Gotta admit it kinda feelsbadman, out of the top 5 picks only Jabari didnt blow up in his first game. He played ok but he didnt build hype like the rest. Of course this doesnt really mean anything esp since he is the youngest but still you'd def like to show out like batchmates.
He had 10 pts on 10 shots thats not better than what most expected here. He played good D and passed the ball around that was expected but we were also expecting an efficient game but I guess Paolo locked him up and also scored on him multiple times 1on1.
You have to put the shots in context. 1 missed fade away heave w/ 1 sec left on a bad pass. 1 missed freebie. 1 missed lay up that should have been 2 freebies. 1 of 4 from three, 2 of those were shot out of frustration of not getting involved. The 1 he made was in rhythm. 1 seal off, should have been a dunk if he received a pass. He could have easily finished 7/11 with 18 points by just having unselfish play around him.
Jabari will be fine when he plays with people who actually want to pass the ball, not sure that's anyone except Sengun on the Rockets though. Its funny tho looking back at the hilariously bad takes on Paolo on here. He is exactly the heliocentric star player we thought he was.
Paolo had some good moments, made a couple nice shots and a few good passes. But he also showed that he’s will struggle finishing against NBA caliber players. He’s not going to be the point forward you think he is. Even on Orlando
I wish he would have gotten a few more shots up, but not bad. I think he will benefit from the spacing in the NBA, his gravity already created a couple of open layups for the other guys.
his defense looked good. i think he will average something like 12PPG a game though in his rookie year. it's only one summer league game but everyone who was concerned about him pre-draft still has to be concerned as literally all the weaknesses were on display last night.
Jabari was never gonna be a great summer league performer. The things we wanted him for, and hope he brings to the table don't really make much of an impact in the unstructured, bordering on pick up, style of the summer league. His individual offensive creation isn't great right now, anybody that thought it was was fooling themselves. The hope for superstardom is that he can continue to grow on his ability to shoot over people.
Evan Mobley who half this board think is a god averaged 15 points last year. The Rockets want Jabari to add another 3 pt shooter to open up the lane and be a critical part of their defense. We have 2 alpha dogs on offense, he doesn’t need to score a bunch of points to be a perfect fit for the Rockets. If he hits his open 3’s and plays great defense, mission accomplished.
Am I the only one who thought Smith looked pretty…good? The shooting form is beautiful. He was switching all over the place on D. He had a couple nice drives to his left, which people said he couldn’t do. He just needs to chill with the fouls, and the team needs to pass to him more. And yes, he needs to work on his handles, but that won’t happen overnight.
Smith's defensive intensity was nice, especially on the ball or in the post. Getting called for a few of those fouls should help him as that's exactly the rookie treatment for those not named Paolo. As a help defender, Jabari got lost on a few rotations leading to uncontested 3s. I'm sure if he's asked about his defense that would be the area in which he would be critical of himself.
I didn’t think he looked good, but it is one summer league game. He is going to be a great player that fits this team like a glove. It was obvious that he was nervous and not nearly as aggressive as I think he will be once he has his confidence. Remember how Jalen looked until he got confident? Jabari is going to be an efficient scorer and great addition to our defense. Patience for this team is key. Our starting five will be one of the youngest in nba history.
I'm not as concerned because Jabari's role will be a secondary scorer behind Jalen. But with Green you saw what he did against his rookie class in the summer league. He dominates when he played players with similar levels of experience right off the gate in his first summer league game. Ya he struggled for the first half of the season but that was against the actual league full of established vets.
I thought he was as advertised. I wish he was more aggressive last night, but it could be that he wanted to play within the "offense" (I had to chuckle because there was no offense whatsoever). Towards the end of the game you could see Jabari demanding the ball more. There was a play where Lamb had the ball and Jabari kept yelling at him to pass it to him, even clapping his hands a few times until Lamb finally did. That play resulted in an assist by Jabari. Jabari has a good feel for the game. Seems like a guy who has high basketball IQ, but severely needs to improve his handles. He just needs a decent handle and he'll open up his game that much more. His game also doesn't translate well in the SL. Like Mobley, they need good guards to set them up. Paolo is more like Jalen where you can give him the ball and he'll create something for himself or his team and that's why they shine especially in a glorified pick up game like SL. Both player showed what they were known for. Paolo - great offensive player who can create for himself or his teammates, poor defense but has the tools to become better at it. Jabari - great switch defender with a nice shot. Struggles to put the ball on the floor so he'll have a hard time creating for himself unless a guard sets him up well
Jalen's bag is huge ... even bigger than Paolo's. Jalen is a legit 3 level scorer and that's why his ceiling is sky high. Cade or Jalen would've been the consensus top 1 pick this draft IMO.
Jabari played fine considering what was around him. You could tell he was frustrated on offense due to not being included but he didnt let that deter his defense. He was basically the coordinator on defense pointing guys to their spots. He also drove past Paolo twice off the dribble with one make and one foul that wasnt called, which shows Paolo may struggle on defense in the NBA or Jabari's off the dribble skills were underrated (but still needs work). I think he'll double his points next game if the coaches decide to have any sort of structure out there
