Has anyone with this bad of a rookie season (not counting rookies from high school) ever gone on to be an all-star?
If he wasn't the third pick, he'd be a backup right now behind KJ and Tate. Stop deceiving yourself by saying patience. Why should be patient with someone who has the same 3 point pct as Sengun? Jabari is a bust and all analysts who put him in #1 on mocks ahead of Banchero before the draft (they did this for months) are jerks.
This dude is toxic. It is evident from body language on the court. Some might call it "the ambition to win," but that's not it. He got into a fight with Green when the season begun. Then one day, he ordered Lucas to sub out Sengun from the game. It's funny how he thinks he's a great player. It's also unbelievable that such a clown would have so much tolerance just because he was the third pick.
I like Jabari. He isn't getting much of a chance to shine. His handles are improving around with his speed and height. He can shoot over anyone and looks like a young TMac if he continues to practice speed and handles. His shot will come with repetition and strength. Rockets really need to run the offense through him and Sengun.
Jabari is going to be fine. There's nothing easier to fix than tweaking a 3pt shot and adding some muscle. Everyone knows he can shoot regardless of his current counting stats. No one is leaving him open on the 3pt line.
I don't really care about that. He can't make his jump shots which is the one thing he's suppose to be good at. Although I think shot selection have something to do with it, he doesn't know when to rise up, and often when he does it's too late and it's contested. Also I have never seen someone that gets the ball stolen 100% of the time he puts in on the ground in a post up position
https://www.si.com/nba/2023/01/26/2...olo-banchero-jabari-smith-rookie-observations Spoiler What I missed about Paolo Banchero Based on what we’ve seen so far this season, I think it’s fair to say the Magic nailed the No. 1 pick: Banchero has pretty clearly been the best rookie this season, averaging north of 20 points and flashing his versatility as an offensive focal point for Orlando. The Magic aren’t good yet, but they’re better than expected, and the Banchero–Franz Wagner tandem gives the organization some significant backbone to build around moving forward. Orlando can tailor versatile lineups around those two guys, who effectively combine skill, size and an all-around feel for scoring. Those are all relatively easy conclusions to draw at this point. It’s been interesting to watch it unfold, as someone who had Banchero ranked second behind Jabari Smith Jr. (more on him in a second). I had Banchero first to start last season, changed my mind and ultimately don’t really feel that bad about it, with my concerns about Banchero all remaining somewhat relevant. He’s not super-efficient yet (in his defense, few rookies are), his three-point shooting is a work in progress and he’s not offering much on the defensive end in terms of blocks and steals. He also turns the ball over a lot, although that’s a byproduct of his minutes and usage, as well. Those are all pretty much things I expected, and areas he can improve on. Ultimately, there’s a lot of time left for this to bear out. But I do think I undervalued Banchero’s ability to create shots and improvise, as well as what that allows him to do when coupled with the physical strength advantage he’s carried into the NBA. He’s a huge guy who’s always had a strong feel to play with others and also score the ball. I think I lost sight of some of the traits I loved about him early in his high school career and maybe nitpicked the shooting a little too much. (Banchero struggled immensely in last year’s ACC tournament, which gave me a lot of pause.) There aren’t a lot of guys in his mold, and the floor for his career even as an average shooter feels pretty significant, knowing what we know now. Having said all that, it’s not like I ranked Banchero 10th or something. But all of this is to say that it looks like the Magic made a great decision atop the draft. Banchero’s ability to generate offense for himself and for teammates was what that roster needed. In hindsight, it’s a pick that maybe should have been easier to see coming than it was. Jabari Smith Jr. is going to be fine On the flip side of this discussion is Smith, who has thus far struggled to do the thing pretty much the entire NBA scouting community expected him to do for sure, which is make jump shots. I caught the Rockets in Chicago in December, and while Houston isn’t necessarily playing great basketball every night, the situation is probably less than ideal for Smith’s long-term development. Smith was the clear top prospect in last year’s