LMA: 2nd pick Dirk: 9th pick Durant: 2nd pick 2+2+9=4 Conclusion: On average, Smith will be better than all three. That is science!
I want him to be a career Rocket. He is an absolute workhorse that will keep developing. Lucas will get some time with him. Dream will get some time with him. Imagine a floor with him Tate, Green, and Garuba. All 4 with big big motors. Get Tyus Jones in the mix and you have a playoff team.
To be honest I’m worried about him getting to the basket He needs to be on the Tatum development track he will be just fine. If he’s ends up somewhere between Klay and Tatum I’d be ecstatic but he needs major development. Eason does too The spurs would turn this roster into a juggernaut we need good development coaches I’m not sure if that’s our strength.
Dude? He never dribbled to the basket on any of those highlights and rarely dribbled 3 times that's not dribbling. With that said he probably went to the best team because he has multiple guys who can play make for him. IMO he is probably the safest pick but will be underwhelming for a lot of fans. Going to be interesting to see if he develops any dribble-drive game.
He can easily get to the elbow fromwhere he is money. Rockets will cut down on his far 2 pointers and focus more on 3s. He will adjust his game per NBA coaching. These shots give me cinfidence that he can shoot off the catch and off the dribble. You are focusing on the wrong thing
When we've played GS, we have never had anyone that could contest or deny Klay from getting shots. Even Ariza in his glory years, could make Klay work hard for buckets, but it was still a mismatch for the Warriors to exploit. Enter Jabari Smith. You can now glue Smith to Klay Thompson's hip and cripple his scoring from day 1. Or you could leave Smith to defend Wiggins and be fairly comfortable (or let Eason have that matchup for a while). And when Phoenix comes to town, they get to figure out how someone like Booker guards Jabari Smith. It's been a long, long time since the Rockets set the terms on frontcourt matchups.
I have faith in our developmental program. Look at the strides Jalen made from the beginning of the season towards the end of it. He improved his shot, his handling, and defense. A lot has to do with his drive to become better as well as coaching staffs helping him out. I can't say for certain that Jabari will develop handles, but he has the same drive to become better just like Jalen. That's all you can ask for
Its not ideal. Lucky for us we dont need him to be Kyrie Irving with the ball. Just a basic dribble package would work wonders.
None of this is really off the dribble and his athleticism doesn't seem all that great.....other than moving his feet on D. How is his rebounding? DD
Oh I agree but it's amazing how bad he is, especially if you believe he has this uber work ethic. So why has he never worked on a dribble-drive game? Just think how scouting works in the NBA and how everybody is going to be attacking his dribble. I don't hate the pick just wanted a more dynamic offensive guy who could be a true 1b or 1a even, he is going to have to be a GREAT defender to live up to the hype.
I expect Jabari to be a first team all defense type guy during his career. If he isn’t better than Ariza then we have a serious problem.
I want to look at Jaylen Brown and how he has been able to be average with his handle after being as poor as Jabari is today. I do also believe that dribble ability is something innate and usually occurs naturally at an early age Im trying to give Jabari some leeway and hoping he has the desire to keep getting better. When you're the best shooter on amatuer teams it just becomes routine to take jumpers, but the NBA will take that away I agree. Start with baby steps. Jabari can use that pump that his good shot will create and go into a simple dribble to make room and even better get all the way to the hole and not get blocked or pushed around in the restricted area. It took Jaylen Brown 6 years. I can only pray it wont take as long for Jabari, but worst case as long as he takes and makes open 3's and plays good defense he should be a + player. I dont forecast superstardom the same way as I did with Paolo, but you never know.
