Lonzo Ball and Markelle Fultz shot almost identical volume and percentages from deep in college as Jabari and they were certainly "not good shooters" on the next level. A player's form can break down and the college three is shorter. Lonzo eventually became good again, but only after completely rebuilding his shot. Also, league average for threes was 36.6% last season so Jabari hasn't had an above average season yet. I'd settle for Jabari being an average shooter, but the fact that his shot looks different from his Auburn days is extremely concerning. It has been flat during his entire time with the Rockets so far. Why put so much stock into 34 college games when he's played 167 NBA games and shot 32.9%?
Just to be clear, I don't think Jabari is a bad player. I thought he was primed to make a leap this year, but that he was worse player than Brooks, Tari, and Amen prior to this season. I don't think it is a knee jerk reaction thinking there is little to no evidence that Jabari has improved significantly this season (i.e., what he needed to do to be better than at least one of Brooks, Tari, and Amen or at least be close enough to justify not losing minutes). I expect JSJ will shoot better going forward. I do think Tari and Amen are showing they need more minutes. Brooks may end up losing time to those two, but I think JSJ is going to have to start putting up more to keep those guys from taking some of his.
That sounds about right (40%). It may not be intuitive, but I think once the team's offense becomes more organized and decides on its identity, he will get more 3PT shots and he will make more too. Jumper-based players tend to do better as they increase the volume and do worse when they are allowed to get cold for long spells. Right now FVV and Green are taking WAY too many 3's and we need those to go to Jabari so the dude can establish some rhythm. Before that happens he needs to do better with the current shots he's getting. Further, Udoka needs to put a tighter leash on this offense. Too many non-elite scorers taking whatever shot their heart desires.
I've been bringing it up since the summer. His mind is not on his current, present job right in front of him. He is always talking about working on his guard skills. Talks about 3's like it's a foregone conclusion he'll shoot well - but he's never delivered the 3PT ability he has promised to us. Never talks about wishing to be an elite defender. It's just this emo disappointed conversations about how he's not what he wanted to be but he's working on it. Living an imaginary narrative. He looks SAD when he's out there. Dude you're starting for a team that's going places and you have plenty of time to expand. Stop getting stuck in the minor negatives. Someone needs to be honest with him. He's not anywhere near making a breakthrough in that department. Not even close. It might take 3-5 years for him to be respected for his wing skills. I never wanted it from him or needed it from him. The team doesn't need it. We need what he can do RIGHT NOW. We need him to be a 3&D PF/C. There's nothing wrong with his arc or his form, if you don't love your job you're not bringing confidence. A shooter without confidence is useless. What Bari needs to understand is once he starts loving delivering the minimum (3&D&rebounding) then he can work on whatever he wants and keep expanding his game. I don't know why he's expanding a game on top of a mediocre foundation. He hasn't gotten the basics right, why does he need to do euro steps right now? Anyway, I think his leash is shorter than people think. The players and fanbase have grown accustomed to letting players start for development. That's gone. I don't think Udoka would hesitate to move him to the bench if he doesn't shape up in the next few weeks. Luckily he's a good, hard-working kid with an NBA-experienced family and I think he'll figure it out.
Brooks' defense is SO MUCH BETTER than Jabari's. Having Brooks, Amen, Tari really gives us options and sets the tone. Jabari is at best neutral on defense, and a huge minus on offense. Even if/when his 3-point shot gets back to average, I don't think he deserves minutes over Amen and Tari (or Brooks), ever, because they are just so much better at everything else. Jabari is either terrible at court awareness or he just doesn't want to pass. He has more turnovers than assists this season. The only things he is decent at are rebounds and free throws. But given the same minutes, Tari and Amen are better at rebounding than he is as well. He's done here. Please trade him before his value goes to zero.
If this is true and he is not working on his three point shot or trying to be his best defensive self then bench him now. I think he is just suffering from a lack of confidence and will shake it off. I don’t think people are being fair on his defense and rebounding which I think he is doing well. His offense to start the year is concerning, but I expect him to get back to decent production before too long.
Ball didn't have good form in college. Many people suspected that his high percentage in college was a fluke. And he did improve in the NBA after changing his shot. Fultz is a puzzling case. He never showed himself to be a good shooter in the NBA, low percentage, low volume. Jabari is very different from those two guys. He had good form in college. He also had a decent shooting season in the NBA. My argument is that he, unlike those other guys, has shown that he could be at least a good shooter at the pro level. Why his shooting form changed from his college day is a mystery. to me. His form was actually not bad in his first two NBA seasons. I agree with those who believe that his struggle is a mental thing. Something is messing in his head. My concern is not so much about his shooting form because he already had good form in the first place. My concern is that he is mentally weak and cannot handle the pressure in the NBA. That is much harder to fix.
Oh, I totally agree that Tari and Amen (and Brooks) are better than Jabari this season, and they should get more minutes. I even understand if they want to trade him because we have better replacement right now. My contention is that people seem to put Jabari in the "trash" category. That is kneejerk.
Agreed. At worst, Bari is a really valuable rotational piece, hence why he’s in the two best defensive four man lineups in the NBA. I sort of got why CFs was fixated on finding scapegoats when the team was bad, but it makes no sense now.
Frankly, I really hope Bari can turn it around, because an Amen / Green / Eason / Bari / Sengun lineup, on paper, is very intriguing.
If the Jazz keep stinking it up, do you think maybe we could go for a trade like this in February? Markkanen is a good 3-point shooter.
Fultz isn't a good comparison, since he only played 33 games his first two NBA seasons due to an injured shoulder. Hard to work up confidence or even rhythm in those conditions.
I think Markkanen for Jabari, Brooks, and Green/Tate would work better for me. Then we can get more minutes for Tari and Amen and have Markkanen to spread the floor for Alpi and Jalen. And I love Jabari. But I can't help but think he will do better somewhere else and we need shooters who can shoot.
Thank you. The scapegoat issue has turned me off so much I’m turning into the get off my lawn guy. It be nice to have a few more reasonable posters to debate with.
Markkanen can’t be traded until the offseason. He strategically signed his contract so that he can’t be traded at the deadline.
I was totally against the proposed Lauri trades in the off-season because of defensive concerns, but with the immergence of Tariand Amen and the improvement of Sengun on that side of the ball. I’m more open to it. I know the rockets are breathing a sigh of relief at my approval.
