He's shown little or no capacity to create off the dribble either for himself or his teammates. It's hard to think he'll ever have it, just from watching. Not that explosive or fluid. He can finish plays, hopeful with better efficiency some day. Starting them? Haven't seen anything resembling this so far In the NBA that makes you ....a role player
He's not really a role player right now since his shot is broken, and for all the talk about wanting to guard the best players, he keeps getting decimated apart from that one game against Giannis. He is getting a free ride for the same reason why so many are high on him here ... because we took him #3.
..And he can't create separation from defenders the way athletically gifted players can even as rookies. He can shoot over guys sure, that's not nothing. But, you know, so can Boban, so you need more than that Contrast with Jalen Green - he had the elite first step always even as a rookie. It's why i hold a - diminishing but persistent - bit of hope he can be an elite player still. Smith ? Doesnt seem to have that kind of athletic ability. Maybe he'll someday use tricks and guile to compensate but - he's definitely average or worse, physically
He's got a complete game. If his three isn't falling he can get touches in the mid post. He can rebound and defend. He can lead a fast break but someone isn't coaching him up and using him properly. Tonight was ridiculous... 20 minutes in a blowout and he's not hurt! Smdh
Damn you barely have any hope for the 19 and 20 year old player. Both playing with 1000 other 19-21 year olds. I've seen it all close up shop and sell the team.
If we had an actual NBA caliber head coach I would agree on the "free ride". However, due to the fact that Silas is a pee wee coach, it's hard to give Jabari a fair assessment. Hopefully next season we get a coach who isn't a joke.
Here's the problem - literally 100% of NBA players were once 19. Most of them didn't become stars. Paolo is the same age, that MF is a star. I mean I'm no scout but a 6-10 big b*stard who can drive and pass like a guard and score- yeah sign me up. Or a weirdo freak like Zion - he was a problem for NBA player the second he stepped on the floor, also very young. Or LaMelo Ball. Etc Jabari Smith Jr is not like those guys. Even as rookies. He's just not as good. He could still get better but .. star player level doesn't seem likely right now. Hope I'm wrong - would love to be wrong
You and I have a very different understanding of a complete game. Offensively, Jabari is extremely lacking. Not being able to put the ball on the floor puts a massive limit on his ceiling.
That's a cop out man. Most guys who pop early and become stars - you can't even ****in remember their coach. I mean how many people can guess Magic Johnson's first coach wo looking it up? Not many. Or Jordan's. Hell I assumed Orlando's coach was Brian Hill or Stan Van Gundy until last week. That doesn't stop Paolo. Players need good coaching sure, but honestly that's just a small part of the equation when we're talking superstars Smith just hasn't shown thus far that he's got the other factors
He can improve his handle because idk if you know this... he's 19. What we don't need is coaches getting in the way of his growth. Handle and finishing are what he should work on this off-season. You're sleeping if you think he's a stiff
I don't get why a 6-11 human can't finish at the rim in college or NBA then magically learns how to make a layup at age 21 where at age 19 and 20 this skill - taught from the earliest stages - eluded him . . it's definitely possible but IMO the 2 years of problems and the eye test are troubling
His body type, size, frame, release point, tenacity, relentlessness and defensive acumen are not average or anything even remotely close to average. He is just as capable of becoming a star as Jalen is due to both his God given tools that almost no one in this league possesses outside of an aging Durant and his personality (this one Jalen doesn't have). Whether he does it or not we'll see but he is capable. He's going to eventually tire of being relegated behind significantly less talented players. He isn't Jalen. He will not sit idly by. Lets hope they both do.
Prove it? Like if he was a physical freak he'd be jumping out of the gym or doing Zion things. A 6-11 guy who tries to shoot but isn't quite good at it yet and has a slow release - that's all just kind of meh. The rest is just way below average - he's just straight bad at finishing even for a rookie. Can't pass. Can't dribble. The defensive stuff is nice but add it all up, we're talking 3 and D. That's role player stuff
The comp commonly used to compare him in college to an NBA prospect was Rashard Lewis with better defense. I don’t think that’s too far off from what we have seen so far. I agree he’s not a future star, but a Lewis with better defense is a valuable contributor, situational all star a handful of years and helped make Orlando competitive back in the day along with Turkuglu….also wasn’t much of a ball handler or athlete but learned to reliably take advantage of defenses with the skills he had. We would have liked to have scored Paolo- but I still don’t think it was a bad pick given we needed a valuable 2 way big to complement Green. A PG would have been nice, but the reality is Houston has picked up useful pieces in the draft the last few years - they just haven’t hit on that “best player on a contending team” player yet(I’m partial to Green being a Robin more than a Batman) and frankly I don’t think any of the guys Houston could have picked will be significant ceiling raisers compared to who they got - different skills for sure, but we didn’t walk away with Sam Bowie or anything. All of this goes away of course if Houston manages to draft Wemby or Scoot who I think will both be better than virtually anyone available in the last two drafts.
Basically you either look at stats and how he's playing and be concerned that he might be a bust ... or you look past his performance on the court and current trajectory and hope he will improve all areas of the game. Both are justifiable positions. Right now he looks like turning into a taller Ariza, which is fine if you look past where he was drafted. I hope he turns into Lewis with D. Or better yet, Christian Wood with a 40% 3 and D. But y'all crazy with the KD/KG comparisons. And y'all crazy if you think he is guaranteed to turn into a star.
