With his body type and lack of foot speed he plays a reactive style of POA defense and concedes giving up space. He can’t get in close and pressure anyone or it’s a blow by. Can’t cut them off from getting to their spot or make them uncomfortable on the dribble. The contest at the end looks okay but it’s going to lose to a confident scorer getting to where they want to go more often than not. Switchable is a good word because the shot clock is really his only way of applying pressure and getting a scorer off his rhythm. He does better in late clock situations.
I think this is a better idea than the pure Net Rating (or pure defensive or offensive rating) you've used many times to prop up JSJ. That said, JSJ is also in 4 of 5, 6 of 9, and 11 of 18 of the worst lineups. JSJ is a starter, so he'll be in most lineups with >250 minutes. Splitting those lineups down the middle, JSJ appears more often in below median lineups than in above median lineups. If one thinks this is a valid methodology ignoring the closeness of the numbers, one should conclude JSJ is a poor fit with more lineups than he's a plus. JSJ being in the Top 3 lineups which all include bench players does not suggest he fits with the starters. The vast majority of his lineups by your methodology with only starters are below average. I like the idea, but the high minutes restriction basically says JSJ being a starter is going to appear in most of those lineups and the results are mostly random or influenced by who plays more with non-rotation players. If we lower the minutes to 200 to actually get some lineups with more bench players, Tari, Sheppard, and Adams are in a lot of the top lineups such that it is tough to conclude who should be starting.
He's going through a terrible shooting slump for like the last ~10-15 games from 3PT to FT that has dragged his % down. Like it or not, he's been one of those safety valves for Durant when he is getting pressed or doubled and he's been missing open shots. Jabari potentially drags a big man out to the perimeter when he's in position to catch Durant pass to either shoot or pass.
Yeah, I think that's a really good way to describe his defensive play - not athletic/fast enough to crowd players and make them uncomfortable, not long enough to recover hard enough when he gives space, and not strong enough to throw players off their "line" - it makes him a bit of a traffic cone in practice and ineffective against players who are practiced enough to see past the threat of an assistant holding an oversized hand on a stick. You are right about his defense being better when he can crowd a defender in late shot clock situations. It's almost like - we need you to make players uncomfortable even if you get blown by or you pick up fouls, etc. I think he has a bit of a mean streak so that's good...but he desperately needs that 'old man' strength so he doesn't concede so much defensively. It's gotten better for sure - but I still don't think he is a very effective defender today judging by the eye test - but willing to see if anyone can point to a stat that refutes that. ...and by the way - not trying to throw shade at Jabari - I think he is a hard working, impressionable kid. I have to remember he is still 22yrs old and has a lot of physical and mental maturity ahead of him still. This is just to say - he isn't cutting it today and we can argue about whether he will cut it in the future, but the fact is he is a bit of a weak link on today's roster whom we seem to be having extra patience for because we need a switchable high level 3 and D guy to make it easier to play Amen and Sengun. Honestly, DFS hasn't looked great coming back from major surgery but assuming he finally gets health and in shape, he is going to look like a better cheaper version than Jabari and the pressure will really be on Jabari to justify his place on the team at that point.
That's a good way of putting it. He's not really a negative out there on defense in the sense that of being a turnstile or not being able to give a quality contest, but he's not a defensive playmaker like Amen is either.
he put up better numbers than usual with 17 and 10, but still went 5-15 from the field part of what disappoints me a ton about him is that the vast majority of his shots are wide open or very lightly contested, yet he still consistently shoots mediocre percentages from the field every year if an actual good shooter was getting Jabari’s looks and shot quality, you’d be seeing 50+% from the field and over 40% from deep
Never thought the player id want to most see traded by this years deadline was Bari. I had high hopes coming into this season. Just can’t excuse the regression in year 4. Trade this kid.
What is the point of playing him so many minutes? I’m convinced that he does not have any more upside, nor does his contract.
Nobody wants to hear this, but Jabari is playing consistently great switchable defense. His crappy shooting has not affected his contributions on that side of the ball. And they're significant. His footwork at his size is terrific. He's seamlessly handling screens, holding his ground on bigs, not biting on shot fakes, and using those long arms to block, steal, and deter. He needs to get out of his shooting funk. I hope his contributions at the other end will help him get there, by taking some of the pressure off him.
without his defense tonight we lose this game - I think they are working on putting more arc on his shot and that’s why his shooting has gone downhill - either that and the combo of all the minutes
Naz Reid. Same contract. Comes off the bench and scorches Jabari. just another player that’s better than him but according to Hemingway, Jabari is a top 10 pf. Lmao
Maybe he's exhausted from chasing around SG/SF's which is very different than being at his natural position at the 4. A lot of times we have Durant on the 4, so Jabari is defensively exceeding expectations at guarding smaller guys. I really think he can do a lot more damage for us as a super-sub backup 4/5. Gives him a lot more freedom with his shot taking. Doesn't restrict him to standing in the corner so often, maybe he needs the rhythm. I really think that if you're starting Sengun and Durant (both at PF-size), you're better off having quicker defenders on the wing like Amen/Okogie/Tari on the wing rather than a bigger guy like Jabari. With the starters we need the type of guys who don't need the ball and thrive as corner shooters. Could unlock his production this season.
i i've said it for 4 years if Jabari really wants to become a + player he needs to put some weight on and become a small ball 5. Not all the time but for short stretches of 10-15 minutes a game it would be a match-up nightmare. His shooting splits becomes a lot more palatable from the 5.
He's always been a 4/5 just doesn't seem to want to accept it. I really love him as a PF - good rebounder, good wingspan for help defense, dealing with slower defenders on the perimeter and in transition. He's dynamic as a 4. As a 3, I don't see the same benefits. He can't beat those guys off the dribble while they are more capable of beating him that way. It's not a good fit for him.
Well getting the ball in grenade fashion from Durant with 2 seconds on the shot clock is not helping. DD
Will, why I completely agree that his defense has been good, the offense is unacceptable. I’ve said before that I think Bari has made his greatest progress on the defensive end. But that’s just not good enough. It’s not just a slump offensively. He’s never shot above league average from 3 in his career. And he’s shooting terribly in year 4. That’s just not good enough for a guy drafted to stretch the floor. He’s only getting half the job done. This is a former #3 pick and it’s year 4. I just don’t understand how one can defend Bari’s performance even though it’s obvious that he’s a good defender. At what point can we admit that he’s hurting the team offensively? At what point do we acknowledge we can do better?
Dude, with all due respect, I don't understand how you could have watched this year and not realize the impact of Bari's recent slump. The first thirty of his 38 games played, Bari averaged 16/6/2 shooting 38% from 3 on a 58.3 TS%. Then, he got cold, and it cratered those numbers. Given this, I'm guessing there's a pretty decent chance he'll bring up his numbers back to those of the first 30 games over the course of the rest of the year.
