Guy looked much improved and significantly more confident. Really liked what I seen out of him in the first preseason game. I also like hearing the reports that he has basically mirrored Durants schedule to spend every second he can around him and soak up as much as possible.
He scored an easy 18 tonight. Hitting his threes with confidence. Stronger now...seems to be more bouncy too. Actually taking guys to the rim... Also calls for the ball with smaller guys on him and looks to make a decisive move once he has it Hopefully, he'll break out this year. If he does, we'll be looking nice for this year for sure with him but definitely in the future. He's just such a versatile player to have on a team.
The absence of Green and Brooks let Smith shine. JSJ is a system player and Green and Brooks are not. The spacing helps too. I’m sure the KD on the daily doesn’t hurt either. The perfect storm is happening for him; hopefully he will become more than anyone ever thought he could be. Seems like a likable person who will put in work to find his success.
Amen, Durant, and Senguns gravity + selfishness + playmaking = Bari getting great looks and open lanes. I said it before, IF we stay relatively healthy and IF Bari and Reed hit 40% from 3 we are winning it all.
I mean, the potential was always there, he was considered the first pick of the draft and ended up being 3rd. Just needed some time to put it together.
that 7 game playoff series against GSW really allowed Sengun, Amen, and Jabari to grow quickly and take it to another level
I don't like the Warriors but they have great coaching. They put a mirror in front of the Rockets that displayed every flaw that needed fixing.
People often discuss the Amen/Sengun fit, but I think the Amen/Bari fit is really intriguing and just as important. Both are versatile defenders - it's incredibly valuable that Amen can cover the opposing team's #1 and Bari the #2. Bari shines in the areas Amen lacks and vice versa. They really are fantastic complements.
Smith looks absolutely jacked compared to last year. If he hits 38% of his trees and begins to create a little offense for himself, we might have ourselves a late bloomer. You have to keep in mind he is still extremely young. He shot super efficiently in college. He’s been adding muscle and working on other elements of his game in the pros. It is rational to expect him to improve his shooting over the next couple years as his body kind of round into a final form. I am not even sure if we will need Clint for that long because I would like to see Smith get some minutes at the five
Ha, the thing is could you really be considered a late bloomer at 22? There are rookies that enter the league at that age. He's younger than some first round picks coming into the league THIS season. He was so young when we drafted him that even then just becoming a solid role player, like he's been the past few seasons, was never a bad thing except for people that wanted an instant all-star.
Don't really care about his shot creation right now - all 4 other starters can handle the ball better. Give me as close to 40% from 3 and keep getting stronger - that's all Bari really needs. The shot creation will come gradually over the next few years as he hits his mid 20's. Just need him to be a flamethrower off Durant/Sengun/Amen playmaking this season.
Not necessarily a good or bad thing, you get more NBA reps coming in young but you also have more mileage .... Someone at 22-23 can come in fresh and ready.
Atrocious dribbler - will probably never improve here. Bad passer & slow decision maker (career 1.3 assists per game) - will not improve. Good shooter (career 43.2% FG, 34% 3-point FG) - can improve significantly. Good defender - can become a very good defender. Decent athletic ability.
Jabari has looked great - no doubt. He is playing more confidently and with more aggression and looks FAR more comfortable out there. I think he probably prefers to play that way anyway, but he was really lacking a lot of the soft skills he needed in the NBA those first few years to play that way(lacked strength, handles were very limited for NBA level, wasn't processing the game quick enough) and the broken hand kind of delayed his 3rd season breakout. I think the reality is we are probably watching that "year 3 leap" from Jabari right now although those who watch frequently probably saw the light switch come on late last year after he came back from the hand injury. This would probably be a good time to reset on his ceiling. I think he is going to top out at a versatile and high level winning role player - I don't see a guy who can take over games but I DO see a guy who can exploit mismatches and create opportunities when advantages are presented and those can be very valuable players when you have other guys who can collapse defenses and you have smart connective passers on your roster. I think in practice that looks something like how Chris Bosh functioned on the Heat although to be clear Bosh could create offense in ways Jabari can't but Bosh wasn't that guy in Miami and just had to finish plays Lebron and Wade started. I like to call it the "make them pay for the mistake" role - Jabari is going to be that guy. Overall, I'm very encouraged by what we are seeing.
I mostly agree here - although I think he has improved at his dribbling but agree he likely is never going to be breaking people down off the dribble. I don't know about the decent athletic ability though - he has a bit of that lanky spider thing going with his build but he doesn't really shift directions very quickly. More of a straight line/upright kind of guy. I also think he still looks a bit stiff in his upper body - it's like his upper torso is very upright and can't move very independently of his lower half. He has these long arms too but because his upper body is so stiff he lacks the fluidity to really "strike" very quickly to use that length to poke balls away as much as you would think. I know that strength has been a big emphasis point for him and rightfully so but I hope he is doing yoga/pilates to make sure the muscle doesn't further restrict his movement.