draft to me, a stance that I may have taken a little too strongly—but I do think that it could eventually manifest long-term. Without making excuses for Smith, I do think it’s fair to make the basic inference that he’s going to eventually be a really dangerous jump shooter in the NBA. It was more or less uniformly agreed upon that his shooting was likely to translate: His form is clean and consistent, and it’s very hard to block his shot considering his size and release point. I don’t think there was any illusion that Smith might not light the world on fire as a rookie—he’s still only 19 years old, adding strength and adjusting to the pace of play on a team that doesn’t really do much to feed him easy shooting opportunities. More creative deployment would do him some good. But regardless: If we assume Smith starts to make enough shots to keep defenses honest, it should open up a lot for him, giving him more space to put the ball on the floor, attack closeouts and diversify his own shot selection in a positive way. It’s worth noting that he’s been quite good around the rim as a rookie, which was viewed as a potential weakness by some. I also think long-term, Smith will be one of the best defensive players in this class—he’s had to play center a lot in Houston, which isn’t his natural defensive spot, and has done pretty well considering the circumstances. He’s big, switchable and smart, which in itself goes a long way. Smith does need to be more consistent on that end, but the ability is very much there. The Rockets as a whole have some growth to do. But I’m not concerned about Smith, who fits a positional/role mold that’s both high-value and high-floor, and is still at an extremely early stage of development both physically and skill-wise (and still good at a lot of stuff!).
Looks like young T-Mac? I have no idea how you think they are remotely alike. McGrady has always been one of the smoothest and most athletic players ever. Jabari is so robotic and stiff. McGrady's offensive arsenal is magnitudes better than Jabari's. Other than 3 point shooting, there is nothing Jabari is better at from an offensive POV.
Jabari Smith is 19 years old. Nine-teen. Having gone through Jalen Green's struggles last year, I didn't think it'd be possible for the hot take artists to get worse than that. But somehow they've managed it this year with Jabari Smith. It's hilariously sad.
Jabari Smith has plenty of time to show people he was worthy of a lot to pick but the fear is that Green at least showed flashes and then a long sustained run of multiple months scoring highly efficiently on high volume. Also he has shown through the eye test why he was a consensus top 4 prospect with some ridiculous games and individual scoring plays. At the rate Bari is playing he might not make even second team all rookie. That would be pretty disappointing.
Jabari is significantly worse than Harden and Kawhi were as rookies. So, basically we have Nash and Butler. 2 outliers total, compared to the dozens of players who were horrific in their rookie years and ending up being busts.
If Jabari has played more than 12 minutes at center, I’d be shocked. That little claim alone makes me wonder if this guy has even watched a single Rockets game. Right now, Jabari can’t shoot worth a crap and that was the entire reason he was ranked so high. Good form or not, he’s consistently short and off target. I thought his percentages in college indicated an ability to shoot from NBA distance, but that’s clearly not the case. His defense has been OK, but not enough to change the fact that he should have never, ever been a top 3 pick (let alone the top pick). He looks about as NBA ready as Jermaine O’Neal (picked at #17) did in his rookie season, and it took 3-4 years and a team change for him to break out. If Jabari follows that same path, he will have been a wasted pick because he’ll be gone before he contributes positively. So while it shouldn’t be an urgent matter to trade him, he should absolutely be included if a great trade is possible. For example, if Toronto was willing to trade Anunoby for Jabari, Gordon and a pick, I’d make that deal in a heartbeat.
Last season, pre all-star break, Jalen Green still had a higher TS% than Jabari - even on much higher usage, playing a position (SG) that is supposed to be lower efficiency. Jabari basically gets to take open 3's and attack closeouts, yet has still been horrible offensively. His defense hasn't been quite as good as advertised either, and he doesn't appear as explosive as a lot of people expected either. I like his energy and his passion, and he'll surely get better for sure, but the chances of him becoming an all-star level player or higher are growing evermore slim as the season goes on.
