What about a power forward without much "power"? Your basketball analysis is Fischer price level. You do word play. Not actual analysis of basketball.
I never said we couldn't use a top tier PF on our team. But, if you think Jalen is above tier 3 as a SG I beg to differ.
Anyone complaining about the objective progress Jabari made in year two needs to log off and find something they enjoy doing. Elite rebounding at age 20. Shooting improved across the board. Advanced stats improved across the board. Athleticism such that he’s able to guard almost anyone, at almost any level of the floor and do so well. After one offseason. Work ethic and mentality of a guy you can sure as **** expect to get better and better. He’ll be 21 next year. lol dude is an unreal talent.
He doesn't have a single special quality. That doesn't mean he's a bust or not good at nba hoops , I just see a solid season
like a 3rd yr shooting guard who still can't shoot 3s efficiently shoots 31% on catch & shoot beyond the arc and talk about power and strength lol
Personally I think Jabari Smith Jr. will shoot between 38% and 43% on 6+ attempts for the remainder of his career. I think his midrange percentage might sniff a net positive efficiency next season and gradually improve after that. By his mid to late 20's I bet he'll have a hook shot as well. On defense I see him getting bigger and better. His interior play was vastly improved in his second season and much of his issues were related to strength (just getting outmuscled by some of the biggest PF/C's). I think he's exceptionally laterally quick for a 6'10+ PF with a 7'1 wingspan. Great rebounder, decent shot locker. Just absolutely perfect for a PF in this era. I'm 100% certain Ime is going to improve Jabari's defense gradually. I think his ceiling is higher than people think. I seriously think he has NBA all-defensive second team potential and I cautiously think his 3PT shot and middy are just about to take off. We're a skeptical fan base because of BS development under Silas but in general if you have good development staff and players willing to work hard on and off the court you're going to see improvement. We have direction now. For us it's x6 core players of internal improvement. Practically unprecedented. I think he now understands how much muscle he needs. The long stints at the 5 after Sengun went down were very helpful for his development. I think he'll be an exceptional 4/5. I don't think he's the 2/3/4 everyone was envisioning but I think he will be above average at SF. Perfect player to pair with other stars. Handle will develop over the next 2-3 years too when he'll be just 24-25. Do not sleep on this guy. He may be worth $30m+ by next summer.
8+ rbg for a 20 yr old PF is absolutely "elite." He was sixth in RPG amongst PFs, and by far was the youngest PF last season to average 8+ a game (unless you count Wemby as a PF).
Jabari may have been the best beneficiary of Tari and Sengun going down. He was thrown in with the lions to mix it up, and though his body got worn down, he still held up. For a 20-year-old (now 21) whose physique is still developing, that's impressive. His offseason conditioning and strength work should help his shot and ability to hold position without being overpowered as often. With a little more strength, we could see Jabari find himself in that space between Jason Tatum and Jaren Jackson Jr., competing among the elite forwards in the game. Then, it's all about getting more experience and developing a stronger offensive game. The future seems very bright.
This is an unpopular opinion, but the Rockets have developed drafted players better than almost every team since Stone became the GM. OKC has developed Jalen Williams, but Chet, Cason Wallace, Giddey, Ousmane Dieng haven't improved much though man did Chet come in the league on fire. Could have OKC higher just on one guy. I'd say Orlando has done a wonderful job with Suggs and Paolo is coming along better than I expected (though it was expected that he was pretty far along in development when he got there). The Rockets, Magic, and Thunder are not the only 3 NBA teams. After those two teams...Look at Detroit. Yuck. I think Cade's a good player, but it is being masked by worse development than Silas was doing here. Maybe he turns things around there in regards to development. Washington...that's probably a FO draft asset management problem that even the most staunch Stone is the worst GM's ever fans probably put that on their previous FO and not the coaches. Mobley came in good, he's improved some, but Cleveland was banking on a lot more when they acquired Mitchell. Sacramento...Keegan has improved, but not as much as Jabari. Davion not so much. NO has had some success adding 3 point shots to guys. Kuminga has improved for GSW. I think Ime took it up a notch or 5 in the actually winning games department and guys improved a lot last season, but it wasn't like guys didn't develop at all under Silas. I don't like KPJ, but he improved much more on the court than I expected before he once again showed his true colors, though bright enough this time that even the Rockets couldn't ignore them.
