It's really encouraging that his shots are starting to fall. Not sure what's happening with his free throws though. Theoretically he should be at 80%. We have a free throw curse on this team
Conditioning isn't there yet for the young guys given that they're being asked to give much greater effort than ever before on defense. Note that Dillon and Uncle Jeff are doing fine on free throws and Fred's is only down a little bit (but he's also been asked to play 38mpg, most in his career).
How do we get Jabari more shots? He's only taking 10 per game. I feel it should be closer to 15 minimum. I proposed converting Jalen to 6th man as the most obvious choice. He's taking 15 per game and right now that seems too high with his efficiency issues. Let him play his game and if he's hot then let him cook, if not back to the bench. Suits his abilities right now. The other choice would be FVV with his 14 shots per game at 38% but 1) he's the point and 2) he's playing too many minutes which screws his %s and attempts. It's 100% obvious that it should be Jalen outside of the bust narrative factor but he's already sitting 4ths so might as well make it official and save this young mans career.
I also would like Jabari to get more shots. He's earned it. But also, I wonder if he'll hit free agency someday and remember how much he didn't like being the 5th option on our team. I wonder if it will leave a bad taste in his mouth and make him more likely to look elsewhere.
I'm not sure this is something we really need to change. In my opinion one of Jabaris best qualities is that he is really good at picking his spots this year. Last year he would try to force it a lot and the results were almost never good. This year he's really really selective with when he scores and also how he scores, and I think it's worked to his advantage. As he gets more comfortable I would encourage him to take more shots, I'm definitely not opposed to it. But right now I think the way he plays within the offense and never forces it is one of his best qualities. He is literally the only starter we have that doesn't try to force it when it's not there. I really like that about him.
I see both points. Trying to setup a win-win-win (win for Jalen, Jabari, and team) situation. I really believe we should have 2-3 more wins if Jalen had been consistent so far.
Jabari making himself into a versatile 4/5 role player this start of the season is one of the best things he could have done for his career. The difference between Jabari, and Christian Wood physically, and from a natural talent perspective isn't all that different. But what is happening between Jabari's ears makes all the difference in how he's likely going to be one of the most sought after players every year in a small class of bigs with his size, length, and versatility that teams pay BIG bucks for, and why Christian Wood is going to be a perennial vet min guy the rest of his career until teams just give up on the thought that they can use him in a way that helps them win. Jabari very well might break out offensively as well, and become a superstar, but more important than that hopeful outcome is finding out what we know now about what looks inevitable (injuries pending of course). Of all of the young players we have on our roster now, even though Al-P is probably the most likely to be an all-star, I would be offering Jabari an extension first. Next year if Stone can lock him down on a team friendly long term deal, I'd freaking do it in a heartbeat.
I'm not overly worried about Bari's shot attempts. Scoring a ton of points shouldn't be his primary concern. Look at Bosh between 2012 and 2014 -- he only averaged like 12 shots a game, about what Bari is averaging. But Bosh was just as critical to the Heat's championships as Wade and LeBron.
He is getting better at what he does but he is not the guy who leads your offense. 12-13 is fine (Mpj numbers). There will be times when he will take 15+ shots.
We're 1/4 of the way into Jabari's sophomore season and he's started every game he's played. His free agency is a long way off and his role between now and then can change drastically. Honestly, if he raised a stink about his current role I would be sorely disappointed in him. Many rookies drafted at #3 that had amazing careers were brought on more slowly than him. Harden and Jaylen Brown barely got minutes their rookie years and they were future all NBA players. Fortunately, Smith doesn't seem to be that egotistical. When he was benched down the stretch for Jeff Green earlier in the season his response was perfect: that it was a learning opportunity and that his time would come. And now he's closing games already.
Bosh had already gotten paid though, and proven he could be a focal point with Raptors. No guarantee Jabari will be okay with Bosh's Heat role out of the gate.
Bosh is a different tier offensive player compared to Jabari. Bosh was an offense creator for the Raptors and was actually quite mediocre/bad on defense. Jabari is trending more to a 3 and D player at the moment
Yeah, when it's all said and done it wouldn't surprise me if he ends up being the best of the bunch. He's quietly evolving and developing an all around better game. I've noticed though that he's much more active offensively early in the game for some reason. At least it feels that way. I haven't looked it up, but he seems way more aggressive at the very start of a lot of the games this year.
He’s made significant improvements since the start of the season - particularly the quality of his rebounding. He’s rounding into a legit starter despite my initial assessment that he would be a utility bench big at best. Glad to have been wrong here. I don’t necessarily think he needs to be featured any more in the offense, but if he has the hot hand, Udoka does need to develop some plays that ensures he can keep getting shots. Too often he gets hot but then the combination of his not getting to the right spots and the failure of our passers to get him the ball prevents him from riding his hot streak. I’d also love to see him used more as the entry passer to Sengun in the post, although it’s possible that defenses will then front Sengun. Whether or not Jabari can either make the pass quickly enough to beat the front or make an alternative pass remains to be seen, but it can’t hurt to try this.
Jabari's going to be a two way player not some 3&D PJ Tucker who is no threat in between the perimeter and basket He's already surpassed being your basic 3&D mold
I don't think we need to get away from what is working right now. One reason why Jabari's efficiency is skyrocketing is because he is getting the Mobley effect, because he is the 4rth option opponents don't key on him so he can score a lot easier. That's also why I dont like to bench Jalen because even though he isn't very efficient right now, he still forces opposing defenses to collapse on him. Against bad teams like Memphis and Spurs Tari does a lot more than Jalen, but against good defensive teams the Rox as a whole will struggle if we bench Jalen for Tari.
