Re: The Case for Okafor
Posted: Wed May 20, 2015 10:43 pm
These are all reasons why I won't be distraught if/when we end up with Okafor. I can rally myself behind an efficient 20/8 a night who's tremendous 1v1. I like that he demands the ball and knows he's a handful to defend. I like that he's creative in the low post as he does things that I've only seen the all-time greats do (Hakeem, McHale, O'Neal).
It's just that there ARE negatives to Okafor's game that scream "uh-oh".
Firstly, he's a 51% free throw shooter with baseball glove-sized hands. That's likely to never be a strength of his, though, I admit one can improve in that area with a bunch of practice. I see 60% for Okafor where he probably tops out at. Even at 60%, that's leaving a bunch of points off the board when you figure how often he will probably draw fouls... or worse yet, he could attract some Hack-a-Jah strategy against him.
Secondly, he's baaad on defense. Sure, the guy has some tools to be a good defender, but if you've never been good at defense, your road to getting there is unlikely. Perhaps he could be the medium between good and pathetic to where his offensive production is enough to offset that weakness of his game. This is a center with a 3.8 BLK% throughout his one year of NCAA competition. That is inexcusable and downright pathetic for a guy with Jahlil's physical makeup. We're probably the worst team in the NBA at defending shots at the rim and Okafor doesn't help solve this, yet that's mainly his position's responsibility. That's without taking into account Okafor's poor awareness in general on that end. For a guy that knows everything that's going on on offense, it's the exact opposite on defense. Jahlil is a chicken walking around with his head cut off, so to speak. This is true for his P&R defense too as he's often played himself out of position to recover or gets routinely beat by the ball-handler. This was at the college game. The NBA's a P&R melting pot with even better athletes and more-skilled players at every position. That is going to be quite the uphill battle for Okafor to contend with.
Thirdly, his game isn't nearly as well-rounded as say, another highly-touted big. Towns has the edge over Okafor in rebounding, blocked shots, assists and this is while being almost as efficient on offense (Jahlil sports a .635 TS% compared to Towns' equally impressive .627 TS%). The retort may be that Okafor proved his dominance on offense for 30 minutes a night for a whole season, and I cannot refute that, but Towns wasn't given the opportunity to be showcased on offense like Okafor or else he too would have been an impressive scorer by the numbers.
So, it boils down to what you want your center to do. Do you want the dominant low post scorer who's liable to win his position matchup big every night? Or do you want the do-it-all, two-way big who can more than hold his own offensively, while providing a defensive presence and more versatility for your team?
You all know I take Towns No. 1 overall. I wouldn't be crushed if Flip decided to take Okafor instead. He's a hell of a player in his own right. I do think it was worth writing up a counter-argument for Okafor, though.
It's just that there ARE negatives to Okafor's game that scream "uh-oh".
Firstly, he's a 51% free throw shooter with baseball glove-sized hands. That's likely to never be a strength of his, though, I admit one can improve in that area with a bunch of practice. I see 60% for Okafor where he probably tops out at. Even at 60%, that's leaving a bunch of points off the board when you figure how often he will probably draw fouls... or worse yet, he could attract some Hack-a-Jah strategy against him.
Secondly, he's baaad on defense. Sure, the guy has some tools to be a good defender, but if you've never been good at defense, your road to getting there is unlikely. Perhaps he could be the medium between good and pathetic to where his offensive production is enough to offset that weakness of his game. This is a center with a 3.8 BLK% throughout his one year of NCAA competition. That is inexcusable and downright pathetic for a guy with Jahlil's physical makeup. We're probably the worst team in the NBA at defending shots at the rim and Okafor doesn't help solve this, yet that's mainly his position's responsibility. That's without taking into account Okafor's poor awareness in general on that end. For a guy that knows everything that's going on on offense, it's the exact opposite on defense. Jahlil is a chicken walking around with his head cut off, so to speak. This is true for his P&R defense too as he's often played himself out of position to recover or gets routinely beat by the ball-handler. This was at the college game. The NBA's a P&R melting pot with even better athletes and more-skilled players at every position. That is going to be quite the uphill battle for Okafor to contend with.
Thirdly, his game isn't nearly as well-rounded as say, another highly-touted big. Towns has the edge over Okafor in rebounding, blocked shots, assists and this is while being almost as efficient on offense (Jahlil sports a .635 TS% compared to Towns' equally impressive .627 TS%). The retort may be that Okafor proved his dominance on offense for 30 minutes a night for a whole season, and I cannot refute that, but Towns wasn't given the opportunity to be showcased on offense like Okafor or else he too would have been an impressive scorer by the numbers.
So, it boils down to what you want your center to do. Do you want the dominant low post scorer who's liable to win his position matchup big every night? Or do you want the do-it-all, two-way big who can more than hold his own offensively, while providing a defensive presence and more versatility for your team?
You all know I take Towns No. 1 overall. I wouldn't be crushed if Flip decided to take Okafor instead. He's a hell of a player in his own right. I do think it was worth writing up a counter-argument for Okafor, though.