He was really streaky with his effort but his Orlando years he was definitely a very good defender. Probably also lot to do with making the full time switch to the 4 after playing the 3 his whole career in Seattle. Also didn't hurt the 5 was a peak Dwert. I think Bari would benefit from playing heavily at the 3 until he gets stronger, then move full time to the stretch 4 where his handles which he was forced to develop as a 3 are too much for the 4s now defending him. I love Tari. I want to see Tari start, but i wonder if with the leap forward, Garuba at the 4 providing corner 3 spacing is the better fit. Tari can literally be dropped on any team and he's going to get his easy buckets and hustle hard. That's why i don't feel so bad seeing him with the bench unit as long as he's getting a lot of minutes(damn you Silas). We know Ime value's defense so it'll be very interesting what he wants to do with the 3/4 spots. Probably most likely Bari and Tari start together.
He might be an okay defender. I don't remember him having the reputation of being outstanding. I have higher hope for Jabari. His rebounding is below average for his size. Jabari is already better in this department.
Worth keeping in mind that there were fewer possessions/fewer rebound opportunities in Sweet Lew's prime. But even factoring that in, I do think Jabari is already at least as good as Rashard was on the boards, and clearly has the potential to become better as he fills out and puts on strength.
To be honest I only have him in memory as the running mate of Jesus Shuttlesworth and Dwert. As a small cog in Miami. He has a better looking, more fluid shot than Jabari's.......but Jabari can essentially do more on the court. Him and Ray Ray were arguably the Splash brothers before the Splash brothers. Especially their shooting forms were picture perfect IMHO.
He's barely average at handles and athleticism when it comes to stretch 4s in the league, how are they too much for defenders to handle.
