Minnesota Sports Forum

khans2k5 wrote:Okafor's room to operate in the post is getting so much bigger at the NBA level. It is extremely difficult to be a post player in college because everybody just packs the paint and crowds you. That's what happened in the tournament games he struggled in. That's why he even started throwing in some elbow jumpers and the bank shot because he had no room in the post. It is more of a 1v1 battle in the NBA until you demand a double team. Also to those making comparisons to Al, Al a year ago anchored a top 10 defense in the league and Okafor is bigger and longer than him.

Camden wrote:Sweet, so Towns will have more room to operate in the post too. Thanks for sharing that.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Sweet, so Towns will have more room to operate in the post too. Thanks for sharing that.

Not necessary

Camden0916 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Sweet, so Towns will have more room to operate in the post too. Thanks for sharing that.

Not necessary

Keeping everything on the same playing field. How can you argue a point about more room to operate for one player without making the same for the other? It will help them both. Period.

Camden0916 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Sweet, so Towns will have more room to operate in the post too. Thanks for sharing that.

Not necessary

Keeping everything on the same playing field. How can you argue a point about more room to operate for one player without making the same for the other? It will help them both. Period.

thedoper wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

The Rage Monster wrote:Great work. Point 1 is the main reason I'm leaning Okafor, his low post skill are elite and that's really the only elite aspect I see in any of the top few guys. Towns looks good overall and in theory he'd be perfect for this team but he's currently not elite on either end of the court. Maybe Towns will develop but everything with him is purely projection at this point. Unfortunately the only top pick in recent memory who didn't demonstrate some elite ability was Anthony Bennett.

2.3 blocks in 20 minutes a game is elite. That's 4.4 blocks on a 40 minute per game basis. Compare that to Okafor's 1.8 blocks per 40 minutes. I should mention that Towns' rebounding stats at 20 minutes per game translate to 12.7 boards per 40 minutes. That may not be elite but it's really good and better than Okafor. I'll add that Towns' ball handling and soft shooting touch are rare in a 19 year old center with a freakish 9'5" overheard reach. Which reminds me: Towns' overhead reach is elite by NBA standards.

It is great to extrapolate Town's 20 mins to astronomical 40 min stats, but contextually a bit problematic to me. Towns got much of his playing time against NCAA bench players in a down year for the SEC. He clearly has more of an affinity for shot blocking based on game footage, but the rebounding and assists should be taken into the context of how each player was used. Their comparable stats in Rebounding and assists are generally a wash because Towns just didn't get enough pt for much of the year. Both have the potential to be somewhere around 10 rpg in the NBA as far as I see it there is really not a clear winner in either of these parts of their game. In a pinch I would say that Towns will be a slightly better rebounder due to his hustle and Okafor will be a better passer/assist man due to his feel for the game. Ultimately both have potential in both of these areas and are fairly well-rounded as I see it. The debate between the 2 for me is really more about offense v defense and strengths and weaknesses in those areas.

khans2k5 wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Sweet, so Towns will have more room to operate in the post too. Thanks for sharing that.

Not necessary

Keeping everything on the same playing field. How can you argue a point about more room to operate for one player without making the same for the other? It will help them both. Period.

Because 1 only has 1 post move (turning over his left shoulder) and the other has a full arsenal. The space won't matter nearly as much for Towns because he doesn't have the ability to use it right now. Towns doesn't have a post game right now. He scored using the same move in the tournament. He wants the ball on the left block so he can turn over his left shoulder and shoot the right hook. The only other thing I saw him do was on the right block again spin to his left. Stop acting like Towns is a similar post product. It's not even close.

Camden0916 wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Sweet, so Towns will have more room to operate in the post too. Thanks for sharing that.

Not necessary

Keeping everything on the same playing field. How can you argue a point about more room to operate for one player without making the same for the other? It will help them both. Period.

Because 1 only has 1 post move (turning over his left shoulder) and the other has a full arsenal. The space won't matter nearly as much for Towns because he doesn't have the ability to use it right now. Towns doesn't have a post game right now. He scored using the same move in the tournament. He wants the ball on the left block so he can turn over his left shoulder and shoot the right hook. The only other thing I saw him do was on the right block again spin to his left. Stop acting like Towns is a similar post product. It's not even close.

Towns doesn't have a post game? Right...

I'm gonna have to step aside from this one before the course of this thread changes.