Im just saying bro you twisted up my words a little and painted me into a villain. Lets talk it out like grown ups.
Folks really need to reinterpret what makes a star or superstar and whether or not Jabari can replicate those things (hint: he can). The two shots that stood out to me in pre-season were obviously the Durant-esque I'm gonna drill this 3 in your face and there's nothing you can do about it, as well as the Durant-esque curl where he had a middy that he missed at the corner. That shots going in 75% of the time. Jabari has a body construct and an ability set that makes "bad shots" look mundane. A layup to him is a challenging shot to most of the NBA. That's a dimension the Rockets have only truly had in Chris Paul's first year here. Can he develop a Durant-like handle? Yeah he totally can. Is he going to become a heliocentric superstar like Lebron or Luka or Harden? No, that's not his game. He's more in the Kawhi/Durant/Paul George/Demar Derozan mold than your traditional superstar. I was team Paolo for most of the draft season. But I can see why this team probably had Jabari # 1 on their board. I'm trying hard to temper my expectations but that's about as good a debut as you can have. Especially considering last year I had to stop watching games before the ASB because I had to deal with Christian Wood being on the team being a black hole on offense and a traffic cone on defense.
I don't post here often anymore but this these Jabari threads are cracking me up. To the folks pointing out weaknesses - If you cherry pick weaknesses and are focusing only on the negatives us old guys call that "hating". No offense, it is what is it. It's like the one friend we've all had that has to find something bad to say about everyone, but yet he's "just keeping it real". To the folks ignoring his weaknesses - Time will tell, but just from my limited experience the kid doesn't look like he's going to be a slasher or athletic finisher. Sub par in a few areas. To the rest of you - Big picture time. Regarding Jabari, I think he's a great fit and the benefits far outweigh the weaknesses. I've seen flashes in his game that really surprise me for a kid of his age and experience. His defense is as good as advertised and that jumper is damn near un-guardable. No one can predict the future but it's looking like he'll be a major cog here. I hope everyone is as stoked as I am about this kid and the team progress overall. I've seen WAY too much bad basketball in my years to complain about what looks to be huge steps in the right direction for our Rockets. Hopefully it continues.
Kudos for stepping up. This place is full of too many wishy washy guys riding the fence just wanting to be on the right end of discussions to high five and enjoy the hazing of others. Even if you are wrong ultimately you are here to enjoy and opinion and deserve the same civility you give. On that note: Good luck!
LOL I wasn't painting anything. Just calling it like I saw it. Did I take into account all of your previous posts? No. Am I going to go through them all. Hell No. I'm sure you got my point. Thinking you might understand my response, seeing you didn't blast me. When's the next game?
Yea the bolded statement doesn't really mean much to me because how often Jabari boosters use it..... I mean that could literally apply to any drafted 19 year old...... THE SKY'S THE LIMIT. Obviously it would apply to the other two draft picks taken before Jabari.... .... which brings me to my next meaningless statement "consensus top pick". Is that really all the flattering when the consensus top pick is taken third? Looks like now it's your turn to respond to his new take.
Can someone please remind me what "slashing" in basketball is? Think I just might be losing my mind. Alzheimer's or something maybe.
Nah man Im not here to enjoy the bullying of others and certainly dont make it my fun to be someone who gets off on being a d******d. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've gone bonkers and out of line here - with last years "Jalen Green is too feminine" vibe being the last. You're a good contributor here. I want this place to reclaim its glory of housing the best Rocket fans in the world. Only problem is that this medium is a dying breed and only exists for old school forum dwellers and I hate social media so we get trapped in a microcosm of society with different guys who battle things in life that they can vent and release here. Its all good. Friday my dude! Bust some Raptor cheeks!
I've always defined it as a quick, athletic type player that cuts or drives to the basket. It can carry negative connotation when applied to a player that can only play that way. Bad jumper, bad passer, poor hands, etc. Rajon Rondo got that tag a lot.
He seems to move without the ball well. His drives are definitely not a strength but I'd trade that for 40% 3PT and 57% open 3PT all day every day. I had to check that 57% twice. Even at NCAA level that's impressive.
His drives will get better. At the very least he'll already be very opportunistic with the slashing as a plus to what he's bringing elsewhere. Absolutely no physical reason to think he won't. That combined with those numbers... this yr gonna be fun fo sho.
