He is 3rd all time (2 more rebounds to get there) in rebounds for someone under 20 after dwight howard and lebron james. 5th in 3 pointers and 9th in points. He is young. SUPER young. If he were 21 this season and drafted somewhere between 5-15 because he was older he would probably be a different narrative right now.
Jabari found his play style. He's not a spot up shooter, and he's not a KD handle the ball pull up guy. His niche is turnaround fadeaways. Think less KD, Rashard Lewis, Ryan Anderson and more KG, Lamarcus Aldridge.
I don't know about the turnaround. That's a tough shot and not very efficient. The close range jump hook on the other hand will be very useful.
You have to be incredibly elite for the turnaround to be good. Hakeem used them a lot. Dirk Nowitzki, obviously. I won't say Jabari can't be elite at them, he certainly appears to have the potential to be an elite shooter, and he can get that shot off seemingly whenever he wants, but it's definitely hard to project any player as being among the best ever at a particular skill. And you're right, you kind of need to be for the turnaround middy to be a good go-to move. I think the catch-and-shoot threes will come around with time in any case. If you've got a big man who plays above average defense, can switch between basically every position on the floor, regularly gets double-doubles via good rebounding and putbacks, and can hit open threes, that's already one of the most valuable roleplayers in the league. I'm to the point where I feel pretty comfortable projecting Jabari to that level. If he does become elite at that turnaround and/or the jump hook and can create his own shot in the post, watch out... superstar.
Even as a teenager, he is a significantly worse defender than Kevin Garnett was at the same age. To make up ground on guys like KG and Bosh in today's game, he NEEDS to be a sniper. The one aspect of his game that can separate him from those guys is that beautiful jumper of his. If he can't figure it out, and his game is based around turnaround jumpshots instead of bulk threes, we are in trouble. I suspect there is are strength and balance issues at play, preventing him from being consistent from deep. I don't think it will last, and he will be efficiently firing 8+ threes a game in no time, mixed in with a few post-ups.
I like what I have seen from Jabari to end the year !! Thank goodness !! I thought all hope was lost . His mid range game is lethal and I bet his defense gets better and better the older he gets
"That support has resulted in stronger play, particularly from Smith, who is averaging 15.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and shooting 46.5% from the field and draining 36.3% of his 3-pointers while attempting 4.4 a game since March 4." I'll take this version of him over everyone else in the draft. And it looks like he is already bulking up some.
I believe he will be the best of that draft class. He is going to bulk up big time and has the frame for it. He will be a beast at PF or C on defense in 1 to 2 years.
I literally said that I'm not saying he's the next KG in the post. KG was phenomenal and that is a lot to ask. Considering he's only 19 years old and he can knock down these kinds of shots however is very impressive. You can't defend it if he's making them. So basically what I'm saying is he has a very useful skill that compares favorably to one that KG had. He can get post touches on the block and elbows and get off his fadeaway over both shoulders on any defender. A very useful skill to have when you're trying to win in the playoffs. This along with the three-point shooting and what he's doing off the dribble will ultimately result in him being a different kind of player than KG, but this was a big part of what made KG hard to defend and consistently using this is going to make Bari very dangerous.
I've been impressed by Smith's inside finishing lately. He's been able to attack off the dribble, which is a handy skill for a 6'11" player. He's also been getting offensive rebounds and finishing with strong dunks while surrounded by defenders. I didn't think he was strong enough for that yet. I'm loving the aggression.
Yeah, Bari's ability to finish inside, his handles, and passing have made exponential leaps from the start of the season. Unfortunately, too many people can't see past the missed shots and think that a guy who has been a sharpshooter all his life would just suddenly become a bad shooter. Somehow that was more believable than him simply struggling as a young rookie and needs a bit of time to turn things around.
