Chuma Okeke first outlook

[pepe1991]

So 27 games passed by, he started in 2 games



Counting stats are pretty ugly.

Advanced stats:
46,% TS, - 2,8 BPM; - 3,31 RPM (71# among 84 PFs ) also don't look good.

Eye test is subjective so i'll keep it to me, but it's not hard to see he has no agressivness nor advanced game in him.

His lack of agression is best viewed through two facts:
1) He only draw 6 shooting fouls (14 free throws total)
2) He is yet to dunk a ball

Chuma Okeke attemped 121 shot so far ( witch is very low, but mostly because he simply refuses to shoot more ).
Among them:
71 of them is taken with 0 dribbles. (29/71 = 40,8%)
18 of them is taken with 1 dribble ( 4/18 = 22%)
14 of them with 2 dribbles ( 5/14 = 35%)

and additional 18 when he takes at least 3 dribbles he shoots 33% ( 6-18).


Eye oppening information is that he is yet to make any three once he picks up a dribble. Shooting 0-9 for 3 for a season. This goes in line with him shooting 4-24 from pullup jumpers at college.


For player who turns 23 this summer, it's far more alarming than for some 19 years old rookie to be this one dimensional and limited.

On defense he isn't bad, but it's far from elite defense. His passing game is refreshing skill.

I'm not making my conclusions, 'll just keep them to myself because i'm tired of arguments just to come back years later and hear " how dare you have victory lap "...over a fact you were wrong for 5 years straight? Yea, i dare.

Anyway, what's your guys thoughts, outlooks, first looks, hot takes?

[MartinsIzAfraud]

His Ceiling is AG today & i’m not sure he’ll get there. He’s not a great shooter off the dribble, he doesn’t look to have the ability to beat his man 1v1. He’s a catch and shoot guy whose struggling with confidence as a rookie normally does.

At 15 where we picked him if he can be a serviceable role player for 6+ years that’s a good pick IMO.

[The Real Dalic]

He's gonna be the next Kawhi or Paul George.

[Knightro]

The little bit of explosiveness Okeke had in college, which certainly wasn’t elite even before his ACL tear, just hasn’t really returned yet. Plain and simple.

And if it never comes back, he’s going to have a hard time developing into a plus player. He was never going to be a good dribbler, but the lack of lift is killing his finishing ability, his ability to draw fouls and limiting his defensive capabilities too.

It’s not impossible for him to succeed without athleticism. There are paths for him if he really continues to develop as a shooter and as a help defender.

But hey I mean these are the risks you run when you draft an injured player. You never know how their body is going to bounce back from a significant injury.

[fklt]

doesn't make mistakes even under pressure which is quite big for a rookie. though, he is quite old for a rookie too, so there's also that.

he still doesn't play with the dynamism he displayed at college, so it's obvious he is not a hundred per cent back from his injury just yet. his poise makes me think the lack of aggressiveness is not from a lack of confidence but about where he is as a player right now.

overall, his numbers are not impressive, but most rookies impact numbers are pretty **** anyway. I believe his game has a natural disposition for growth just playing within himself. I can see him on a linear tobias harris-like growth trajectory, albeit at a slower rate. not having shiny, god-given talents doesn't mean that you have a low-ceiling. but tbh I find the ceiling/floor talk much ado about nothing in most occassions.

[The Real Dalic]

In all seriousness, I think that so far he's shown the capabilities to be a decent to pretty good backup SF/PF with a couple more offseasons.

He's already a very good passer, one of the best on this team and he always amazes me with his passing abilites. He seems to be a pretty good defender. He can also hit set shots. He needs to work on his off the dribble game though. Everything from slashing to 1-dribble pullups. But so far, I like what I see from him. Just clearly needs some more time and work.

[cedric76]

Chuma is gonna be a big part of this team

[paperboymafia]

I'm not going to judge anything of him for at least another 50-60 games. Had a bad injury so its a little unfair to judge. Some need longer to recover from an ACL.

[pepe1991]

I'm not going to judge anything of him for at least another 50-60 games. Had a bad injury so its a little unfair to judge. Some need longer to recover from an ACL.

on March 29th this year , it will be execlly 2 years from Okeke's ACL tear.

[MagicFan4Lyfe]

I remember during off-season there were people suggesting Chuma would be a potential difference maker for the team. I wonder what they have to say now.

Another disappointing WeHam first round pick considering the hype. I won't call him a bust yet but it's been 2 years since surgery and a whole year to rehab.

[drsd]

I'm not going to judge anything of him for at least another 50-60 games. Had a bad injury so its a little unfair to judge. Some need longer to recover from an ACL.

An off-season to work on his body and his game, we will see if he is a rotation-level player in the NBA, or not. If so, then he was a good pick at his slot. He does not need to develop to a starters-level to be considered a good selection.

[PrimeThyme]

I said it in the GT last night, but I appreciate the effort level he plays with. However, he's just not very good. Offensively or defensively && I don't really see that changing either. I'm just not in love with his skill set as a player. His 3pt stroke is a problem imo && he doesn't have the lateral movement to be the switch-all defender he was touted as.

