2.3 per game (out of his 6.1 attempts) per NBA.com stats. So actually fewer wide open shots than Tari (2.9) or Reed (3.0) despite playing more minutes. He's shooting 42.9% on those shots, by the way. Could be better, but certainly not bad. He does take a lot of "semi-open" three point shots though, with a defender 4-6ft away. 3.0 of those per game, at a 33.7% make rate. Maybe that's what you're seeing, and his mediocre percentage on those shots is really dragging his overall 3P% down. Eye test tells me his release is a little too slow and defenders are able to close out on semi-open shots and contest more than you'd like.
Whenever Jabari has a good game it’s followed by 5-7 bad ones because he thinks he’s KD I’m not hating but due definitely needs to start playing within his role an not trying to do extra dribbles, fadeaway etc
Question for you all: name one "he is our savior today" type of game from Jabari in terms of his entire career so far
Honestly at 6'11 with a high release point, there's no excuse for the 33.7%. It's more of a confidence issue and just mentally/spiritually buying into the idea that he's a shooter. Feels like he's been fighting that notion since he was drafted and doesn't like to be seen that way. Constantly making excuses for his handle rather than his jumper. Passes up too many catch and shoot opportunities for drives and those don't show up in the stats as lost opportunities. Overall though I think he's fine. People make too big a deal about random bad games and hold onto some ancient prediction they made when we drafted him. He's worth his salary and a $23m player is a very very good player overall. I'm not unhappy with his production and direction this season.
Yeah some people are really odd about this when like most of the board like 80% and above wanted him at 3. I could get it if this were a Marcus Morris situation where most of the board actually did want Kawhi and we drafted Marcus Morris right ahead...but this is not that situation. Everyone on this board wanted either Paolo, Chet, or Jabari, and everyone was fine with getting either one which was going to be the case since we picked third. One thing that triggers me I guess if people can see it is I hate when people decide "Well, this is it, this 22 year old player will never improve." based on what and whomst? Most of these all-star players weren't predicted to be all-stars. No one was sitting around going "Yep, Jokic will be one of the best players ever" at 22,it was thought he'd be a really good player but there's a long list of players that just take a few seasons to really hit their stride. I look at improvement and he's made a lot, he's not even close to being the same player even a year ago, much less his first year where he really wasn't someone that could even start on most NBA teams. I do agree people make way too much on random bad games which he's definitely going to have, but since Sengun has been out Bari has been a big reason we even went on that little win streak. He was garbage today, no one can say otherwise, but it feels like people are just waiting for him to fail to gloat and I just don't really understand it. I'm just confused as to what he's done, you'd think he said something bad about the city or something with how people go at him.
He doesnt have to have one because we signed him for role player money. If he was capable of taking over games on the daily he would have gotten the max. And I know a role player for the no 3 pick sucks but the 2022 class is kinda ass. JDub and Duren were the best picks and they are in the teens, except for Chet who is injury prone the picks before are all low tier prospects. Unless you can see into the future Jabari was the consensus no 3 at the time.
It’s hard to tell a friend that they’re settling for someone that’s not good enough for them. It’s easier in basketball, you can just trade their contract for a better player.
I think it’s just a case of people being addicted to predicting things before anyone else. That's why these predictions have no nuance, because they're rushed. Comes from social media algorithm conditioning. Further, calling someone a bust early is a defense mechanism for people who are terrified of disappointment. It gives them a sense of relief. That way if they're right they feel ok and if they're wrong there's a reward (surprise, he's a good player). You'll never see these people suggesting what will succeed, only what they think might fail. They're going to miss out on a lot of fun. Jabari hasn't improved enough at shooting and defense for my liking (personally don't care about his handle), but I'm sure none of these guys are as good now as they'll be in their prime.
There’s like 4/5 people on the board the post too much, and those people decided Chet was too tall or something, so he was equal to Jabari. If you limited those posters, the board would be a lot more reflective of reality. Nobody with half a brain is picking Jabari over Chet, at any point. Some media even had him going 1, which is hilarious. he’s not bad, but if you can’t dribble or be dominant in the post, you’ll never be worth a top 3 pick, and those skills are extremely hard to develop at an older age. If he can be rashard Lewis, 6’10 good for 20 and could go off at any minute, perfect. Has to get better at shooting contested 3s, and he’s basically there.
