Xatticus wrote:Skin wrote:Bensational wrote:
SG?
Jokes. I love that movie.
To me, his best spot will be where he's the least liability on defense, in the short term. I've seen in his scouting clips that defending the perimeter is a weakness of his. He's more of a weakside recovery shot blocker than anything else, which would suggest PF on most matchups. But if he's not defending an on-ball 3, he could probably handle the matchup. He'd get abused at SG.
Maybe if you had a lineup that could switch to allow him to defend the slowest forward, then on offense he could play whatever 'position' you like. Their defense may not offer up a SG to cover him.
Personally, I'd like to try groom him into a Hedo-esque player. He likely won't be the same. In the footage I've seen, he doesn't have a first step or much burst, and a lot of his moves actually just set up a pass rather than a bucket. That's because he's actually a pretty weak scorer. Can't finish through contact. Can't shoot the 3 consistently. Is mostly at his best on the break, or handling whilst a defense is still settling. He might be able to beat a C off the dribble, and some of the slower-footed 4's. Regardless, he'll be able to see over most defenders, and he has the vision and instincts of who to hit, and can move with the ball enough to find the look or man he needs to.
He needs to find a way to score, other than fast breaks. Gotta tighten that jump shot, or learn to finish through contact. I have hopes for him. But, he would be another shooting challenged player added to the fold - and another big man. I can't imagine the reaction will go down well.
Crazy can be good! Is it insanity....? Uh hell yeah, probably... no doubt the risk of failure exists.... but the experiment could be genius! You just have to be comfortable with plan B.
I said before that I'd even consider playing Okeke as a 2 in certain line ups...or against certain opponents. The playoffs are all about creating mismatches. Unconventional basketball can lead to surprising success. Same reasons why people like Vassell as a 3D off ball SG is the same mold I would experiment with Okeke. Space the floor, provide tough D...
Imagine if Poku could play PG on occasion. My mind gets crazy thinking of out of the box scenarios. If we have players as conventional fits then the exploration of unconventional fits can be more openly accepted. I'm not trying to suggest Poku at Guard is a permanent full time idea. I already said his strength is in giving us roster versatility.
You can call him whatever you want to, but there is no way he ends up guarding PGs or chasing guys around screens. He looks to all the world as someone you want defending off the ball against a Danny Green type where he can use his length and IQ to provide help. He might be alright at the four. He is weak now, but he seems to know how to use the little physicality that he has. He can shuffle his feet a bit. He probably ends up as something comparable to Porzingis defensively. You’ll want to maximize his ability to help and minimize his exposure to anyone that can bully him or draw him out on an island.
Yeah, I'm still trying to learn more about him. I don't really have interest in him if the team projects him as a PF. Much more comfortable with the investment if he's a SF. Moving him around wouldn't bother me in order to experiment. Toughest part of this all is that I just feel like he's years away from arriving and I'm intrigued with some other prospects as well.