It doesn't help that Alexander-Walker is starting to really come along since finally getting consistent minutes and becoming the starter in NO's either.

This will always be one of the most head-scratching picks our franchise has made. It was on draft night, && still is today.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

I said it in the GT last night, but I appreciate the effort level he plays with. However, he's just not very good. Offensively or defensively && I don't really see that changing either. I'm just not in love with his skill set as a player. His 3pt stroke is a problem imo && he doesn't have the lateral movement to be the switch-all defender he was touted as.

It doesn't help that Alexander-Walker is starting to really come along since finally getting consistent minutes and becoming the starter in NO's either.

This will always be one of the most head-scratching picks our franchise has made. It was on draft night, && still is today.

he takes his guide hand off the ball when he shots it's wild for sure. Don't even get me started on NAW, he's looking like a real solid piece for sure.

[paperboymafia]

I'm not going to judge anything of him for at least another 50-60 games. Had a bad injury so its a little unfair to judge. Some need longer to recover from an ACL.

on March 29th this year , it will be execlly 2 years from Okeke's ACL tear.

Yes indeed but he's been playing competitive NBA games since when? That's the metric I'm going by. I am no doctor and absolutely no expert and I watch a lot more football (soccer) and notice huge disparities between players on how long it took them to come back from big injuries such as ACL tears.

One example I can give from the team I support in the EPL (Arsenal) is Hector Bellerin, got injured on Jan 19, 2019, missed 31 games, came back Sep 16, 2019 apparently ...we're 2021 now and I'd argue he's *still* not at *all* the same player as he was before. Then you have other players that came back and managed to find their utmost level.

We jsut don't know yet for Chuma. Anyways, I don't expect his highest level to be that high. If he can be a solid rotational, then that^d be great.

[Nyce_1]

Chuma's feel for the game is elite. He's a smart and willing passer and you see he has a 3pt shot. With more confidence, i see his potential. Hopefully he, and the other kids, get a summer league and normal off-season of training. If this is his baseline, I'm happy for what's to come.

[drsd]

Chuma's feel for the game is elite. He's a smart and willing passer and you see he has a 3pt shot. With more confidence, i see his potential. Hopefully he, and the other kids, get a summer league and normal off-season of training. If this is his baseline, I'm happy for what's to come.

If Okeke develops to a starter level, or more, then he is the steal of the draft.


..

[Xatticus]

Ah yes... is this where we audition for the soon-to-be-vacated position of black man we blame all of our problems on?

I assumed we'd just start piling on Fultz, but given how bad we have been in his absence, we can't wait for him to return. We need someone to blame that is actually getting minutes right now.

I didn't like the pick. I was vocal about it at the time. All you can do is hope he develops at this point. He could be a solid-to-plus defender. He could be a nice pick-and-pop option. I'm only pessimistic about his future because of Clifford though. You can see that he tries to make something happen by driving to the basket after getting closed out, but we don't run that advanced movement **** in Orlando. He has to learn to just kick it back out up top and reset so we can try to run another Vucevic screen or pin down for Fournier or Ross. Everything else is just off-script BS that will piss off Cliff.

I could lament that we didn't draft NAW, but I'm fairly certainly he'd be sharing a bunk with Bamba in the doghouse. NAW makes the types of mistakes that Clifford doesn't abide.

[drsd]

I remember during off-season there were people suggesting Chuma would be a potential difference maker for the team. I wonder what they have to say now.

Another disappointing WeHam first round pick considering the hype. I won't call him a bust yet but it's been 2 years since surgery and a whole year to rehab.

Many here will not share your view. But to be fair, his PER is below 10 and he ranks as the 26th "best" rookie by that metric. In that, his selection at 16 is a poor choice.

But, as the psychics say, time will tell.

..

[OrlandO]

I'm not sure there's much to take away from his first two months. He was a mid-first, hadn't played in a year and a half, and is a rookie playing a limited role on a crippled team. He has not shown much, but the cards are also stacked against him in year 1. His goals are probably just to stay healthy, try not to make mistakes, move the ball and try to make some open shots. Not like he was a high lotto pick with high expectations... if he can develop into a good bench player that'd be fine.

[penny_nz]

To me he's shown flashes that got me excited, he's shown a semi competent handle I wasn't expecting, his defense looked good / high motor but with rookie mistakes, and his 3pt shot LOOKS to the eye relatively smooth. But yes, his numbers are very underwhelming, there's no obvious driving ability, his shooting is inconsistent and he seems naturally hesitant to take his shot. If the catch and shoot is his look, he has passed on so many wide open ones, or hesitated till he's closed out. That might be down to "speed of the game" after so long not playing competitive basketball, but yeah, long way to go.

I'd still want to see him get much more minutes, to try and work through these issues, get reps and see what we have, but sadly looks like he's buried behind Aminu now.