I'm worried that Jabari's ceiling is a role player on an average team. He needs to get a lot better in the offseason. Obviously better coaching would help too.
Man how I wish we could get unfiltered thoughts in what the front office thought about these players right now. Jabari's ceiling is looking scary low. Does he have a discernable above average NBA skill? New coaching staff is needed for millions of reasons but Jabari really needs a lifeline so he can tap whatever NBA potential he has. Before the season some thought he projected as Rashard Lewis with D. Based on this season Brian Cook is also in his range of outcomes if nothing changes.
He needs to add length but he has long quick strides for his height. His jumper I think will eventually will be at least competent. The lack of strength is throwing off his shot. He isn't used to the lower body and core strength of NBA players when he tries to shoot over them. It' throwing his shot off obviously. His lack of strength is making him a poor defender as well. I'm sure that will improve. Unfortunately he doesn't have something like elite level quickness and the baseline competent ball handling to generate own clean look off the dribble like Green to fall back to due to his body not fully developed yet and being below average in strength.
Jalen Duren looks about 3x better. But it is true that how much he improves between now and next year is more important than how good or bad he is right now.
And Alpi has improved a lot in his second year. To be honest, Jabari (who is less than a year younger than Alpi) should never dare to yap at Alpi again. Ever. I don't see a single thing - including defense and 3-point shooting - that Jabari does better. Not one. Actually, yes: free throws.
On open and wide open 3s, he's 29 and 33 % respectively. I'm half convinced the Rockets never saw him take NBA 3s and just drafted him because Paolo was gone and they assumed there really was a big 3.
At this point last season, for all the concern about Jalen, you saw that insane first step and quickness. Jalen was blowing by everyone even if he blew the layup more times than not, the highlight dunks weren't too shabby either. It was obvious that Jalen had a very obtainable set path to survival and stardom in the NBA, he did something that others simply cannot do. Jabari Smith is who @Bobbythegreat thinks Jalen Green is, terrible at every facet of the game with no decernable skills. He can't shoot, can't rebound, can't defend, and is an inferior athlete, which really came as a shock to me considering his dad and cousin played in the NBA, and NBA bloodlines tend to do extremely well in that department at least. He's even a below average free throw shooter, which has me abandoning all hope for the man, and convinced that what we saw in college was a fluke against inferior competition. I'm going to say it outright, the man is a bust. He's looking like how Jalen Suggs did this time last year, and there's very little improvement from there.
I just find out Tari is better than Jabari in all shooting percentage, including FG%, 3-pt% and FT%...
Tari also has heart and hustles on every single possession. And Tari is supportive of his teammates instead of yapping at them.
They are the opposite of each other. Jabari is as bad offensively as Jalen is defensively and Jalen’s mediocre offense is similar to Jabari's mediocre defense.
I really really want Jabari to do well, and I really want to like him. I am just honestly struggling to see the "great defense". Even if I think his shot will eventually come around, can someone explain to me what he actually does so well on defense? He says he wants to guard the opponent's best player, 1-5. The only time I have seen him do a somewhat decent job at even trying to do that was that one game against Giannis. Other than that, I simply have never seen him play good defense.
I think he has potential to be an above average weak side shot-blocker. He has been terrible, I really wonder what wee could have gotten in a trade down scenario. Would have been nice to get involved in the Utah/Gobert trade and sent Jabari to Utah and gotten back some picks and Kessler. We would have looked like fools then, but brilliant now.
I'm going to pretend that Jabari is on pace for a Dirk-like trajectory, and nobody will be able to convince me otherwise. Remind me in 3 years or don't, whatever
