially algebra (+/-).Haha

[GlenRiceARoni]

Plus/Minus is not algebra. It is simple arithmetic and it is a terrible metric to use to evaluate a player's value.

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[76ciology]

Plus/Minus is not algebra. It is simple arithmetic and it is a terrible metric to use to evaluate a player's value.

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Glad to be learning that because of Jah

[76ciology]

5 days

[dkj5061]

Plus/Minus is not algebra. It is simple arithmetic and it is a terrible metric to use to evaluate a player's value.

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Analyzing plus minus from a single game is often pointless, but plus minus over a span of games/ a season can be a very telling stat.

[76ciology]

Plus/Minus is not algebra. It is simple arithmetic and it is a terrible metric to use to evaluate a player's value.

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Analyzing plus minus from a single game is often pointless, but plus minus over a span of games/ a season can be a very telling stat.

Yeah for example with the Pistons game, on court Jah has 57DRtg and offcourt 126DRtg.

[TeamHigh]

Jah played really well today. I wonder if he especially struggles coming in for Embiid, or if it was one of those games where everyone came out energized and so was Okafor. Maybe if you expect him to be the one to inject energy, he struggles.

Definitely seems like a motor issue, and hopefully he gets up for more games.

[Ericb5]

Jah played really well today. I wonder if he especially struggles coming in for Embiid, or if it was one of those games where everyone came out energized and so was Okafor. Maybe if you expect him to be the one to inject energy, he struggles.

Definitely seems like a motor issue, and hopefully he gets up for more games.

I think he is more comfortable starting, and that is what is happening. With Embiid he only plays when Embiid doesn't (for the most part), and Embiid is still on a restriction so the opportunities are stilted.

Eventually I think Okafor could be fine playing from the bench as long as he can mix his minutes up between playing with Embiid and without him.


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[76ciology]

Jah played really well today. I wonder if he especially struggles coming in for Embiid, or if it was one of those games where everyone came out energized and so was Okafor. Maybe if you expect him to be the one to inject energy, he struggles.

Definitely seems like a motor issue, and hopefully he gets up for more games.

Motor issue. If you can remember he "gets up" for the big games last season such as those where he matched-up with KAT, KP and DMC. Some of these prospects are used to just show up and just run 50% of the motor (coast) and be productive during their amateur days. Won't work in the NBA, unless you improved your game and reach that superstar status.

...you can also make a case for Wiggins

[spikeslovechild]

I've said that all along this season.

He's just a hard person to trust right now. Glad he's playing better and competing but this stretch of 5-6 games where he competes and then 4-5 games where he takes nights off just doesn't do it for me anymore. I need for him to show effort for 40-50 games. I want to see him go after rebounds with both hands. I want him to set screens. I want him to demand the ball in the post and start to take over games offensively like he did last year.

I'm not seeing it out of him. People talk about efficiency and say hey he's shooting the ball but take a look at the lvl of difficulty of the looks he's getting. He can get most of those any time. He needs to start taking over the second unit. He should be taking 15-20 shots every night.

[76ciology]

I've said that all along this season.

He's just a hard person to trust right now. Glad he's playing better and competing but this stretch of 5-6 games where he competes and then 4-5 games where he takes nights off just doesn't do it for me anymore. I need for him to show effort for 40-50 games. I want to see him go after rebounds with both hands. I want him to set screens. I want him to demand the ball in the post and start to take over games offensively like he did last year.

I'm not seeing it out of him. People talk about efficiency and say hey he's shooting the ball but take a look at the lvl of difficulty of the looks he's getting. He can get most of those any time. He needs to start taking over the second unit. He should be taking 15-20 shots every night.

Maybe he was just rusty to start the season and he's getting into a groove in the last 5 games? His game is mostly based on effort, something he can control.

The thing with taking 15-20 shots is that its not efficient relative to his game and the game itself. Thus, he can score 25-30pts at 50FG%, but it would just count as "empty stats" in terms of offensive impact.

And thats the thing he needs to adjust. From points per game into team's point per possession. From limiting his man's ppg into finding ways to limit the opposing team's points when he's on the floor.

Offensively, he's setting better screens, driving and passing more. Defensively, he's been better on chasing boards and challenging good volume of shots on defense. Be like Jokic and less like Nurkic.

[Sixerscan]

15-20 shots for someone playing half the game would be historically ridiculous.

Anyway, it's pretty clear that he's rounding back into shape. There's no way he could have played 27 all out minutes a month ago. And all the effort BS is starting to fade away. A lot of his game is still annoying but if he can adjust to coming off the bench this could actually get to be pretty fun.

[spikeslovechild]

15-20 shots for someone playing half the game would be historically ridiculous.

Anyway, it's pretty clear that he's rounding back into shape. There's no way he could have played 27 all out minutes a month ago. And all the effort BS is starting to fade away. A lot of his game is still annoying but if he can adjust to coming off the bench this could actually get to be pretty fun.

He's playing 27-28 minutes a night now which is only a couple minutes less then last season.

But by all means take a look at his PER 36. He is taking shots that really isn't debatable (-2). His usage is also down. His shots PER 100 is also down (-3).

