Inside finishing is a swing skill for Jabari, but he can be an extremely effective player without it. His shown great flashes of defense, rebounding, and shooting so far. If he shoots 40%+ from deep any finishes at the rim are just gravy. His potential elite shooting would free up space for Sengun, KPJ, and Green which is far more important complementary skill than finishing on his own. Kevin Love was very effective on the block, but his offense during Cleveland's championship window consisted mainly of threes because that's what was needed next to Lebron and Kyrie. I believe that Jabari's finishing will improve over time as his body fills out, but it doesn't need to be a priority for development. Similarly, Sengun's development shouldn't focus on developing a three point shot. They can focus on their relative strengths for now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a 3 and D big man.
That's exactly who i thought of a few weeks ago for real - trying to score putbacks over Horace Grant or whoever it was
So we are now happy that he shot 6-17 and that's because It's way above his normal efficiency? Do you hear yourself? Yeah, it's better and that's because he had been shooting it terribly, let's at least see if he can raise the bar to this level over a stretch before we start celebrating. I'm happy he is starting to shoot at a reasonable rate, but let's tap the brakes on trying to call anybody out because he has had a few ok - good games.
I said nothing about handles, you made that up. Regarding inside finishing, I just said that he can be an effective player without it. Shooting, rebounding, and defense are far more important. I brought up Kevin Love as an example, as he was putting up career lows in FG% (at the time) while he was in Cleveland, but that didn't matter because three point shooting was what their offense needed from him. Cleveland rarely utilized his post skills and went to the finals twice. And I said Jabari's finishing will like improve over time anyway as his body develops, but he needs to focus on his jumper first and foremost.
You have gotten to be a broken record on Jabari. You hated the pick from the start. Jabari, just like Jalen, has had a rough start. If anything, Jabari is adjusting to the NBA much quicker than Jalen and his body will be much more able to put on muscle. He doesn’t have to have a great dribble/drive game to be a star. When he adds more muscle he will finish better, just like Jalen has improved with just a little more muscle. The impatience for these guys to become big-time NBA players is ridiculous. I am very happy with their progression with the exception of KPJ who is still blindly dribbling into the paint with no plan or good passing instincts. I wouldn’t give up on him either. They are all super young.
Ok so you just left that fact out because why? Love had Kyrie and Lebron to play off, yeah Smith would be just fine if he 2 of those type guys on his team, do you think that's remotely likely?
Left what fact out? I mentioned that Love played off of Lebron and Kyrie in my first post. And that if Jabari became an elite shooter it would be beneficial in creating space for KPJ, Green, and Sengun. Sengun scores almost exclusively inside, we should surround him with shooters. I feel like I'm repeating myself multiple times with no benefit to your understanding. You don't need Lebron or Kyrie level talent for shooting to be valuable. Jabari has been compared to Rashard Lewis and although Lewis had a decent turnaround jumper in the mid-post he was never a high volume or elite finisher at the rim. Lewis was taking over 50% of his shots from beyond the arc before it was in vogue and got to the finals (in Orlando) doing it. There was no Lebron or Kyrie type on that team, but Lewis was putting up career highs in efficiency and playing the best defense of his career up to that point. I never considered Lewis a superstar, but if Jabari had a similar career (15 year career, two time all-star) I would not complain.
From the past 3 games we can see that the concerns on Jabari being "unathletic" or having "no handles" are overblown and not really needed in his game. I was right what were making him look like a bust were: 1. Missing open 3s (confidence issue) 2. Avoiding contact/being soft (no grit and grind/finesse player) Now that he has stopped being soft snd started banging for boards and rolls to the rim you can see he is athletic enough to finish at the basket and the handles issue is nonexistent. Jabari doesnt need elite handles if you remember Amere Stoudamire the never took more than 2 dribbles in a possession his entire life and he was a career 20 ppg scorer. Tbh this is the Jabari I expected to see day 1 given the hype on him and given his all around play we can safely say he is on the asy to being the no 1 player on this team. Not a coincidence we been losing the whole time he was playing like a scrub and won B2B when he had great games.
Yes we write off lottery picks immediately and give Gleaguers and 2nd rounders positive threads before they even sign 2 way deals..
I never hated the pick I have no idea why you keep saying that, 100 dollar tip bet if you can show one post where I hated the pick. Either that or STFU! Muscle has nothing to do with his abysmal 3 point percentage it was the reason he was drafted so high and no he is not adjusting much quicker than Green as if that would make a bit of differece. If you don't like what I say, just put me on ignore, since you are so sensitive. It's amazing that you are preaching patience but yet you are more than willing to **** on KPJ who has not even played an entire regular season worth of games.
So again who is Lebron or Kyrie in this scenario or D Howard since you keep bringing up guys that played with HOF's I can believe Smith would be fine playing with Hof's but what does that have to do with Houston? I would not complain either if we somehow got a D Howard in his prime or a Lebron.
I believe before the season is over, Jabari and Pablo is going to be neck and neck battling for the Rookie Of The Year title Jabari will be second in block shots, second in points per game and first in rebounds among rookies. Pablo scoring will go down because he goes in slumps and he will average 18 points a game and Jabari will average 16 or 17 points a game. Pablo will win the rookie of the year award because the media loves Bancheros. Jabari is a Star!
You evidently have gotten me mixed up with someone else. I have been one of the biggest KPJ proponents on this board and was promoting his extension. I am disappointed in his start this season, but, as stated would not give up on him. You have been griping about Jabari’s lack of handles from day one and even though he looks to be improving very quickly you focus on the negative. I don’t put anybody on ignore, except obvious trolls like King1. Jabari is making faster progress than Jalen did last year. In the end, both are going to be all-stars. Jalen>Mobley>Cade. Jabari>Chet. Jury is out on Jabari vs. Banchero.
If Jabari can shoot, defend, and rebound he will be a quality player whether he's playing next to a HOFer or not. Those are valuable skills in and of themselves. He will benefit KPJ, Green, and Sengun and their ceilings are TBD. It's perfectly fine if you preferred a different prospect, but you don't even have the guts to state an opinion. You just say "I never said I hate the pick" and then hide behind loaded questions. Man up and tell us who we should have picked.
