…most players in the modern age spend the first part of their careers rebuilding their shot. I know for a fact they turned Jalen from a 2 motion to a one motion shooter, and I seem to recall reading that Jabari needed to work on a quicker release as well so I imagine it’s not unrealistic to think this trend you are seeing is really how player development works in this day and age that is different than in the past. We know Cade had a shaky shot coming out of college- it’s not hard to believe at all that he suffered from a similar curve having to rebuild his shot WHILE learning how to play in the league all at once.
He was a total bust 3/4 of the season i don't even think this is up to discussion. He couldn't make simple layups, missed wide open shots, couldn't pass, dribble he was looking like a headless chicken on the court. Last 15 to 20 games he got his **** together. His middy improved, he was still ass from behind the arc but less ass than the earlier season. His touch around the rim got a little better. His absolute peak is some 20 ppg 10 rb PF but i'm not sure if he can get there unless he becomes a 40% 3pt shooter. Because he's extremely limited. I'm looking at his arsenal the only thing i truly like is his pull up midrange jumper. For a limited player he has to get better from behind the arc. Good thing is that he's young and showed us sth to hold on to however for such a supposedly NBA ready player he's not more ready than Jalen, Sengun or Tari at the moment. Tari is better 3pt shooter than Jabari this is unaccaptable when you are touted as next Klay. He really needs to get better.
He sees himself as a big winner and a clutch player. He might be that in time but I agree that he won't get the FG attempts when veteran stars are coming here.
Given how wet his jumper is from 0-20ft, including his turnaround game, I’m looking at Jabari more as a Lamarcus Aldridge with higher defensive upside. As Nathan Fogg alluded to in one post on Twitter, perhaps we overrated his shot blocking ability—and his ability to work above the rim on whole—because he just doesn’t have great ups. But his lateral quickness remains elite, which is why so many people are envisioning him as a switchable perimeter lockdown guy. Which isn’t to say he can’t become a smart inside defender like Brook Lopez someday. He really is a completely different animal than Evan Mobley, who I remain convinced will be an offensive liability in the playoffs with his 3pt shooting. it’s absolutely way too early to put a ceiling on Jabari though, and I still love the pick.
Are you saying that you are higher on Jabari than Mobley? Kid's about to win DPOY in his 2nd season. I don't think he'll ever become a good 3pt shooter but he's good in the post and has pretty decent midrange. Definitely better passer and ball handler than Jabari.
Jabari Smith is showing he has a nice future in the NBA. He’s played some very competent games, and he’s been horrible in others (mostly 3/4 of the season). The first 3/4 of the season had him on redraft sites as a bust according to where he was taken. The last 1/4 of the season may have tempered that sentiment. I think, most people are removing the bust, since he’s been really good in quite a few games since. Now they will say, can he do it for a whole season. The Rockets got 2 really good players in the 2021 draft in Segun and Green. And Jabari really can compliment both those guys, if he fixes his 3 point shot. He hustles on defense and plays smart, he just needs to hit his shots for a whole season.
Way, way too early to write Jabari off as a volume three point shooter and say "he should just take middies". A lot of rookies come into the league with below-average three point shots and later develop into knockdown shooters beyond the arc, and few of those guys had the prior track record Jabari had in high school and college. Give him another year or two and let's see what his game is looking like. Kinda what you have to do with high-upside rookies in general, anyway.
3 pointers are pretty easy to shut down if your name is not one of the Splash bros and in the playoffs when hands get cold...
Even against an elite defense in the playoffs, being a threat to make a 3P shot still helps space the floor and open things up for other kinds of offense. Basketball can get pretty complex, and all different scoring types interact with each other.
Nice to see Eason on there too. One thing to note: Every single guy on the first team is older than Jabari, some of them by like 2 years. The only one even close is Banchero who is about 6 months older. (But we didn't even have the opportunity to pick him.)
DPOY level players are valuable--look at the contenders this year, Draymond, JJJ, Brook Lopez, Mobley--but it's offense that gets you in the top 15 rankings of NBA players. LMA at his peak was a top 15 player, and Jabari has a higher defensive upside than him. If you look at where the NBA is going, it's getting harder and harder to hide a non-shooter no matter what position he plays. Jabari is the future of the NBA, and championship teams are going to increasingly look like four Jabari's plus an initiator with size.
He's about to win DPOY? Over Brook Lopez? Thats news. https://www.nba.com/news/defensive-player-ladder-april-2023-edition
If we luck into drafting Victor Wembanyama, will it make Jabari obsolete? @Os Trigonum https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-p...victor-wembanyama-preferred-position-revealed Wemby sees himself as a power forward. I am very encouraged by Bari's progress, but can he play small forward? He is definitely not a full-time center, and we already have the best 20 year old center in the league. Personally, I think Jabari can play small forward, and he will not be made obsolete. But Wemby is like a taller version of Bari who can block more shots. Very different player from Sengun. Wemby and Sengun are much more complementary (Sengun is a playmaker who plays with his back to the basket - Wemby doesn't play with his back to the basket, but has a better jump shot and shoots more from outside - very similar to Jabari). Might KMJ be the odd man out? Or can he slide to the backup SG position for some minutes? Or is Garuba the odd man out? C: Sengun (34 minutes), Wemby (6 minutes), Garuba (8 minutes) PF: Wemby (22 minutes), Jabari (12 minutes), Tari Eason (14 minutes) SF: Jabari (20 minutes), Tari Eason (14 minutes), KMJ (14 minutes) SG: Green (34 minutes), KMJ (10 minutes), Josh Christopher (4 minutes) PG: Harden or Van Vleet (30 minutes), TyTy (18 minutes)
No. 32 minutes for Wemby, 32 minutes for Jabari, 32 minutes for Sengun. Could be the best frontcourt rotation in the league in a few years.
Thats true - depending on which sportsbook you visit highest I've seen Mobley is 3rd. I think narratives matter with the guys who have a vote and Lopez is anchoring the best defense in the NBA for the team who won the most games. I just think proclaiming him to win a DPOY in his 2nd season for flair was a bit premature. Mobley IS a great defender no doubt.
