Mr. Jabari Smith Jr & the Big Scorers

[D J C]

I feel like everyone is trying to fit Jabari into a box because he’s such a unique prospect, and it’s making him underrated.

The same thing happened with Trae. People didn’t want to compare him to Steph, so instead it was someone like Mike Bibby.

C’mon, like Lauri Markkanen? Thats one of the laziest comps ive ever seen and ive seen it a few times now. The similarities stop at them being 6’10+ and shooting 42% from 3.

Jabari lead a team to a top 10 AP finish and 28 wins, a year after having a 13-14 record. The 2nd and 3rd leading scorers on the team averaged 12 PPG each on 39/29/72 and 37/32/84 splits. The only other NBA player on the team is Kessler, an old school 7fter who is a prospect because of his defense. Exluding Jabari, Auburn shot under 29% from 3 as a team. Worse than team like SIU Edwardsville and Coppin State.

Lauri was on a top 5 Arizona team that featured 4 other NBA players. Allonzo Trier was their #1 option. Lauri played a much different game, and was better around the rim as more of a 4/5 than a wing. Most of his 3s come off of catch & shoots.

Jabari constantly made shots off the dribble, out of the mid post, fade aways over defenders dropped all over him, 3s after a jab step.

Also.. Jabari was 3rd on the team in AST% at a respectable 14%. Lauri was a distant 6th on his team at 5.6%… 5th being at 14%. Again, their games could not have been more different.

Lets not even get started on how polar opposite they are on the defensive end. Lets just move on to The Ringer’s comparisons.

A taller Harrison Barnes? First off, we’re going to act like +4” wingspan and +3” in height doesn’t completely change a player?

They must be comparing them as pros.. because I dont want to believe they really think they were similar prospects coming out of college. Wait, even in the pros it makes no damn sense. Jabari is going to regress and have half the AST% and FTr he did in college? And if a coach has Jabari taking 50%-60% of his shots within 10ft of the basket, I’ll personally buy a billboard and start a smear campaign because it’d clearly be an act of hate towards this young man.

What else we got.. Rashard Lewis? Ok yeah another tall shooter. If Jabari never progresses and stays as good as he is at 18 years old for his entire career.. sure I can buy it. But I expect him to beat Rashard’s career high in PPG by his 2nd year in the league.

The only comparison I’d feel comfortable making for Jabari is Paul George, but even then he has 2”-3” in height + wingspan on him. I believe Jabari will be a better scorer than early career PG13, but the impact he had is similar to what I see for JSJ. You know, when PG13 lead Indy to two ECF by 23 y/o.

And while I’m here, lets address the concerns of Jabari’s low 2PT%..

First off, at the rim (0-4ft) he’s fine.. 64.7% and right at average. Definitely room to improve but im not concerned. Where he struggled was the rest of the paint where he shot 38.3%. Not a death sentence, especially in CBB where everything is compressed and when he had the worst 3pt shooting team around him.

What really dragged down his 2PT% was shots from the baseline.. he shot 13/56 from there. Not sure why he shot so many attempts from there, maybe the offensive system, maybe trying to improve, but I dont think its really a concern in the league.

He made his shots at an elite % where it mattered, the zones where he’s going to shoot 70% of his shots in the league. From mid-range on the elbows he shot an elite 49% on 72 attempts. Then obviously the elite 42% on high volume from 3, but even more impressive is 48.7% from the right wing 3 and 45% from the left wing 3.

All in all.. do yourself a favor and please stop disrespecting this young man and underrating him before he proves you wrong in a few months.

[Bergmaniac]

Are you his agent by any chance?

[89Magicfan]

I feel like everyone is trying to fit Jabari into a box because he’s such a unique prospect, and it’s making him underrated.

The same thing happened with Trae. People didn’t want to compare him to Steph, so instead it was someone like Mike Bibby.

C’mon, like Lauri Markkanen? Thats one of the laziest comps ive ever seen and ive seen it a few times now. The similarities stop at them being 6’10+ and shooting 42% from 3.

Jabari lead a team to a top 10 AP finish and 28 wins, a year after having a 13-14 record. The 2nd and 3rd leading scorers on the team averaged 12 PPG each on 39/29/72 and 37/32/84 splits. The only other NBA player on the team is Kessler, an old school 7fter who is a prospect because of his defense. Exluding Jabari, Auburn shot under 29% from 3 as a team. Worse than team like SIU Edwardsville and Coppin State.

