I was going to post about Pippen. Not that their skillset is anything alike, but more organizationally. We already have our Jordan in Jalen. Jabari is Pippen. Orlando didn't have their Jordan. They got Paolo. Their scorer. Jabari will score. Maybe not as much as Paolo, but he will score, with much, much better defense. Give me Jabari with 20 points and much better defense vs Paolo with 25 points and much worse defense.
I said CEILING!!! I didn't say that he is likely to reach it. He will likely never maximize his potential, as most lottery picks and NBA prospects do not even sniff their ceilings. Any team trying to win a championship needs at least one guy in the top 50 players of the last 50 years. Most often, they actually need two players in that discussion. If the Rockets don't have those kind of ceiling projections on the guys they have been drafting (Green, Jabberwock, etc.), then it is all a fool's errand. I get it. We all hate Pippen for what he did when he came to Rockets. But he was very close to winning a DPOY for the Bulls. Even when he didn't have MJ he carried that 94 Bulls team to the playoffs and respectable showing. I've said a defensive ceiling of a better Tayshaun Prince before. Is that more palatable? Agreed the skillset is different. More about impact on defensive. The game in the 90's is vastly different to today's, so the skillsets would have to be different.
The warriors should tell you that it's not about the best players. But fit really matters. No one thinks Klay or Draymond are the best players but they make that team run. Jabari is what I hope those guys can be.
Well I was defending Smith who was being attacked, in my opinion unfairly based on a couple SL games. The defense he played on Chet and Giddy to save the game at the end was stellar. He is a 19 year old Scottie Pippen and needs time to develop. Love his demeanor and intensity as well.
Reading is FUNdamental. I did not call you dumb nor did I make any predictions. Saying he COULD put up a stat line isn’t a prediction. I didn’t not say he WOULD. Saying that making a prediction now is dumb isn’t calling you dumb. It’s merely saying that singular thing is a dumb thing to do. I’m going to lean on the experts that study these things day in and day out that had him going #1 and no worse than 3rd for a reason. That’s not to say they don’t get these things wrong. But they certainly know better than I do and until he actually has a couple of years under him, I’m not going to make any judgement calls.
Was Paolo really that bad on defense? The two games I watched him look pretty active and interested defensively, it seems like he listened to the negative feedback on his game and made an effort, I recall one of this teammates mentioning that he has heard the media noise about his defense and taking it personally, there were a few highlight defensive plays by Paulo against Jabari in game 1. Jabari on the other hand his main knock was on offense he does not look for the ball, he did this at Auburn, and it seemed very apparent in the first game at least he was not getting the ball. I am fine with Jabari because we had the 3rd pick, not the first, it is now very apparent that Paulo was #1 on both Rockets and Magic's board, and that is why they couldn't work out a trade. I do not think the Rockets really mis stepped here, because the Magic wanted Paulo. The Rockets seemed content w Jabari, partly because they know they will still be bad enough to compete for a top pick next season. I also I do not get the Jordan/Pippen Comparisons people keep making, not sure how either of these guys are comparable to players from nearly 30 years ago. Either way, are you saying having two players who have Michael Jordan level talent is worse than one Michael Jordan and one Pippen? Realistically you get the best talent you possibly can, and if you have a chance to get players like Mike you go for it every single time, because the chances are no one will be like Mike and the more chances you get to come closer the better. Jalen has 1 year of experience, he is not Jordan , so if you have a chance at drafting a Jordan like player you do it until you are successful. The Miami heat had D Wade , he was their "Jordan" then they got Lebron who is beyond Jordan, they made it work. How you build your team matters, some teams get the opportunity to sign super star free agents and accumulate the best talent, Rockets picking this high in the draft are in a comparable situation, accumulate the best talent, similar to how the Heat super team was built. Trying to draft early lotto around building a team is what the Kings have done for a couple of decades and have looked stupid. People bring up the Warriors, but the Warriors did not have a bunch of top draft picks, they built their team with a couple of late lottos and a second rounder. Yes if you are drafting that deep you can draft for need, you do not draft for need w top 3 picks lol. If fit is an issue, it is much easier trading one of your "Jordans" for a Scottie down the line.
