If Chet can stay healthy, IMO, he's a definite no-brainer over Jabari even with his contract. Of course, Chet's continued health seems like a huge if. I'm not a big believer in Pablo Ranchero. He's far more talented than Jabari but his mind trails behind his talent. I do believe he can mature into a legit star that is the best player on a championship contender, but that is doubtful. I understand why the Magic bet the farm for Bane, but it probably won't end well for them.
Paolo, Chet, and Jabari were the undisputed top 3 picks. Hindsight would put Jalen Williams in the top 3, but no honest person would claim that they saw Williams as even a top 5 prospect at that time. The top 3 were pretty evenly scouted. Each were seen as high potential guys with some glaring risks/weaknesses. Paolo: shooting and defense Chet: injury risk Jabari: ball handling and playmaking All of those scouting points were correct. The only thing people are disappointing with Jabari is that his supposed strength as a great shooter has not materialized yet. This season is important for him to really break out, not necessarily becoming a star but fulfilling his promise as a great 3&D player. I hope tonight's game will give him the confidence to move forward toward his ceiling.
Yeah, Chet fits every single team seamlessly, right now he is a better Jabari and likely will be his entire career. I just think he's overrated because of how people talk of him sometimes as this superstar. Put him on the Wizards or Nets I'm really not sure how much changes. I'm not sure he can lead an offense being the main guy, he gets so many easy open looks thanks to who he plays with. Even that game he had with us was just...open look after open look. I've seen him look very pedestrian if the defense keys in on him. Paolo though I don't know. I'm in the same boat as you on him, I'm not sure he's the best player on an elite team. That's still a good player, he's still going to be a multi-time all-star...but it feels more like a 2nd or 3rd tier star player like Paul George in his prime or Trae Young or something. Both are better than Jabari right now but the question Rockets fans should ask is Jabari really the guy in the way of a championship? I'd say no. He's not even close to being some liability on the team and adds a lot to the team for his contract. We hope he outplays his contract of course and develops to an all-star talent but the Jabari we have right now today is a great role player to have on the team.
I really like where it seems smith is headed. Another year and I think he will be fluent with ball in his hands driving.
Its Jabusty!! He's Jabroki!! Good ol' Brickari!! Man the Crow is flowing freely already after just 4 games!!! Thread-making 101: Never make threads based off of emotional responses to one game. Players read Clutchfans and will make you pay for it the ENTIRE season.
Jabari was great last night. We need to find a consistent role for him in this offense. If it's a set 3 point shooter who can take a shorter defender off the dribble than that's fine. Is he our third scorer or fourth? That puts him at 12-15 ppg, not enough shots to get to 15-18. So then he's a 3 and D who needs to improve in both. I think he can do that. His goal is to be aggressive and to keep shooting. As for Paolo and Chet...I hate Paolo's archetype. We've seen the problems when an inefficient scorer tries to lead a team. And he can't shoot 3's. Or play defense. I was so glad we didn't get him and still am. As someone mentioned, Orlando has Paolo, Franz, and Bane now. Franz is better than Paolo now and Bane is really good. We will see how the three of them work out. I can already see Paolo not cutting it (not being a contender level) but they're stuck with him as the #1 pick and a good offensive player (not great). Chet always looked great to me in the draft and still does. I think he'd be a great fit on any team, but we had no shot at him. He has what I want more from Jabari, defense, blocks, and great 3's. His injury history is a concern, obviously.
Last game was great for him - that's how I want him to play. Be aggressive, drive to the basket when the defense closes out on the 3pt line, pull up for a midrange shot and take every open 3. He won't be a #1 option or even a #2 option, but he can do a lot more if he is just confident and aggressive.
Bari looks better than last year. His ball handling and willingness to drive is a marked improvement. He’s basically the 4th option and shooting 37% from 3 with solid defense and helps on the boards. What more could we want??
Jabari was often left out of the offense with Jalen and FVV who were a terrible backcourt. I can’t count how many times FVV and Jalen froze him out. KD came in and really sparked this kid. Everybody on this team is looking for the open man, a little too unselfish at times, but this offense is becoming so multi-faceted that a different guy might carry us every night. Every year the fans were crowing about JSJ getting stronger and this off-season he definitely took it to heart. I think KD has really been in his ear about utilizing his strengths and being aggressive.
The over reactions on this site crack me up ! I love Jabari and im glad we drafted him . He’s not even in his prime yet lol
Jabari should watch some game film of Otis Thorpe. Similar body types (though OT was a bit heavier and stronger), Jabari has a much better outside shot (OT was 3 or 64 from 3 for his career), and OT was smoother and much more physical near the rim. Still, there are enough similarities that Jabari might see the potential if he continues to get stronger and plays more aggressively inside.
I’ve always preferred Jabari to Paolo. He is one of the most overrated players in the league and is/was a terrible fit for the Rockets. I didn’t get the Cade love either, but he has proven me wrong. Chet is better than Jabari now, but Jabari will probably have the better career. He has more of an NBA body than Chet. Amen over Wemby for me, but only because a short career for Wemby is pretty likely. If he stays healthy, he will challenge for GOAT. I didn’t believe that until he developed a 3 pointer, but he is the unicorn of unicorns.
Very happy with Jabari's progress. He turned into a winning player around at the end of last season. I was on the camp on starting Tari over him. The dude is bringing the ball up as if he has any business dribbling. Attacking the rim on swing swing closeouts with confidence; dropping dimes and getting buckets. Hitting his 3's. Did he pull a euro last night? This doesn't look like the Jabari I know. Keep it up.
He could still benefit from adding strength - he doesn't get out muscled by everyone now(positive), but he does still get worked by strong players. His value will always be in versatility so the more he can do to round out the lesser parts of his game relative to the competition - the better for his team. That's why its super encouraging this year to see him become a more consistent shooter, to see him attack closeouts, to see him making nice passes when appropriate, hitting mid range shots, punishing mismatches with aggression, putting the ball on the floor and it not being a disaster, sticking with players and providing some resistance as a defender playing 1-5. Normally you wouldn't want a jack of all trades/master of none type player but I think in Jabari's case if he can be a reliable 3pt shooting with some gravity and otherwise can do a little of everything - that will make him super valuable. To me his goal is Heat era Chris Bosh - he doesn't need the ball to go through him, he needs to be able to make teams pay when the ball does find him in a mismatch or when the defense closes out too hard or not hard enough, and otherwise provide defensive scheme versatility for when you want to go "big" or "small". If you can play different ways as a team with the same roster - that makes you far more adaptable in playoff matchups and that can be a big help to raising your team's playoff ceiling.
So far looks like Magic would be in the better position if they drafted Jabari instead of Paolo. Jabari would’ve be much further ahead of development in Orlando and would’ve given more room to Franz to work inside. Paolo was amazing in rookie contract but as/upto $287million dollars contract player he got narrow court vision and average bbIQ. I would take $122 mil Jabari w/ Sengun than max +$280 mil Paolo which would’ve killed our bottom line in current CBA
