Brooks is going to be the starting small forward. Eason is not a full-time PF. Smith, Eason, and Brooks will all see time at SF and PF. Tari is invaluable as a spark of energy off the bench and that is where he is best utilized. Ime will need to motivate Smith to have the same energy he had in the second half throughout the game. He will most certainly start at PF. Ime may bench him occasionally, or anybody else for that matter, to motivate them.
Eason is the guy that will have a great impact on the game without a single play being called for him. So sure, you can put him in the starting lineup and let the other guys shine. At the same time, I do feel like Jabari is the better player and also a player you can and should call plays for. To me you start that player and let Eason bring the energy of the bench. But to me, SF wasn‘t really a position of need where you needed to invest 80 millions ons, simply because we have Tari and I am excited about his developement. Minutes will be hard to come by this year - Amen looks great and will probably play 20 minutes per night max.
Can’t believe Jabari is leading this poll when Tari is clearly the better player on both sides of the ball at this point; even a better shooter. The answer to the OP’s question is Tari.
I predict during the season that the question will turn to whether Eason should start over Dillon Brooks.
Jabari still looks bad on defense, and last night I noticed especially in the 1st half how slow he was to rotate and close out. It looked bad. Another thing I noticed, Jabari can’t finish at the rim. Some of that is his lack of strength, and some was his lack of athleticism. But a 6’11” guy like him should be consistently finishing at the rim. lastly his shooting. His long range shooting looks forced. It looked the same as last year; brick, brick, brick. what he should do? get in the weight room and work on improving his strength. That will help with the finishing. He should also focus on mastering the midrange. He has a huge advantage; can shoot over everyone, and he can make those shots consistently. Once he masters the midrange he can step back and try to get that 3pt shot to respectability. Bari has a long way to go. I have to remind myself to be patient because bigs take longer to develop. But last night he looked eerily similar to how he looked the first part of last season.
Smith will be worth the long term investment. Tari is ready to roll now, so that’s why it seems he’s the better pick. I like them both. Dammit.
That's because he's 20 years old going on his 2nd year.. His consistency will be all over the place but when you evaluate a prospect you look at the highs. Fact is, Eason hasn't shown he's capable of having the game Jabari just had because he doesn't have it in him to hit pull ups, turn around middies, and shoot over most people thats guarding him. Eason is a good player and going to be for a long time but people are way underselling Jabari's potential based on a lackluster rookie season. Jabari should be starting because he's a switchable big that can space the floor and he's been adding things to his bag.
I agree and believe Tari is ideal off the bench. Jabari does need to be the dawg on defense that he postures about. Way too complacent sometimes. There were several times he was in position to close out on a driver and just watched. Hopefully, that is what Ime can bring out in him. If he does, he will be great. I am real excited about our core young players and now we can add Amen to that list.
Also Jabari can see time at the backup center when Sengun rests and Tari at SF for Brooks, both can have a chance depending on performance. The main thing to focus on is consistently high play for wins, it's tough but don't get too high or low in moments to look at the big picture.
Yep, I was reading it and watching it evolve throughout the game. The first half had people talking about Jabari was a bust. Lol
I think Tari is going to be a really good player in the NBA that will make a ton of money because there is always room for dogs, guys that defend and hustle and can make shots. I see Tari more like PJ Tucker but Tari is a little taller and Tari is going to find his niche a lot earlier in his life than Tucker has. But they are the same kind of player, a tough minded wing that has hot spots on the floor. I will say Tari can put the ball on the court better than Tucker could but really most times you don't want Tari trying to slash to the rim that's more of a last option thing. With Bari though the offensive potential is there for him to be a 20+PPG guy on good efficiency and obviously he has really great defensive potential. Should be interesting to see if he's able to grow as a player under Ime I'm optimistic though.
I love both dudes. Intel says that Tari can't run set plays. If you were the coach, you would want your starters to be good at executing the game plan. Tari is better suited to be the energy guy off the bench to change the pace.
Eason and Amen Thompson are the guys off the bench. They're disruptive, give next-level effort, and should be able to feed off one another. Jabari will mesh well with FVV in the starting lineup. I suppose Jabari will play the 5 in a few lineups; he'll have to get a lot better at all that to get me excited about a small-ball approach.
People on this board who want Eason or FVV or someone else to play power forward don’t understand the fundamentals of basketball. I’ll help…..a power forward and center both need to be taller than 6”7.
