Minnesota Sports Forum

Okafor and Towns certainly would make for an intriguing pairing, but like some folks that were big fans of Okafor in last year's draft, we continue to overrate the value of low-post play.

The reality is that if you draft Okafor, you basically have to feed him the ball and get him a ton of low-post touches, because otherwise, what does he do well; why have him? And since there is only one basketball to go around, who gets less touches because he's starting instead of Dieng, Bjelly, KG, or some other lower usage big next to KAT?

We already have enough scorers on this team - we don't need another one if he doesn't really excel at doing anything else.

Q12543 wrote:Okafor and Towns certainly would make for an intriguing pairing, but like some folks that were big fans of Okafor in last year's draft, we continue to overrate the value of low-post play.

The reality is that if you draft Okafor, you basically have to feed him the ball and get him a ton of low-post touches, because otherwise, what does he do well; why have him? And since there is only one basketball to go around, who gets less touches because he's starting instead of Dieng, Bjelly, KG, or some other lower usage big next to KAT?

We already have enough scorers on this team - we don't need another one if he doesn't really excel at doing anything else.

And who's he going to guard defensively?

Especially if a team goes small and somebody like D. Green, James or Durant is playing the 4...

He'd be unplayable.

I think low post touches could be great if used efficiently. We should be asking who could guard a front court of Towns and Okafor as much as we would ask who they would guard. The reality is they would be unguardable together, the matchup options having Towns and Okafor as a front court is crazy. I don't think it would ever happen but a great coach could very easily make this work.

Length is always going to be an asset. Imagine those two walling up for Thibs, especially with Towns being able to work for the weak side. He would find a way to use Okafor's length on d, I am quite positive.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Q12543 wrote:Okafor and Towns certainly would make for an intriguing pairing, but like some folks that were big fans of Okafor in last year's draft, we continue to overrate the value of low-post play.

The reality is that if you draft Okafor, you basically have to feed him the ball and get him a ton of low-post touches, because otherwise, what does he do well; why have him? And since there is only one basketball to go around, who gets less touches because he's starting instead of Dieng, Bjelly, KG, or some other lower usage big next to KAT?

We already have enough scorers on this team - we don't need another one if he doesn't really excel at doing anything else.

And who's he going to guard defensively?

Especially if a team goes small and somebody like D. Green, James or Durant is playing the 4...

He'd be unplayable.

You let them drive to the hole where Towns is waiting to help and you destroy them on the block on the other end. The Warriors didn't drive to the basket much because Lebron was waiting there to stop them. Now put Towns in that spot and it's gonna be even harder to score. It's basic weak side defense and if they want to chuck shots they're gonna chuck shots, but there won't be easy buckets at the basket to take advantage of Okafor in the PnR. Charlotte has had a top 10 defense in recent years with Big Al as their anchor. I think Thibs could figure it out here with Okafor and Towns.

khans2k5 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Q12543 wrote:Okafor and Towns certainly would make for an intriguing pairing, but like some folks that were big fans of Okafor in last year's draft, we continue to overrate the value of low-post play.

The reality is that if you draft Okafor, you basically have to feed him the ball and get him a ton of low-post touches, because otherwise, what does he do well; why have him? And since there is only one basketball to go around, who gets less touches because he's starting instead of Dieng, Bjelly, KG, or some other lower usage big next to KAT?

We already have enough scorers on this team - we don't need another one if he doesn't really excel at doing anything else.

And who's he going to guard defensively?

Especially if a team goes small and somebody like D. Green, James or Durant is playing the 4...

He'd be unplayable.

You let them drive to the hole where Towns is waiting to help and you destroy them on the block on the other end. The Warriors didn't drive to the basket much because Lebron was waiting there to stop them. Now put Towns in that spot and it's gonna be even harder to score. It's basic weak side defense and if they want to chuck shots they're gonna chuck shots, but there won't be easy buckets at the basket to take advantage of Okafor in the PnR.

I think you're giving Towns too much credit defensively. He's not Bill Russell and that screams of foul trouble for the team's best offensive player. The Wolves were 28th in defense last season. And you want to add one of the league's worst defenders AND have him play out of position a significant amount of the time.