So I‘ve just got through the videos of the scouting Rapport of both Jabari and Paolo for both games (which show basically all that is on the stat sheet, so also all missed shots). And yeah, Paolo is a great ball handler and passer - and someone that I would call a point forward and Jabari is not that. But: I still don‘t get what you guys are talking about with his handles. Both players took a lot of midrange shots. And the shot quality was pretty much the same. Both took turnarounds, fade aways and one dribble pull ups. Both had the defender right there in their face. Jabari has a pretty good track record of hitting those shots. There are two difference as far as self created shots: 1. Paolo can drive by his guy to the basket, even when his feet are set. Jabari can only drive to the basket, when the defender has a little too much momentum on the close out. 2. Paolo gets more offensive rebounds - basically because he is usually closer to the basket. I always said, handles are not Jabaris strength and he needs to develope some moves to get space. But as far as jump shot goes, he is pretty much dead even to Paolo as far as creating space - and has a better track record of hitting contested shots. What he is missing is the ability to drive by a set defender. Better handles would help, but I think better use of his feet and fakes would help him almost just as much. He is athletic, he has quick feet and he is a gym rat. I am not too worried about him getting at least decent at it…
Semantics bro. Experts? The only experts are scouts, ops guys, coaches and management and I just told you my assessment comes from scouting reports and analytical reports. And we are all fan experts on here. That’s why people post on this site projections and predictions. Anyway be well man. We just differ.
In an abstract and theoretical way that's fair. Pragmatically? Nah, just nah lol. Shooting for Pippen itself is one thing. Perhaps the all-time Robin. My problem is you're raising the ceiling to something absurd. If any team in the lottery had a realistic ceiling on Jabari of a better shooting Pippen there would have been a lot of Left testicle trade offer rumors b/c that's where the offers would have started for the #1 pick. Hell, if the Rockets thought that was a projectible ceiling for Jabari I assume they would have traded up to #1 themselves.
Yes hence the Rashard Lewis comparisons. That’s why I’m curious as to why Rockets picked him? Safe choice? Simple 3-D role? Because he is level headed and does what it takes to win? I would imagine all of this is in the calculus in why they drafted him. Remember these guys are heavily scouted and assessed even with sports psychologists etc. Speaking of handles can he dribble the ball thru his legs? I don’t think I have ever seen a highly touted offensive player that couldn’t dribble the ball thru his legs since Manu. Except Manu’s handles were better.
True words bro. People can’t seem to do it on here. Its like they feel you are attacking their family or they’re getting paid for commentary. It’s unreal. The amount of condescension, vitriol, and hate that is spewed by some of these guys who simply sit on the couch and post hundreds of thousands of posts a year judging and demeaning whomever they don’t agree with or fit their criteria of knowledge. And many of these guys haven’t even played the game ever. It’s sad and disturbing at the same time. These users know who they are.
I can’t stand the thread title. Paolo, Murray and even guys like Mathurin were always gonna be more nba ready than Jabari. But how exactly did we get unlucky with Jabari? he’s 3yrs younger and 2 inches taller than Murray. He’s a better shooter and defender. He’s a better shooter and defender than Paolo too but he’s gonna be a very different type of player. It’s gonna take him a few years to put it all together; it always takes bigs longer. But it’s hard not to see the rare talent and size, and incredible work ethic. This guy is at worst the 3rd scoring option on a championship team one day, and his ceiling is incredibly high. Get excited!
What irks me the most is folks that like to pull the victim card, with the woe is me, everyone is insulting my sht takes. Acting like their takes are made of reason and logic The reasons y folks are shtting on the sht takes cause they r premature as fk. Like if u came out a year later and state, ya this player looking like a bust at least u have a years worth of data. We have folks on here btching and moaning about Smith 2 games into summer league. College data isn't reliable/use solely for nba projection, some great college players never suceed in the NBA and vice versa. Sht takes get sht on by the community, how else folks gonna learn not to make those type of takes.
Exactly! With a top 3 pick, you're trying to draft the next Superstar, not another role player! You draft based on your team needs as the draft progresses.