If we hold onto Jabari for the long term there will likely be an opportunity cost of a trade we didn’t make that could have flipped playoff series Ls into Ws. Is that cost worth it? Young players will get stronger, smarter, more confident, shooting will improve. But 22 is peak speed, coordination, and athleticism. His age isn’t a secret, I don’t understand the argument that expected improvement over time wouldn’t also be baked into his trade value. We’re up against the same thing the Harden/CP3 rockets were facing with the Warriors dominating the league with OKC right now. How they perform vs the 9th seed in the east is completely irrelevant. We should have enough player talent equity to be fine in the regular season no matter what we do. Jabari’s lack of speed and athleticism locks him in as a huntable mismatch for OKC caliber teams for the duration. What are we training every day? Why wouldn’t we be doing the same thing but with plus fast athletes. There are plenty of shooters of Jabari’s level that can defend better at POA and dribble. That’s who we should be targeting, I don’t care if Andrew Wiggins is 30 and Jabari is 22. I don’t view Jabari as an irreplaceable long term prospect. If we had Lauri Markkanen, we would be looking to trade Lauri Markkanen. Sengun, KD, and a 3rd slow footed defender at point of attack is not the foundation of a championship caliber defense.
5-7 bad ones is hyperbole. He has been consistently good most of the year. All shooters have poor shooting nights, even Reed Sheppard for example.
I think you are looking at it from hindsight. The three big men were virtually equal pre-draft. Everyone of them have glaring weaknesses but everyone of them were viewed to have high potential. Smith was thought to be the first pick mostly because Orlando had been saying so. He was seen as a great shooter and very good and versatile defender, two attributes that are highly desired by every team. His main weakness was his ball-handling and playmaking. Holmgren was viewed to have the highest ceiling but his build was worried to be injury risk. (He's kind of thought to be a shorter and less athletic Wemby.) OKC were adamant about picking him if he was not picked first by Orlando. Banchero had the best handles and playmaking abilities among the three. With his size, you can see why he was considered a high ceiling player. But his shooting and defense were big question marks. The Rockets thought they were going to get him because Orlando and OKC seemed to had decided on their choices. Orlando simply changed their mind at the last minutes, surprising everyone. The three guys turned out so far exactly as projected. Their strengths and weaknesses are there and none of them have eradicated the worries of their weaknesses. Paolo still can't shoot and isn't good at playing defense. Chet missed a lot of games due to injuries. Jabari still can't dribble and create for himself and teammates. I remember there was a thread hyping up Paolo because we were sure we'd be drafting him. But honestly, nobody really knew which of these three players would have the best career. After almost 3.5 seasons, Jabari looks the least like a star player. But the other two are making max money while he is making about half that much. And as noted, none of the other two have put down doubts about them being a championship kind of franchise player. OKC is in a great position mostly not because of Chet but because of the talent level of the whole team. Orlando doesn't look like a championship contender any time soon. The Rockets are better than Orlando not because Jabari is better than Paolo but because of our overall talent level. We are unfortunately in the West and behind OKC. (And a lot of people think we are behind the Spurs too.) But because Jabari is not making a huge amount, we still have more flexibility than the Magic to build a better team.
Jabari gets cooked by Chet, JDub, and Shai. He’s too weak for Hartenstein. He can’t close out on Caruso, Dort, or Cason Wallace without giving up either a 3 or a blow by. Ajay Mitchell would cook him. He’s can’t guard any Spurs, He can’t guard Luka, Reaves, Randle, Ant, Murray, Jokic, Jalen, Booker, Max Christie, AD, Cooper Flagg, Kyrie, Harden, Kawhi, He couldn’t guard any of our guys: Sengun, KD, Amen, or Reed. Of the names I’ve mentioned who couldn’t guard him? Just stand close to him. He could shoot over Reaves, Kyrie, and Reed if set up but he’s not a problem for the rest of the list. How is that a good role player? The team concept stuff he does, disappears in the playoffs against good teams. They will hunt poor defenders and have good defenders that can guard KD and Sengun straight up. Need more out of his salary, trade value, and spot that they spend time training every day if they want to get serious about winning rings.
I actually don’t mind missing shots as much as Jabari’s shot selection and decision making. Reed has a similar problem too but it’s his first real season he Jabari’s 4th
