He’ll get better at using his dribble and his body to create space. I think that’s his biggest problem. He can put the ball on the floor, but he dribbles super high and is vulnerable there. Most importantly he takes a long time to get his shot off. Very slow release. The inability to create space and the slow release are his two biggest weaknesses that I see. The shot mechanics will be easy to correct, but it’s gonna take him a while to improve those handles to create space. With hard work it’s definitely possible but in my opinion it’s one of the most important skill sets that separate nba players. It’s why he was 3rd on my board behind the other big 3. his defense has been a revelation though; can’t wait till he gets his offense going. Since the league has changed with respect to the importance of bigs spacing the floor and being more mobile, it’s hard to find a comp on the handles. But Bosh is the ideal comp for what Jabari needs to be. I question whether he can get there because Bosh was more athletic and gifted in this area, but Jabari is gonna have to learn how to create space off the dribble because he can’t beat people off the dribble the way Bosh could.
His hands have been a little impatient. It's a long NBA season. As he learns from film study, relaxes, and learns how to pace himself, some of his turnovers will disappear.
Honestly he just needs a back to the basket game. He's nowhere near explosive or athletic enough to do those Bosh blow by moves, he would just get either blocked at the rim or get cut off. He's a better shooter than Bosh on paper, he needs to perfect his fadaway from low or high post. He can drive in once in a while when the defender is slow, but I don't forsee that part of his game being integral
It's his most glaring weakness but he has a good 2 seasons to tinker with his approach, add a counter move in the high post. Rox like to draft gym rats so the improvement will be there . Some mention that he doesn't get to the line because he doesn't drive. I say Klay at his peak, 22-26 yrs, only shot 3 fta. Snipers are not supposed to be close to the action. But unlike Klay, Jab will have the opportunity to work the high post. Eventually he will be able to get the defender to bite on his shot without having to crossover and split 3 defenders with an around the back, between the legs cha cha dribble. The key here is patience
1. He doesn’t know where his sweet spots are. So he has no plan in a 1v1 situation. He needs to work on his triple threat footwork & handle while finding his sweet spots. 2. He doesn’t know where his shots in the offense are going to come from. That’s a process. Silas needs to help him with that. I hope they don’t try to play him as a 5 on a full time basis. He has wing abilities he just needs work. I love him as a bigger combo forward. 3. He needs to add functional strength because he is weak with the ball vs Summer League guys and that will get even tougher with NBA guys. That being said, this guy is going to be a STUD defensively. I love the way he competes. Same with Eason and TyTy. The Rockets really helped themselves this year in the draft defensively.
And to me that is alot easier to change and something they comes with reps and maturity. This year we are really going to be seeing how the offense runs with green, kpj and senguin being the primary handlers so all we need jabari to do this year is spot up and shoot along with great defense. Not saying that will be his role his entire career but that gives him time to develop the other stuff. When you can shoot over people, you don't need that much spacing so I think the other aspects of his game will be just fine as he matures
Handles implies the ability to move to your spots and create off the bounce. Durant has tight handles because you can give him the ball pretty much anywhere on the court and he can get to his spots with ease unless they trap him.
His release is a little slow but I think early on in his career if he incorporated a good jab step it would open up his game. His switch defense on smaller players is going to be amazing for us.
he could use some sessions with dream to loosen him up. he is a bit stiff offensively. with his jumper and high release point, if he had some footwork to get to his turnaround shot or step-back-middy I think he may never have to dribble more than once at a time to be a 20,000 point scorer lol
The NBA has veered itself to so much Isolation offense that 6’10 bigs that can’t blow past their opponents constantly need to just shoot , operate from the elbow as a passer, or develop a post up offense.
Yes, it is a major weakness, but one which can be overcome pretty easily. He had an instance in the game where all he needed was 1 power dribble to dunk it and lost the ball on the dribble. Teams will scout him and FORCE him to put it on the floor, if he wants to be better than Ryan Anderson on offense. DD
He didn't have to. Just play defense, make the correct pass and spot up for 3. Then people complain Jabari is just role player. Different era. People now expect everyone to be good all around.
Tari Eason handle is very superior. Tari Eason is 21 years old, Jabari Smith is 19 years old. I really hope Tari Eason teaches Jabari Smith how to dribble, create for himself. I have a Huge Hope for these 3 Picks, Tyty is so smart, Tony Parker type floater.
If all Jabari wants to be is Horry then he is there, but when I spoke to Horry *Yes, I talked to him at E3 several times" he said his biggest regret was not working on getting better in the NBA, that he sort of settled into his role and never tried to do too much more. We need Jabari to be more. DD
