I like that comparison…A LMA that can guard out on the perimeter, shoot threes at a high volume, and make them at an excellent clip?
Weird that Paolo taking midrange shots was bad, but Jabari taking them is good? Just speaking into the void here and not directing that thought directly at you so no offense intended. Im all for buying in on Jabari and I have, but odd to me how things arent equal in this regard. For me I hope Jabari can become a decent finisher at the rim and learn to deal with contact in the restricted area. His handle is raw AF, but there is enough there to work with. Calvin Murphy should be assigned to Jabari for this purpose alone. If Jabari can develop a basic crossover and two dribble drive he will be nearly unstoppable. Until then good defensive teams will be able to scheme him off the 3 point line and get into his chest to contest his jump shots in general. As long as Jabari hits his open shots and plays good defense while he develops its a win for the team. On your main point I totally agree with implementing MORE of an inside the arc game and would prefer that Jabari NOT take as many contested shots as he does and learns how to manipulate the defense.
He did it like 5x the whole season successfully. Thats not even exaggerating he literally didnt ever drive to the hoop and when he did he wasnt successful. It's not his thing and it's not a wise idea to think he'll develop even a serviceable handle at a high level. Rockets will need another dribble penetrator beyond Green and that's why Banchero was such an enticing prospect. You can't shut down both Green and Banchero. With Jabari you can just shut down Green and crowd Jabari. You'll live with him taking contested 18 footers. Paolo would be way more of a headache to deal with. Maybe Sengun can truly blossom into Jokic 2.0 and it won't be an issue. If this happens then the Rockets would have probably an unstoppable offense. Jabari is the most obscure high level prospect in the draft. Moreso than Chet IMO. He's essentially a role player but....in like a different stratosphere. It's hard to really quantify his value because the things he does unlocks the entire team. I'm not expecting much from his dribble drives. I'm treating him more as a complement to Green and Sengun.
He's the best shooter in this draft and elite defensively on the perimeter. His handles are under-rated, his real issue is driving into the paint with control. He often turns it over while driving into the paint. Also, he's not a natural shot blocker, even though he has to the tools but I'd say that's hard to teach because it's more a instinct you learn from a younger age. He has some passing vision but still could use work there too. I think he won't be handling the ball much on this team anyways since we have KPJ and Green. I want to see him in pick and rolls though.
I watched like only 4-5 game summaries today and easily found more than that already, let's not make up stuff or overreact here.
I read somewhere that he was averaging over 3 BPG in high school. I really didn't like Auburn's system and I really really didn't like Walker Kessler. I had been comparing him to Jaren Jackson Jr. without rim protection. Maybe the rim protection just wasn't shown. also an example of how one can develop their body and their handle in time.
In a lot of ways Houston has a lot of similarities between Memphis (no, not saying they're exactly alike)
I think he's a far more lethal shooter than JJJ. I liked the comparison to LaMarcus Aldridge with more range on his shot and perimeter defense.
He’s a tough-shot maker. That’s a gift. He can refine his game as he grows and learns to have better shot selection. But tough shot making is a talent that can’t be taught. He’s barely 19 years old and has skills that are rare.
JJJ averaged 39.4% on 6.5 threes attempted a game in 2019/20, if JSJ can do that every year, we got a star.
There's some shots Smith takes that are Aldridge-like He really is his own kind of player with some highly sought after strengths.
I read somewhere that his actual # of successful shots at the rim was incredibly low. Can you show me some of the ones you found?
Like many have said, he lacks a strong ability to finish around the basket and doesn't have the footwork to work the inside. Maybe some time with Hakeem can develop those skills.
That account has a lot of his games, good to get an impression of the guys. He does take a lot of really shitty and contested jumpshots to be fair, but his fg and 3pt% at least show he can do it consistently somewhat.
My initial impressions are with those that think he may be a Tier 1, 3 and D guy. And who freaking knows how he will develop and add to his game. But I'm happy we have a tall, defensive/team oriented player who seems to have a great head on his shoulders who will try to prove that he should of gone number 1 (like Green). I was really starting to warm up to Paolo as he has that IT factor but Jabari should be a huge building block none the less to the future success of this TEAM. As the guys mentioned above, LMA & Dirk, these guys didn't need handles to take over games. It would be amazing for Jabari to develop like Durant but that's literally expecting him to be one of the greatest scorers of all time lol Just be the best you can be Jabari and help us win games, we will fully support you as long as you give it your all!!
he feels more like a tall ray allen than KD on offense. KD can dribble the air out of the ball at times.
We talked a lot about live dribble passing being Banchero’s path to stardom. Shooting off the dribble is Jabari’s path. If he can improve his handle and ability to attack the basket, he will be an unstoppable force. The pump fakes alone will send defenders flying into the 3rd row.