Physically, his stature is currently between Tatum and JJJ. And he's three years younger than JJJ. If Jabari solves some of his physical limitations from a strength standpoint, I can see it happening. And if Amen can develop his body a little more, he might (and that is the key word here, might) grow into a quicker, lighter version of Jalen Brown. I know some see him as a future PG, but I see a small forward who can initiate plays and create for others. AT has an enormous amount of offensive game to grow--since his mechanics are terrible-- but the potential is certainly there. I'm all in on the Celtics blueprint and trust that Udoka can maximize talent.
My main problem with Jabari is his complacency with being a complimentary player. I want to see the Jabari from summer league who wants to take over games - but in the majority of games he looks very passive. I can live with missed shots and turnovers if he at least tries to be a self creating offensive force at times. And ok defense he looks really good - but opposing players still seem to make the majority of shots against him. I really like Jabari, but I sure hope he develops some mamba mentality soon. He doesn’t need to go being selfish, but try to be at least a 2nd option on a good team, that can create his own shot.
Respectfully I feel the opposite. Given the tools he has him embracing the role means he is extremely valuable now. Looking for “Mamba mentality” means him risking becoming another Christian Wood. Yes he can develop more offensive skills to help the offense improve but he has more value in his role doing the Swiss Army knife approach. Bosh with Miami was valuable because he had that role and did so many things well. Miami could have asked him to score 30 a night but it wasn’t what made him as valuable as he was for them.
Yeah, role player Jabari is getting paid 28-35 million (looking at Fred VV) Star Jabari would probably get a normal max of 45-50 million. It is actually not that far off either way.
There are reasons for his passiveness. For one he has always started which means his rookie year he played with 2 high usage guards and Sengun. If he would have come off the bench like Cam did this year he probably to some extent would have been more aggresive. Second. His biggest weakness (at least in my opinion) is creating his own shot. I don't need to go into why that is important in regards to being passive. Wanting him to disregard that and take away from Sengun or Green setting him up for a better shot than he likely can create for himself or a turnover is not smart. The only way you can afford keeping these players together is if you can have a player like Jabari not be a creator in the first place. There is only one ball anyways. Any time he does something with it that is a time when Sengun/FVV/Amen/Green are not. You have to have players like Eason and Jabari. If everyone has a "mamba mentality" then you are going to be watching some of those players on another team. Also "mamba mentality" does not just have to be attributed to taking shots it can be rebronding, defense, leadership/being a good teammate (many talented players lose their spots in the nba to players less talented than them because of bad attitudes). etc
Yes but what are the chances he’s valuable role player Jabari vs superstar Jabari? There are also these essentially super star role players. Players like Bosh or Pau etc. who have the talent to be superstars but take a backseat because it is what helps their team win and also secures their long term value and they make more money in the longrun. Had Bosh not had the blood clot issue I suspect he might still be in the league getting 20 mil a year to just be that anchor like Horford is for Boston. However if Jabari and his agent etc. come out of the gate in a preseason like the one coming up trying to expand his role to be a star that has the offense revolved around him and with the ball in his hands to create, the reputation gets out and players and coaches around the league sour on those type of players fast unless they are otherworldly productive. Hence why I bring up Christian Wood as the example of a player like this trying to force a star like role in the offense.
The difference was that Pau Gasol and Bosh already exploded and have been Number 1 options on Memphis/Toronto for more than 2-5 years. Jabari would never be the Number 1 option with Sengün on the team or whoever is the Number 1. You are only saying Jabari can emulate what neutered Bosh gave the Heat......which I can relate to but he is never getting paid that much without having been the Number 1 option on the Rockets. To be honest with you, I think Bosh and Gasol were tiers above Jabari now, way more skilled than he is.
I haven't seen any signs that Bari is wanting to force a on ball role. He seems content with his current role as a play finisher/off ball catch and shoot guy. People want the compare him to guys like Tatum are really trying to set themselves up for disappointment. Look at how 19-20 year old Tatum moved with a dribble. So much more fluid and natural as a ball handler than Bari I doubt ever will be. That's asking for too much. His abilities are more akin to a taller Rashard Lewis which still a pivotal important role player to have to build a contender. Guys like Tatum, KD etc that people somehow still think Bari could be had far more lateral agility and wiggle the moment they entered the NBA at age 19.
