He is much more well rounded and dynamic offensive player. Everything I stated though is currently factual. I hope and do think he will continue to improve. Rooting for the guy to do well
I think we're all saying the same thing, it's just a terminology thing. In your definition there is such a thing as a legitimate excuse. I tend to call that a reason rather than an excuse. Point being, we're all in agreement that a player being 19 has always been a huge problem to being efficient and consistent. That will always be the case.
I defended him because he is only 19, but I don't understand what's going on with his defense. It's supposed to be his biggest strength, and quite frankly, I don't see it. He stays low, has people shoot over him without him contesting it. People blow by him. He doesn't box out. He doesn't hustle anywhere near as much as Tari. People back him down in the paint with ease.
Jabari's not really tracking all that well is he? Going from the media's consensus #1 pick before the draft to the rookie doing the least with the most amount of time just before the all-star break is almost impressive. Also shooting 27% from 3 in his last 32 games. Yikes! At least he still has the ego to b**** at his teammates at every opportunity, so he's got that going for him, which is nice.
Yeah and I don’t know if he is hurt. He hasn’t looked the same defensively after that injury. What I do like about his performance as of late is his pushing the ball on offense and attacking the paint more but he seems more hesitant to shoot now. Interesting to see how he finishes the second half of the season.
It’s interesting though. There was a report that came out a couple months ago and talked about him not getting enough arc on the ball since he is so used to shooting within college range so he technically has to “re-learn” how to shoot. Seemed like he was on a roll but the injury kind of derailed his groove. He hasn’t looked the same since. But good thing is he is attacking the paint more. I think an off-season focused on ball handling, finishing in the paint, and three ball will pay off next season. He has the work ethic and I have no doubt we will see an improved version next year.
I wonder if his lack of athleticism will put a real cap on his defensive potential. He doesn't have any explosiveness and at this point he's still so thin he gets pushed around too - it's the worst of both worlds. I think he'll have to rely on his IQ to be a great defender. If that's true, then that would mean his potential is more of a Battier type (assuming he can add muscle) than the KG type of defender.
This chart seems to confirm what the eye test seemed to say - if we had drafted Tari and Bari in reverse order, that's how they have performed so far. Tari up there in production. Also, Walker Kessler quite impressive.
He literally looks like a taller Trevor Ariza, no handle, slow release, and stands upright. I am shocked this guy went number 3, his athleticism is at best average, so he would need to be a knock down shooter.....maybe he still will be, but now that he is facing guys his own size and are quicker than him he is really struggling. Only 19, but dang, at 3, you should be more NBA ready. DD
Anyone remember his reaction to not being drafted #1? He looked shocked and was fuming. This kid has a huge ego and he really needs to be put in check. I wish the other players/coaches would lay into his ass more considering his constant chirping at others. His never boxing out and then pointing at his teammates to do so is infuriating. I'm fine with holding others accountable but it just looks hypocritical when you're not holding yourself to the same standard. I'm rooting for the kid but he has a lot to learn.
I am confident he will be atleast top 3rd option in this league. He seems to have things they said about Jalen - mentality of a killer and work ethic. He will be fine as long as he works
How can it be that there are those 5 star recruits every year? The quantity is big. There should be a more meticulous system to grade them because all I see are 5 star recruits. It points to nowhere because the discrepancy is so big. A 5 star recruit could be a bust, a role player, a defensive specialist, a good contributor up to becoming a star.
I was never that big on Smith going into the draft process, mostly alarmed at his lack of physicality around the rim in college, dude shot 48% on two pointers. I didn't think he'd flounder this hard in his rookie year. Still the youngest player in the NBA, but well on the way to being the "bust" of the draft if his shooting and defense don't come around.
Jalen Duren is younger than Jabari - but yeah. I wasn't amped on Jabari - but in fairness, I didn't think Paolo would look this great either. I wanted Chet. And I guess the jury is still out on him, but considering the major criticism of him is that his frame would make him injury prone in the NBA, seems like that might not have been the right pick either. Looks like after Paolo we would have been better off to go with Mathurin or Ivey. Oh well. Nobody in the world would have done that on that day so here we are.
I still prefer Jabari to Mathurin or Ivey at this point. From having watched Mathurin, he just seems like a "meh" player to me.
Someone needs to tell Jabari he's a bust. If that doesn't light a competitive fire in him then he's a bust.
Put Bari on Pop's roster or any other good coach and see what he does. He is a young, high IQ, defensive forward that's gonna roll both ends in the right system given time.
