He’s extremely useful for the regular season juggernaut but all the tells are there that we’re going to pull him once playoffs get real.
Do tell what these tells are. He wasn't exactly a loud presence, but he wasn't half bad in last year's playoffs, his first ever at age 21.
I don't disagree that there are many subcategories. Stars have subcategories. MVP level stars aren't the same as a guy like Trae Young. Dividing players into just stars and role players is too simplistic. But the general designations is what I said, you build around stars players with role players, not the other way around. I am a Jabari fan. I thought he had the potential to be a star player when we drafted him. But after 3 seasons, it's quite clear that he lacks the ability to create for himself and for his teammates. This deficiency pretty much close the door of stardom for him. The only way he can still get to be a star is if he can score over 25 ppg and very good at defense. That seems very unlikely.
He's playing awesome for what we need him to do. Definitely playing with more confidence and focus. I'm loving his development. He'll never be a primary playmaker or option, but he'll always be a guy that can get off a good shot over just about anyone and will play defense.
Nice thing so far this season is that he's improved his scoring average without increasing his usage. He's just been more efficient when he does get the ball. Let's hope he can keep that up. Maybe when KD's minutes start to go down Jabari's usage will increase and he can do at least some of the things KD does for us.
Warriors aren’t a terrible matchup for him. They don’t do a lot of isolation hunting. Still 8 points and 4 rebounds, low minutes because his defense was a problem. Wasn’t a triumph either. The LA teams will be a good example. Watch who Harden and Luka choose to guard and hide out on defensively. Then watch who they choose to attack in isolation when they get that matchup. He’s just slow foot speed, they get a step and get to their spot or put our defense in scramble mode every time. It’s not just the top guys either, he’s free eats against anyone fast or strong. Big problem against OKC, there’s not 3 guys in that rotation I feel comfortable with Bari on and he does nothing to help against the ball pressure. I hope I’m wrong but looks like he’ll get exploited at the highest levels. Can’t check a non threat and be the help guy if everyone’s a threat. Problem compounded because KD and Sengun aren’t guys you want on other teams top scorers either
I put Jabari as potentially in a category akin to Draymond. Draymond is not a "star" in the traditional sense, but is essential on a championship team. He makes the "stars" better and the stars elevate his profile. I'm not saying Jabari is on the defensive level as Draymond but I think it's clear, at least clear to me, that the Rockets missed him badly in the game he was out against Dallas. Jabari's also not a a$$hat like Draymond so there's that.
Best thread ever. Jinx threads do work (check fire hinch thread). Jabari’s dribbling and defense isnt there, but offensively and body wise he looks good. Just play the Aldridge / Lewis role. I can live with that.
I don't think his defense is remotely that bad from what I've seen, and he seems to be becoming a bit better at protecting the rim, too. To be clear, I'm not expecting him to live up to his draft hype anytime soon. He's not amazing, and I'm not opposed to trading him for the right deal... but to me, he still looks like a quality role player who is continuing to improve. I think he has a place on this team, regular season and playoffs, if he wants it.
It's funny, I've been given crap for saying something very similar. My simplistic breakdown is that there are essentially three baskets of players: franchise players, role players (some all stars fit into this category), and roster fillers. I was doing some math a long time ago on the various mixes required, on average, to win a title. I remember concluding it was something like 1 franchise player, and 6 role players minimum, or 2 franchise players and three role players minimum... etc. Teams like the 2004 Pistons put a wrench in it, but I threw them out as an outlier (if the Pacers won last year, or the Suns in 2020, I'd be interested to go back to this math, heh). My definition of "role player" is the most controversial thing about my take, but I'd rather define "role player" broadly than define "star", the top tier, broadly. Anyway, I digress. I think it's clear Jabari is solidly in the role player category, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The majority of even starter-caliber players on great teams in the NBA are role players. Jabari seems like his ceiling is on the upper third-ish of the role player spectrum in my book, which is still very good.
As soon as he didn’t dive for the ball I said This is why you don’t commit long term to young players
