Jabari Smith Jr. is the Rockets' franchise player

If Tari can't play, sure JSJ is better. It just doesn't make JSJ a dependable good POA defender even if he's an "above-average" POA defender.

 

Unlike Reed, huh?

 

Reed can dribble.

 

Eason sucks at poa. He's a chaotic team defender that can irritate and thats it. Jabari hasnt been what we need him to be in the least bit but still way better NBA player than Eason.

Waiting for the stats guys to show me how the stats say different because when he does play he plays against reserves effectively but if hes ineffective he gets benched and isn't allowed back on the court.

 

Not sure what your semantic is. If he is "above average," he is "good" in my vocabulary. These guys aren't asked to be the primary POA defender. Amen is the guy. They just need to be good enough to do the job when they are switched on so that they don't get hunted all the time.

The good thing about Tari is that he is more versatile. He can play the 2 guard spot as we saw him starting for a few games there. But I still don't think it's a good idea to play him there full time. He's more a 3-4 than a 2-3.

 

he doesn’t get enough credit. He gets key blocks and stops. He has been consistent shooting before those portland games. Played great past couple games. It’s ridiculous how fans judge players and use the term “suck” so loosely.

 

I used quotes as this was what someone else described JSJ's defense as. This may be technically correct based on the number of tanking teams, and guys that provide a ton of offense. I'd generally call JSJ an average POA defender, but did not want to cause a sematics argument with a JSJ fan over my word choice for describing JSJ's defense. Even though I correctly identified that a JSJ fan would quibble over sematics describing his defense, I failed horribly in execution in avoiding a semantics argument.

I was using good to mean a preferred, better than just acceptable, or other terms like "good enough".

To make it simple, Tari is a better POA defender than JSJ. Tari may be hurt a lot, but JSJ is just not likely to play POA defense as well as Tari. Overall, Tari is a much better defender than JSJ.

 

Harrison Barnes built a 14 year career as a starter (and still going) doing Jabari-like stuff. You could say Barnes is a better shooter than Jabari, maybe, but not by a whole lot if you leave Jabari's rough age 19 rookie season out of the picture (Barnes came into the league at age 20), and Jabari is taller and a better rebounder/shotblocker.

That may not be the most exciting comparison, but basically every good team needs a guy like that.

 

I expect JSJ will have a better career than Barnes because JSJ is the better defender.

 

I know I’m in the minority maybe the only one, but I think Jabari will make at least one all-star appearance. People forget his work ethic and age (22). Stone was smart to lock him up with a reasonable contract.

 

Very possible. Barnes was solid in his prime though, not an all-defensive guy by any means, but I would still call him a two-way player.

 

Jabari can defend and rebound.

 

Why cant tari play the 2? He is a massive advantage at that position and he is even shooting a career high.

Playing 3 has has him crashing for boards and playing tough defense vs other forwards which yiu really dont wanna do. He got hit by Holiday's ass and was out a month. Amen would be the better 3 with his size and playstyle post KD I can see Reed/Tari/Amen as our 1-3.

 

Agreed that Tari is a better defender than Bari. How much better is harder to say because they do it in different styles.

 

I simply don't think Tari matches well on defense against smaller and speedier guys. If a team has two fast back court players, it's not ideal to put Tari on one of them all game long.

I don't really care about positions on offense. Offense is more about fitting of skillsets. Tari is a great offensive rebounder, so is Amen and Sengun. He is an okay spot up shooter. Not sure if his hot shooting earlier was sustainable. What you don't want Tari to do on offense is creating. He is just not a good decision maker with the ball. But playing alongside with Durant, Sengun, and Amen should be fine for him on that end.

 

Tari excels on the same guys JSJ and/or Durant usually guards, but he has done okay playing down the lineup. About 2 thirds of the time, Tari is in with JSJ and not guarding his ideal matchup and usually not his 2nd best option either with Durant. Get JSJ and Durant off the court....offense can suffer without Durant, but Terror Twins defense is so much fun even with them having to carry Reed (I don't think Reed has been off the court at the same time as Durant and JSJ in competitive minutes).

 

I think he does as well if he is attached to a scenario with a 60+ win team. I really think the guy can shoot well. He needs a bit more arc on his shot and it could potentially help him be more consistent.

 

He's #8 in the NBA for rebounding among all power forwards. The Rockets grab 4.6 fewer rebounds when he's off the court. As far as defense, that's harder to judge, but our defensive rating is 9.4 points lower when he's on the court. Some of that may be due to the bench being a weaker defensive unit and Jabari typically playing with the starters though.

 

6 Rpg for a 6’11 player is not good. Defensively I don’t think he is special. He takes plays off, I wouldn’t want him guarding anyone that can score. I’ve seen enough scrubs light him up, Jabari is very inconsistent… I expected more from a 4th year player drafted 3.

I just wish he would use his height and post up for easy buckets when that shot isn’t falling in. He is not KD.

if Taris energy was put into Jabari, diff story.