Oklahoma still feels like home to Duke's Jahlil Okafor

[CoachTalk]

Yup Lakers will be a playoff team again sooner than later. Randle plus someone big out of this draft and tons of cap... money talks. They will land some key free agents.

And KOBE! lol

 

[Price is Right]

And KOBE! lol

Haha I know you kid! I actually like Kobe but when they do get back to contention it will be with him watching from the stands.

 

[bocabull]

And KOBE! lol

ha. Kobe will collect his well deserved $25 million and be a decent role player on his way out. I'll tell you who looks to have game is the rookie Jordan Clarkson. He finished 2nd in PER among rookies, is very long and very athletic. Has some good swagger to his game too.

 

[bocabull]

IF Embiid stays healthy you're probably right. I thought he was the second coming of Dwight Howard. I always forget you can win ROY after missing the season due to injury.

Was there any truth to his weight issues and the run ins with some of the staff? I read articles saying as much and others saying it was being blown way out of proportion.

He looks to be in pretty good shape to me. link

I will say this about Okafor & Towns, I bet Embiid ends up being better than all of them. Size, strength, power, agility, swagger, dude has it all.

 

[MercedeSooner]

It's just silly talk. lol @ claiming a 19 year old 6'11" 270 lb guy with incredible footwork who just won the national championship "plays no defense". It's as silly as saying the Lakers (who are perfectly positioned for a quick rebuild) will suck for a decade. But I guess if your a Thunder fan with nothing better to do it's easy to get carried away.

Kid played lazy throughout the year but he definitely turned it on during their NCAA run. He got attacked early on but it's a matter of effort - practically 0 freshman come in who play any D or even have a grasp of fundamental defensive concepts because of how HS is played now. He'll be more then fine in the league.

 

[MercedeSooner]

I like Frank The Tank, but I think he is more likely to bust than be anything more than a roll player. He just matches the M.O. of a lot of players that look a lot like him in the past 15 years of the NBA draft. Hope I'm wrong, seems like a good dude.

I agree - he's going to be a defensive liability right away because he has very slow feet. In college he was the biggest man on the floor every night and has some skill around the rim but unless he improves his long range game I don't see him making an impact or even lasting.

His game has a lot of that Marcus Smart craftiness that we all love in flopping for charges and trying to get whistles on the offensive end - really curious how he transitions next year.

 

[Price is Right]

I agree - he's going to be a defensive liability right away because he has very slow feet. In college he was the biggest man on the floor every night and has some skill around the rim but unless he improves his long range game I don't see him making an impact or even lasting.

His game has a lot of that Marcus Smart craftiness that we all love in flopping for charges and trying to get whistles on the offensive end - really curious how he transitions next year.

Defensive liability? Maybe, but we all know you can be that and still get big name recognition. Kevin Love and Pau don't flash much defensive prowess but long range game? Dude shot the 3 at 41%

 

[Price is Right]

His game has a lot of that Marcus Smart craftiness that we all love in flopping for charges and trying to get whistles on the offensive end - really curious how he transitions next year.

Unfortunately we live in a day and age where its almost required to get calls especially charges... not that I like it, but I won't condone it either as long as it's not completely outrageous. Some of Smart's were pretty outrageous lol

 

[Soonerlover12]

As a laker fan I'm excited. Next year should have Julius and Clarkson is going to be a good one! If we could draft either towns or Okafor. I hope we go towns. There have been reports the Lakers like towns more anyways. He's actually list an inch bigger. His offense is OK in limited minutes and a good shooter. He's a talented defensive player as well. He fits better with Julius to due to Julius is more offensive oriented. Them with massive cap space after next year. Lookout. Reports are were going after Jimmy butler this year too. Could be good.