Lauri was on a top 5 Arizona team that featured 4 other NBA players. Allonzo Trier was their #1 option. Lauri played a much different game, and was better around the rim as more of a 4/5 than a wing. Most of his 3s come off of catch & shoots.

Jabari constantly made shots off the dribble, out of the mid post, fade aways over defenders dropped all over him, 3s after a jab step.

Also.. Jabari was 3rd on the team in AST% at a respectable 14%. Lauri was a distant 6th on his team at 5.6%… 5th being at 14%. Again, their games could not have been more different.

Lets not even get started on how polar opposite they are on the defensive end. Lets just move on to The Ringer’s comparisons.

A taller Harrison Barnes? First off, we’re going to act like +4” wingspan and +3” in height doesn’t completely change a player?

They must be comparing them as pros.. because I dont want to believe they really think they were similar prospects coming out of college. Wait, even in the pros it makes no damn sense. Jabari is going to regress and have half the AST% and FTr he did in college? And if a coach has Jabari taking 50%-60% of his shots within 10ft of the basket, I’ll personally buy a billboard and start a smear campaign because it’d clearly be an act of hate towards this young man.

What else we got.. Rashard Lewis? Ok yeah another tall shooter. If Jabari never progresses and stays as good as he is at 18 years old for his entire career.. sure I can buy it. But I expect him to beat Rashard’s career high in PPG by his 2nd year in the league.

The only comparison I’d feel comfortable making for Jabari is Paul George, but even then he has 2”-3” in height + wingspan on him. I believe Jabari will be a better scorer than early career PG13, but the impact he had is similar to what I see for JSJ. You know, when PG13 lead Indy to two ECF by 23 y/o.

And while I’m here, lets address the concerns of Jabari’s low 2PT%..

First off, at the rim (0-4ft) he’s fine.. 64.7% and right at average. Definitely room to improve but im not concerned. Where he struggled was the rest of the paint where he shot 38.3%. Not a death sentence, especially in CBB where everything is compressed and when he had the worst 3pt shooting team around him.

What really dragged down his 2PT% was shots from the baseline.. he shot 13/56 from there. Not sure why he shot so many attempts from there, maybe the offensive system, maybe trying to improve, but I dont think its really a concern in the league.

He made his shots at an elite % where it mattered, the zones where he’s going to shoot 70% of his shots in the league. From mid-range on the elbows he shot an elite 49% on 72 attempts. Then obviously the elite 42% on high volume from 3, but even more impressive is 48.7% from the right wing 3 and 45% from the left wing 3.

All in all.. do yourself a favor and please stop disrespecting this young man and underrating him before he proves you wrong in a few months.

Don’t underrate him with Rasheed but overrate him with the PG comparison. He does not have PG’s ball handling. He won’t be able to score like PG because of that.

[basketballRob]

Jabari will score more than PG because it's easier for him to shoot over players. Kind of like Dirk did.

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[89Magicfan]

Jabari will score more than PG because it's easier for him to shoot over players. Kind of like Dirk did.

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Dirk was a legit 7 feet coming out.

[dirkdiggler4177]

Why did Jabari shoot such a low fieldgoal percentage?

[ORL_on_FIRE]

Bigger Khris Middleton. Jabari can imitate and replicate the ways he creates his shot imo.

[basketballRob]

Why did Jabari shoot such a low fieldgoal percentage?

The far majority of his shots were from outside. He also didn't react well to double teams.

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[fateis007]

It's really hard for me to see the Paul George comparison. Paul always had handles and just got better as he matured in the NBA. He was a SF and could light it up on a fast break.

Do they have offensive similarities? Sure.

But Jabari is missing a huge part of Paul's game he hasn't even shown in college much. Does he have the handles and speed to break down a defender.

He does have a nice pull up game and post game for getting off his shot, but its usually all done in 1-2 dribbles.

[JF5]

It really comes down to his handle. Can he improve it enough where it would expand his game to being an elite scorer similar to Jayson Tatum/Paul George or will he be like Rashard Lewis?

That answer is 3-4 years away with this kid.

[89Magicfan]

It really comes down to his handle. Can he improve it enough where it would expand his game to being an elite scorer similar to Jayson Tatum/Paul George or will he be like Rashard Lewis?

That answer is 3-4 years away with this kid.

Tatum/George had that in high school.

Take a look at AG. He had a little of that in high school. Not quite on their level but it was there. How did that turn out? Smith never showed he had it. To say he will in the pros? That’s very unlikely. Its not just handling the ball. It’s a complete different mindset. It’s how you see the game. You not just altering his game but his own POV of how to play.