I don't see how that works in any conceivable way.

thedoper wrote:I think low post touches could be great if used efficiently. We should be asking who could guard a front court of Towns and Okafor as much as we would ask who they would guard. The reality is they would be unguardable together, the matchup options having Towns and Okafor as a front court is crazy. I don't think it would ever happen but a great coach could very easily make this work.

Length is always going to be an asset. Imagine those two walling up for Thibs, especially with Towns being able to work for the weak side. He would find a way to use Okafor's length on d, I am quite positive.

I get the allure offensively when viewed through the lens of just Towns and Okafor. But Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine all have the potential to be 20+ PPG scorers in this league. Now you bring Okafor into the picture who is borderline useless without getting 15-20 shots per game. Where do those shots come from?

I just think the law of diminishing returns kicks in when all you do is add more scorers to your roster. Each additional scorer has a diminishing positive affect on team performance.

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:I think low post touches could be great if used efficiently. We should be asking who could guard a front court of Towns and Okafor as much as we would ask who they would guard. The reality is they would be unguardable together, the matchup options having Towns and Okafor as a front court is crazy. I don't think it would ever happen but a great coach could very easily make this work.

Length is always going to be an asset. Imagine those two walling up for Thibs, especially with Towns being able to work for the weak side. He would find a way to use Okafor's length on d, I am quite positive.

I get the allure offensively when viewed through the lens of just Towns and Okafor. But Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine all have the potential to be 20+ PPG scorers in this league. Now you bring Okafor into the picture who is borderline useless without getting 15-20 shots per game. Where do those shots come from?

I just think the law of diminishing returns kicks in when all you do is add more scorers to your roster. Each additional scorer has a diminishing positive affect on team performance.

At this point wouldn't you just take the most efficient and call it a day? Of these "potential" 20 ppg players only one (wiggins) has done it and rather inefficiently to this point. If Okafor can consistently shot 50-60% he can be much more than useless with 10 shots, especially on a team with nothing going for it on its second unit.

I think size and length with skill rarely has a diminishing return on a team.

thedoper wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:I think low post touches could be great if used efficiently. We should be asking who could guard a front court of Towns and Okafor as much as we would ask who they would guard. The reality is they would be unguardable together, the matchup options having Towns and Okafor as a front court is crazy. I don't think it would ever happen but a great coach could very easily make this work.

Length is always going to be an asset. Imagine those two walling up for Thibs, especially with Towns being able to work for the weak side. He would find a way to use Okafor's length on d, I am quite positive.

I get the allure offensively when viewed through the lens of just Towns and Okafor. But Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine all have the potential to be 20+ PPG scorers in this league. Now you bring Okafor into the picture who is borderline useless without getting 15-20 shots per game. Where do those shots come from?

I just think the law of diminishing returns kicks in when all you do is add more scorers to your roster. Each additional scorer has a diminishing positive affect on team performance.

At this point wouldn't you just take the most efficient and call it a day? Of these "potential" 20 ppg players only one (wiggins) has done it and rather inefficiently to this point. If Okafor can consistently shot 50-60% he can be much more than useless with 10 shots, especially on a team with nothing going for it on its second unit.

I think size and length with skill rarely has a diminishing return on a team.

As a young guy searching for his identity (and subsequent payday)... will he be happy with only 10 looks if he's that efficient?

I know I keep harping on this point lately... but I most definitely think it's a very real concern on young teams with a ton of talent. It's rare to find super young guys willing to concede or take a back seat to other guys, especially if they think they're better. Even with Towns looking like he's going to be THE guy for a very long time, we're outsiders watching it from afar. Do players fighting for themselves and trying to balance that in a team environment while being super young with dozens of hanger-ons surrounding them while trying to make sense of the tens of millions of dollars and fame they have... with nobody really around to show them the proper way to play (and win)?

It's not always easy. In fact, it usually isn't.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

thedoper wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:I think low post touches could be great if used efficiently. We should be asking who could guard a front court of Towns and Okafor as much as we would ask who they would guard. The reality is they would be unguardable together, the matchup options having Towns and Okafor as a front court is crazy. I don't think it would ever happen but a great coach could very easily make this work.

Length is always going to be an asset. Imagine those two walling up for Thibs, especially with Towns being able to work for the weak side. He would find a way to use Okafor's length on d, I am quite positive.