 

[Smash Williams]

As a laker fan I'm excited. Next year should have Julius and Clarkson is going to be a good one! If we could draft either towns or Okafor. I hope we go towns. There have been reports the Lakers like towns more anyways. He's actually list an inch bigger. His offense is OK in limited minutes and a good shooter. He's a talented defensive player as well. He fits better with Julius to due to Julius is more offensive oriented. Them with massive cap space after next year. Lookout. Reports are were going after Jimmy butler this year too. Could be good.

I agree that Towns is a better fit for the Lakers (and most teams, for that matter).

Butler isn't going to LA, at least not this year. As a restricted free agent, Butler will get multiple max offer sheets this summer, and if he signs any of them, the Bulls will match. With that said, Butler may make the unprecedented move of turning down max money this summer, and instead play on the qualifying offer next season so that he can really cash in next summer when the cap takes a massive jump (it'd be a risk, especially for a young guy who's never made big money, but it's possible). In that case, Butler would be an unrestricted free agent next summer, free to play wherever he wants without the Bulls having matching rights.

 

[campbest]

Defense in college for freshmen/sophomores is based on athleticism, who can out athlete who, life is a lot easier when you have a rim protector.

Defense as a rookie professional is about grasping scheme, court awareness, adapting night to night, etc.

 

[Smash Williams]

ha ha That's funny. Yeah the Lakers will be terrible for the next decade. Like I said when they are pushing for a title in 2-3 years the ref whiner types will be crying a river.

BTW, who had more blocks in the NCAA tournament, Towns or Okafor? Love the plumber nitpicking. Okafor is a spitting image of Tun Duncan. Only he's further along at the same age.

You have to look at rates rather than raw totals.

Note: I couldn't find defensive rebounding stats or pace-adjusted stats for Duncan, but as a freshman he had 5.0 (!) blocks per 40 minutes.

Okafor vs. Towns
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 8.2
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 4.2

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 8.3
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 4.2

There is the argument that Okafor can be a really good defender, but he's just a young guy who's not always focused, and he'll get better with experience and more focus. Most young guys are capable of improving (obviously), but the question is how high is defensive ceiling is.

Okafor's defensive rebounding and block rates are alarming. Those numbers can be misleading for a number of reasons, but in general future NBA stars tend to rack up those stats simply by being longer and/or more athletic than their college competition. To be clear, I don't think those numbers are reliable indicators of defensive performance, but they do reflect physical superiority, which is an important part of assessing defensive potential.

Take Kevin Durant, for example. Young KD was roasted for his defense (for good reason), and he played for Rick Barnes, who's surely no more demanding of his players on the defensive end than Coach K is. KD defended multiple positions in college, while Okafor almost exclusively guarded the biggest front line guy on the floor for the opposing team, so it's reasonable to assume that Okafor spent more time around the basket than KD.

Yet...

Okafor vs. Durant
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 9.1
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 2.1

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 8.5
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 2.0

I'm not trying to cherry-pick, so looking at some comparisons to several notable NBA centers (including both good and bad defenders)...

Okafor vs. Brook Lopez (freshman year)
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 6.8
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 2.8

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 6.8
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 2.7

Okafor vs. Roy Hibbert (freshman year)
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 5.1
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 3.2

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 5.7
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 3.5

Okafor vs. DeMarcus Cousins
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 9.7
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 3.1

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 9.3
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 2.9

Okafor vs. DeAndre Jordan
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 8.2
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 2.5

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 8.4
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 2.6

Okafor vs. Al Horford (freshman year)
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 7.5
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 2.8

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 7.5
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 2.8

Okafor vs. Joakim Noah (freshman year)
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 7.0
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 2.8

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 7.0
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 2.8

Okafor vs. Andre Drummond
Per 40 minutes
Defensive rebounds: 6.7 vs. 5.9
Blocks: 1.9 vs. 3.8

Per 40, pace adjusted
Defensive rebounds: 6.4 vs. 6.0
Blocks: 1.8 vs. 3.9

Again, none of these numbers are perfect indicators, but it's a red flag that someone as big and as long as Okafor blocks shots at such a low rate.