[Bergmaniac]

It really comes down to his handle. Can he improve it enough where it would expand his game to being an elite scorer similar to Jayson Tatum/Paul George or will he be like Rashard Lewis?

That answer is 3-4 years away with this kid.

If his floor offensively is Rashard Lewis he should be a no-brainer number pick, so I really doubt that's the case.

[JF5]

It really comes down to his handle. Can he improve it enough where it would expand his game to being an elite scorer similar to Jayson Tatum/Paul George or will he be like Rashard Lewis?

That answer is 3-4 years away with this kid.

Tatum/George had that in high school.

Take a look at AG. He had a little of that in high school. Not quite on their level but it was there. How did that turn out? Smith never showed he had it. To say he will in the pros? That’s very unlikely. Its not just handling the ball. It’s a complete different mindset. It’s how you see the game. You not just altering his game but his own POV of how to play.

He has a mediocre handle which I agree with. But I think if he's able to get it to an average to above average level like a Tobias Harris/Dirk Nowitzki where they can focus on getting their own points then his potential rises exponentially with the physical tools that he possesses.

He doesn't need to be a more advanced dribbler/passer when he already has guys like Suggs/Fultz/Wagner/Carter who all can play-make for him. He's a guy where he just needs to get to his spots and score. He already has tough shot making ability which should make his offensive game coming into the league a lot easier.

He was somewhat improving on his driving at the end of the season Auburn which can give the fans hope. But I'm in the same camp as you where I believe he'll most likely be similar to a Rashard Lewis type player/2nd-3rd option. I don't necessarily try to cap a young players abilities until 2-3 years of seeing them in the pros because major developments of games can happen, or players during their collegiate/overseas careers might've been used differently due to fit or roster construction.

Its a wait and see thing.

[davey_wavy]

Rather have Paolo.

Thanks and have a great night

[basketballRob]

I was just reading that Jabari held players to 25.7% when he was guarding them.

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[drsd]

For me, Smith's upside is Chris Bosh.

[fendilim]

It really comes down to his handle. Can he improve it enough where it would expand his game to being an elite scorer similar to Jayson Tatum/Paul George or will he be like Rashard Lewis?

That answer is 3-4 years away with this kid.

Tatum/George had that in high school.

Take a look at AG. He had a little of that in high school. Not quite on their level but it was there. How did that turn out? Smith never showed he had it. To say he will in the pros? That’s very unlikely. Its not just handling the ball. It’s a complete different mindset. It’s how you see the game. You not just altering his game but his own POV of how to play.

AG has pretty good handles actually, the problem with his dribbling is it doesn’t create any separation from the opponents. Also, he doesn’t have the ability to create his own shot.

Jabari’s handles aren’t as good as AG’s, but his ability to create shots is there.

With more spacing, I don’t think his handles will be highlighted as much, same goes with his fg%. This is the same with why Cole Anthony had a really bad year at UNC. Poor spacing all around, brought by non-NBA caliber teammates.

The bigger problem with Jabari is his explosiveness, imo. Handles can be improved.

[Horcy]

Nothing I could care less about...this will have nothing to do with whom the Magic is going to pick.
Anyway, Chris Bosh or Rashard Lewis are pretty fair comparisons and really good.
I wish we select him

[89Magicfan]

It really comes down to his handle. Can he improve it enough where it would expand his game to being an elite scorer similar to Jayson Tatum/Paul George or will he be like Rashard Lewis?

That answer is 3-4 years away with this kid.

Tatum/George had that in high school.

Take a look at AG. He had a little of that in high school. Not quite on their level but it was there. How did that turn out? Smith never showed he had it. To say he will in the pros? That’s very unlikely. Its not just handling the ball. It’s a complete different mindset. It’s how you see the game. You not just altering his game but his own POV of how to play.

AG has pretty good handles actually, the problem with his dribbling is it doesn’t create any separation from the opponents. Also, he doesn’t have the ability to create his own shot.

Jabari’s handles aren’t as good as AG’s, but his ability to create shots is there.

With more spacing, I don’t think his handles will be highlighted as much, same goes with his fg%. This is the same with why Cole Anthony had a really bad year at UNC. Poor spacing all around, brought by non-NBA caliber teammates.

The bigger problem with Jabari is his explosiveness, imo. Handles can be improved.

You’re saying what I’m saying.

Even if Smith improved his handles, that doesn’t mean he becomes PG because of the separation that PG can create.

[Knightro]

Rashard Lewis with plus defense is a very good NBA player and that feels like a moderately conservative outcome for Jabari Smith.