I get the allure offensively when viewed through the lens of just Towns and Okafor. But Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine all have the potential to be 20+ PPG scorers in this league. Now you bring Okafor into the picture who is borderline useless without getting 15-20 shots per game. Where do those shots come from?

I just think the law of diminishing returns kicks in when all you do is add more scorers to your roster. Each additional scorer has a diminishing positive affect on team performance.

At this point wouldn't you just take the most efficient and call it a day? Of these "potential" 20 ppg players only one (wiggins) has done it and rather inefficiently to this point. If Okafor can consistently shot 50-60% he can be much more than useless with 10 shots, especially on a team with nothing going for it on its second unit.

I think size and length with skill rarely has a diminishing return on a team.

As a young guy searching for his identity (and subsequent payday)... will he be happy with only 10 looks if he's that efficient?

I know I keep harping on this point lately... but I most definitely think it's a very real concern on young teams with a ton of talent. It's rare to find super young guys willing to concede or take a back seat to other guys, especially if they think they're better. Even with Towns looking like he's going to be THE guy for a very long time, we're outsiders watching it from afar. Do players fighting for themselves and trying to balance that in a team environment while being super young with dozens of hanger-ons surrounding them while trying to make sense of the tens of millions of dollars and fame they have... with nobody really around to show them the proper way to play (and win)?

It's not always easy. In fact, it usually isn't.

Well he's already taking a dose of humble pie with getting traded after one season. With a right coach if he got more touches it would be because he deserves it. You are right in pointing out the chemistry concerns, but that stuff comes with egos around success and the expectation to win as I see it. Who knows what the issues may be in that area moving forward? I don't think anyone can say at this point whether we have great chemistry developing. If there is it certainly hasn't translated to wins. They have had no real pressure to win yet, and therefore none of them have been truly tested. I am all for amassing maximum talent and letting the cream rise to the top.

thedoper wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

thedoper wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

thedoper wrote:I think low post touches could be great if used efficiently. We should be asking who could guard a front court of Towns and Okafor as much as we would ask who they would guard. The reality is they would be unguardable together, the matchup options having Towns and Okafor as a front court is crazy. I don't think it would ever happen but a great coach could very easily make this work.

Length is always going to be an asset. Imagine those two walling up for Thibs, especially with Towns being able to work for the weak side. He would find a way to use Okafor's length on d, I am quite positive.

I get the allure offensively when viewed through the lens of just Towns and Okafor. But Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine all have the potential to be 20+ PPG scorers in this league. Now you bring Okafor into the picture who is borderline useless without getting 15-20 shots per game. Where do those shots come from?

I just think the law of diminishing returns kicks in when all you do is add more scorers to your roster. Each additional scorer has a diminishing positive affect on team performance.

At this point wouldn't you just take the most efficient and call it a day? Of these "potential" 20 ppg players only one (wiggins) has done it and rather inefficiently to this point. If Okafor can consistently shot 50-60% he can be much more than useless with 10 shots, especially on a team with nothing going for it on its second unit.

I think size and length with skill rarely has a diminishing return on a team.

As a young guy searching for his identity (and subsequent payday)... will he be happy with only 10 looks if he's that efficient?

I know I keep harping on this point lately... but I most definitely think it's a very real concern on young teams with a ton of talent. It's rare to find super young guys willing to concede or take a back seat to other guys, especially if they think they're better. Even with Towns looking like he's going to be THE guy for a very long time, we're outsiders watching it from afar. Do players fighting for themselves and trying to balance that in a team environment while being super young with dozens of hanger-ons surrounding them while trying to make sense of the tens of millions of dollars and fame they have... with nobody really around to show them the proper way to play (and win)?

It's not always easy. In fact, it usually isn't.

Well he's already taking a dose of humble pie with getting traded after one season. With a right coach if he got more touches it would be because he deserves it. You are right in pointing out the chemistry concerns, but that stuff comes with egos around success and the expectation to win as I see it. Who knows what the issues may be in that area moving forward? I don't think anyone can say at this point whether we have great chemistry developing. If there is it certainly hasn't translated to wins. They have had no real pressure to win yet, and therefore none of them have been truly tested. I am all for amassing maximum talent and letting the cream rise to the top.

1) I dig your last sentence. Makes sense to me.
2) As for your first sentence... I don't think a trade like this would humble Okafor or any young guy.