I think Okafor will be a highly productive NBA player on the offensive end, but I worry about his defensive ceiling. Bad big man defense is hard to overcome. You can win a championship without a prolific low post scoring big, but how many teams have won championships with a bad defender starting at center?

 

[152219]

Okafor also didn't have another front court player to suck up rebounds like Towns did this season.

 

[sperry]

Brook Lopez is another good Okafor comparison for the pros.

 

[usedtobe1]

I like to compare Okafor to DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers. Similar size and both declared for the NBA after their freshman season. Jordan didn't have nearly as good of year at A&M as Okafor had last season for Duke. In fact, Jordan didn't even get drafted in the 1st round. Now he's the rebounding leader and is a strong candidate for defender of the year award in the NBA this season….. his 7th season. Jordan already signed one contract worth over 40 million, and will get a "max" contract after this season from some team.

Jordan learned how to play basketball in the NBA. Okafor will, too. He's going to be a better offensive player than Jordan, but probably not as good a rebounder. He will be a starter by his second year (if not sooner). You don't get many strong 6'11' guys who are reasonably athletic.

 

[152219]

I like to compare Okafor to DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers. Similar size and both declared for the NBA after their freshman season. Jordan didn't have nearly as good of year at A&M as Okafor had last season for Duke. In fact, Jordan didn't even get drafted in the 1st round. Now he's the rebounding leader and is a strong candidate for defender of the year award in the NBA this season….. his 7th season. Jordan already signed one contract worth over 40 million, and will get a "max" contract after this season from some team.

Jordan learned how to play basketball in the NBA. Okafor will, too. He's going to be a better offensive player than Jordan, but probably not as good a rebounder. He will be a starter by his second year (if not sooner). You don't get many strong 6'11' guys who are reasonably athletic.

I think the Al Jefferson comparison is more apropos.

 

[Smash Williams]

I like to compare Okafor to DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers. Similar size and both declared for the NBA after their freshman season. Jordan didn't have nearly as good of year at A&M as Okafor had last season for Duke. In fact, Jordan didn't even get drafted in the 1st round. Now he's the rebounding leader and is a strong candidate for defender of the year award in the NBA this season….. his 7th season. Jordan already signed one contract worth over 40 million, and will get a "max" contract after this season from some team.

Jordan learned how to play basketball in the NBA. Okafor will, too. He's going to be a better offensive player than Jordan, but probably not as good a rebounder. He will be a starter by his second year (if not sooner). You don't get many strong 6'11' guys who are reasonably athletic.

Okafor is a polished offensive player who plays below the rim. Jordan, even at this stage in his career, is an offensively limited player whose game on both ends is predicated almost entirely on athleticism. They're nearly polar opposites.

 

[BoulderSooner]

I think the Al Jefferson comparison is more apropos.

yep ... and except Jahlil is more athletic .. but the post game is close to the same ..

a better Al Jefferson is a MAX player and 10 time all star ... every team would take that

 

[bocabull]

Great info by everybody. What I suggest is that nobody is perfect and when you are under the microscope like Okafor eventually somebody will find something to nitpick.

Are his shot block and rebounding totals due to a hole in his game? Or is his offensive ability so dominant his job is to stay out of foul trouble? Based on his winning to date those supposed flaws have never caused defeat.

 

[bocabull]

How about these stats per 40 minutes.

Okafor vs. Towns
Per 40 minutes
Fouls 2.8 vs. 5.6
Blocks 1.9 vs. 4.3

Towns is + 2.4 in blocks but also + 2.8 in fouls. Just tells me he takes more chances.

Okafor vs. Demarcus Cousins
Per 40 minutes
Fouls 2.8 vs. 5.5
Blocks 1.9 vs. 3.0

Cousins is + 1.1 in blocks but + 2.7 in fouls. That's what I think Okafor will be. A better more mature Demarcus Cousins. And who that reminds me of is Tim Duncan. Okafor is a winner.