The Case for Okafor

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Mikkeman, I'm asking because I'm not 100% sure of your stance, but I feel confident in saying you're pulling for Towns to be our selection later this month, no?

[MikkeMan]

Mikkeman, I'm asking because I'm not 100% sure of your stance, but I feel confident in saying you're pulling for Towns to be our selection later this month, no?

Yes, you have got me also for Towns bandwagon. He seems to be just so much more versatile talent than Okafor is. I think he is very special combination of rim protection and outside shooting. Like Rasheed Wallace with more size, better rebounding, potentially better low post game and even three point shooting (even though Wallace was pretty good too).

My wet dream is that we will draft Towns and then get coach who likes to use modern offenses and utilize well Towns skill set in offensive end.

[GymRat [enjin:6592663]]

Mikkeman, I'm asking because I'm not 100% sure of your stance, but I feel confident in saying you're pulling for Towns to be our selection later this month, no?

Yes, you have got me also for Towns bandwagon. He seems to be just so much more versatile talent than Okafor is. I think he is very special combination of rim protection and outside shooting. Like Rasheed Wallace with more size, better rebounding, potentially better low post game and even three point shooting (even though Wallace was pretty good too).

My wet dream is that we will draft Towns and then get coach who likes to use modern offenses and utilize well Towns skill set in offensive end.

Reading you use the phrase "wet dream" amongst your usual analytic posts made me laugh out loud at work like an idiot. Thanks for that. :)

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

I am beginning to lean more towards Towns as well, simply due to the defense. But what troubles me a bit is that where I see Okafor get so many easy layups and dunks with beautiful footwork and power moves at the basket, I see Towns get a ton of those 6 foot hook shots. I see that as a big reason I think Okafor will dominate scoring the ball in the NBA....especially when comparing the 2 players.

[TAFKASP]

Right now Okafor is below TheSP on my board. There is no way his mother loves him with the way he shoots free throws!

[Monster]

I wasn't trying to imply that Al and Brooks weren't good offensive players or even at the level of Duncan or Garnett on offense. I was making the point that they weren't superstar offensive bigs who could score at will, like Shaq. Al and Brooks are borderline all-stars because of their offense. As you correctly point out, Garnett and Duncan were superstars because of being able to play both sides of the floor. Shaq not as much, but clearly still a superstar in his own right because of his ability to dominate offensively. The question about Okafor for me is can he take his offense to an even higher level than Brooks or Al and can he become a better defender and rebounder. I say yes on all counts, I think he is too natural of a ball player and so much more fluid and talented that Brooks or Al.

I think that Shaq is quite unfair comparison offensively to anyone. He is basically the single most unstoppable low post force during modern NBA era. Only other big that was remotely close as dominant offensive force is Karl Malone. Both players had 11 seasons with more than 24 pts/per 36 minutes and they did get those with elite efficiency. Only other big that has more than five that kind of seasons is Dirk with six and his offensive game is not at all typical for big.

At least I'm not expecting that Okafor would be offensively even close to Shaq. Kevin McHale was superb skilled low post player that was very good free throw shooter and had some mid range game as well but even McHale did have only one season with more than 24 pts/per 36 minutes and he played in era when teams averaged around 100 possessions per game.

Okafor can be projected to be offensively better post player than Al or Brook Lopez but it doesn't still mean that he would be overall better offensive player than them. Both Al and Brook are pretty good free throw shooters for centers and they have developed mid range game as well. Since zones and doubling post players without ball are allowed nowadays in NBA, scoring only from low post will be much more challenging than during Shaq's era. I'm afraid tha if Okafor won't improve his free trow shooting and/or develop mid range game, he might not be able to have even as high per minute scoring averages than Al and Brook but most probably his scoring efficiency will be higher than theirs.

I still see that Okafor's floor would be Eddy Curry without weight problems and ceiling would be less versatile Cousins without attitude problems.

Just a couple notes about McHale's scoring.

1. I know there were some series in in the post season he put up some serious numbers.

2. He played with a really talented team and sure that helped him get easy looks but that also limited his opportunities. When I watched the Celtics their PG was Dennis Johnson who I always really liked but I didn't know until a few years ago was a stud offensive player and was MVP of the finals one year and his team didn't even win the series. That just shows how much talent was on those Lakers/Celtic Squads. McHale used to come off the bench earlier in his career. Duncan is amazing but I hope that saying he is the best of all time means people forget about McHale. What he could do in the post was pure joy to watch at least what I remember being a kid I was almost shocked when the ball didn't go in. He was one of the reasons I was a Celtics fan and when all those guys left the game I had a hard time caring about the NBA and accepting the new era including Jordan. Just looking back at some stats from those guys that Bird guy was pretty good. He averaged 24-10-6 for his career.

[GymRat [enjin:6592663]]

Right now Okafor is below TheSP on my board. There is no way his mother loves him with the way he shoots free throws!

But where do you rate Towns, above or below yourself? :LOL:

[MikkeMan]

My wet dream is that we will draft Towns and then get coach who likes to use modern offenses and utilize well Towns skill set in offensive end.

Reading you use the phrase "wet dream" amongst your usual analytic posts made me laugh out loud at work like an idiot. Thanks for that. :)

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Mikkeman, I'm asking because I'm not 100% sure of your stance, but I feel confident in saying you're pulling for Towns to be our selection later this month, no?

Yes, you have got me also for Towns bandwagon. He seems to be just so much more versatile talent than Okafor is. I think he is very special combination of rim protection and outside shooting. Like Rasheed Wallace with more size, better rebounding, potentially better low post game and even three point shooting (even though Wallace was pretty good too).

My wet dream is that we will draft Towns and then get coach who likes to use modern offenses and utilize well Towns skill set in offensive end.

Bingo. The guy could be a legit stretch 5 that can also post people up, defend the rim, pass out of the high post. Just so many different things you could do with him......Flip effing Saunders though, argh!

[Monster]

My wet dream is that we will draft Towns and then get coach who likes to use modern offenses and utilize well Towns skill set in offensive end.

Reading you use the phrase "wet dream" amongst your usual analytic posts made me laugh out loud at work like an idiot. Thanks for that. :)

But it is a wet dream only in case new coach uses all analytic information to run an efficient offense that utilises Towns skills well. If it is Flip running offense that has Towns taking mostly long twos, my bed will be wet only about tears from my eyes. :)

I think that most of you might have already guessed from my written English that I'm not a native English speaker, which is true. (my mother tongue is Finnish) So I'm not that smooth in using all fancy phrases but I hope that writing to this nice forum will improve my English so that my posts will be less boring to read in future.