He should be more of a focus on offense coming off the bench but somehow he's been featured less. You won't find a bigger defender of Okafor then me last off-season but I'm not going defend the lack of effort early on the season. It was there for all to see and can't be excused by being out of shape.

I'm glad he is playing better and I hope that continues but I'm not sure he does enough without the ball to justify his current role longterm.

[Kolkmania]

15-20 shots for someone playing half the game would be historically ridiculous.

Anyway, it's pretty clear that he's rounding back into shape. There's no way he could have played 27 all out minutes a month ago. And all the effort BS is starting to fade away. A lot of his game is still annoying but if he can adjust to coming off the bench this could actually get to be pretty fun.

He's playing 27-28 minutes a night now which is only a couple minutes less then last season.

But by all means take a look at his PER 36. He is taking shots that really isn't debatable (-2). His usage is also down. His shots PER 100 is also down (-3).

He should be more of a focus on offense coming off the bench but somehow he's been featured less. You won't find a bigger defender of Okafor then me last off-season but I'm not going defend the lack of effort early on the season. It was there for all to see and can't be excused by being out of shape.

I'm glad he is playing better and I hope that continues but I'm not sure he does enough without the ball to justify his current role longterm.

I'm actually glad that he's showing signs of being capable of contributing in a team orientated offense instead of ISO Okafor every single possession.

[ankle420breaker]

I like that opposing bigs don't get a break when they play us. Embiid and Okafor are both extremely tough covers and form a nice offensive tag team.

As of late, Okafor appears to be more charged on the defensive end and has actually been actively pursuing rebounds. Hopefully that effort can be sustained. I don't ever foresee him being an impact defender/rebounder, but I expect him to at least be a presence on that end.

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[Sixerscan]

15-20 shots for someone playing half the game would be historically ridiculous.

Anyway, it's pretty clear that he's rounding back into shape. There's no way he could have played 27 all out minutes a month ago. And all the effort BS is starting to fade away. A lot of his game is still annoying but if he can adjust to coming off the bench this could actually get to be pretty fun.

He's playing 27-28 minutes a night now which is only a couple minutes less then last season.

But by all means take a look at his PER 36. He is taking shots that really isn't debatable (-2). His usage is also down. His shots PER 100 is also down (-3).

He should be more of a focus on offense coming off the bench but somehow he's been featured less. You won't find a bigger defender of Okafor then me last off-season but I'm not going defend the lack of effort early on the season. It was there for all to see and can't be excused by being out of shape.

I'm glad he is playing better and I hope that continues but I'm not sure he does enough without the ball to justify his current role longterm.

Well if he actually needs to have a Michael Jordan level usage rate (Which is what 15-20 shots in 27 minutes would entail) to justify being a backup center then we have problems.

I don't doubt his shots have gone down. IIRC many people predicted in the offseason that might happen. He's not on a 10 win team anymore. His teammates, even coming off the bench (and it's not like he's only playing with bench players), are better than they were last year. Despite him being hot garbage for a decent chunk of his games, the team is actually scoring more points per possession with him on the court than last year.

Part of being on a better team is being part of a team concept and sharing the ball. Let alone if the team actually gets good and/or he actually starts playing more with the other high usage rate guys on the team. (Embiid and eventually Simmons as well as probably whoever we draft).

I think there should be less of a focus on getting him more shots (because I'm not seeing how his opportunities will go UP in the coming years, if anything they'll continue to go down, though the quality of opportunity will hopefully go up) and more on trying to get through to him that the way he's going to see the court more is if he does more of the other stuff.

[76ciology]

Also think that his offensive game is too predictable/limited for him to take that many shots. To give you a glimpse of what it will look like if he just keeps forcing his shot was one of his earlier game against Gobert. For me, he needs to expand his range to give him more options(the only 3 centers among the top 40 ORPM players are shooters). Then also needs to be in the flow of the offense and take what the defense gives him.

Right now defense doesn't know if they'll get the passive sleep walking Jah or the aggressive Jah that got Gobert off guard and allowed Jah to dunk over Gobert twice in the same game.

Yup, tough to be a superstar offensive player for a center nowadays. I find the game too perimeter oriented while bigs only play complimentary role (space the floor, passer to the cutting player, Shots around the rim off rim protector helping slasher and punishing defense when they switch screens). Who knows maybe we'll see more 5-1 pick and roll such as what the heat run today with James Johnson as the ball handler and dragic as the pick and pop shooter.

Highest form of offense is read and react. And you can't utilize that if you aren't diverse on offense, where you can score off the three zones (3s, mid range and paint).

[spikeslovechild]

There is a whole lot of flowery language being used for Okafor being phased out of the offense. You guys talk about about him playing within an offense I just see him parking himself in the paint and never really touching or receiving the ball most possessions.

Which is fine if that player is Noel but Okafor needs those touches be an effective player because even with some improvement he still an offensive center and does not do enough on the defensive end to justify his current role. I've also read that one of the reasons is due to the players being better compared to last season. Well that hasn't stopped Embiid from getting his possessions. His usage is 37.2% and he's playing with better players then Okafor as a starter most nights.

I don't know ultimately what reasons are for this. Is it Okafor not being demonstrative. Is Coach brown wanting to utilize other options. Are the PG afraid of turning the ball over. Regardless unless something changes I just don't see it working.