Minnesota Sports Forum

BloopOracle wrote:Oh man, Okafor's strengths and weaknesses are on full display this game

I'd gladly pencil him in at the 5 for the Wolves. I love his patience in the post when doubled or tripled. I love that he can put the ball on the floor and score on his man also. He may not be a freak athlete our super fast but he should be able to control the paint.

khans2k5 wrote:I like Winslow better than Johnson. He's a much better finisher at the rim and has similar physical tools.

I agree. I love how he is able to get to the rim.

Okafor can score. A big man that can score as easily and efficiently as he does is hard to pass up.

BloopOracle wrote:Oh man, Okafor's strengths and weaknesses are on full display this game

I wonder if years of being so dominant offensively and trying to avoid foul trouble has softened him up defensively. You can see how he avoids going after shots aggressively. That being said, sometimes the best defense is to just wall up and not leave your feet. He did that a number of times when challenged at the rim and it led to SDSU misses.

khans2k5 wrote:I like Winslow better than Johnson. He's a much better finisher at the rim and has similar physical tools.

The thing I like about Winslow is how much good stuff he does without the ball in his hands. He's Mr. Utility man.

I think there's a threshold where elite offense just trumps the lack of defense problem. Would you rather have Kyrie or Ricky? Kyrie is a god awful defender, but he is an elite scorer at his position and in the league in general. I think Okafor is one of those elite offensive talents where you just have to overlook the defensive faults because he more than makes up for it on the offensive end. The dude is 6'11, 270 and just took his man off the dribble and finished at the rim. That just doesn't happen when you're that big. The defense may be a problem, but we have two good perimeter defenders in Ricky and Wiggins who can make Okafor's life on defense much simpler. People on this board usually like to go with guys who dominate in college and that is exactly what he has done this year.

khans2k5 wrote:I think there's a threshold where elite offense just trumps the lack of defense problem. Would you rather have Kyrie or Ricky? Kyrie is a god awful defender, but he is an elite scorer at his position and in the league in general. I think Okafor is one of those elite offensive talents where you just have to overlook the defensive faults because he more than makes up for it on the offensive end. The dude is 6'11, 270 and just took his man off the dribble and finished at the rim. That just doesn't happen when you're that big. The defense may be a problem, but we have two good perimeter defenders in Ricky and Wiggins who can make Okafor's life on defense much simpler. People on this board usually like to go with guys who dominate in college and that is exactly what he has done this year.

The thing is I think he can develop into a decent defender. The offense is too good. Guy has so many moves. Almost impossible to stop.

khans2k5 wrote:I think there's a threshold where elite offense just trumps the lack of defense problem. Would you rather have Kyrie or Ricky? Kyrie is a god awful defender, but he is an elite scorer at his position and in the league in general. I think Okafor is one of those elite offensive talents where you just have to overlook the defensive faults because he more than makes up for it on the offensive end. The dude is 6'11, 270 and just took his man off the dribble and finished at the rim. That just doesn't happen when you're that big. The defense may be a problem, but we have two good perimeter defenders in Ricky and Wiggins who can make Okafor's life on defense much simpler. People on this board usually like to go with guys who dominate in college and that is exactly what he has done this year.

I tend to agree at this point, he is just incredible offensively and I would bank on him eventually become a good team defender even though he'll never be a rim protector. I LOVE Towns if we pick 2nd and then it's a steep drop off from there in talent in my eyes.

If Towns is Aldridge or Tim Duncan then Okafor is Kareem. His efficiency means he could be the best scoring big since Shaq. This is a no brainer as a top prospect.

I think people getting down on Okafor is the typical thing that happens every draft cycle where the predictive element takes over for what the scouts have been saying for ever. Guys come out of nowhere to become the flashy new toy and rarely does there play merit it. This year is a bit different because of the talented bigs that exist, but it is a wayyyyy higher risk to put Towns in front of Okafor at this point from a pure business perspective. Okafor is not a bad defender, he is an average defender relative to his talent. This is not a problem.