Coach Udoka on Jabari shooting woes, "We would like for his shots to be going in but as long as he is impacting the game. That's what we ask from him. Jalen, Alpi too. Impact the game. They're good shots." On Cocaine Curry trafficking : "The opportunities haven't been there. We've been giving up leads or down by 20. But you saw that the game is already slowing down for him. Decisive in the pick&roll actions" On Alpi versus Slenderman starting off with a clank: "Alpi has seen it all. Faced smaller centers and bigger centers and gets his. I attribute it more to Alpi being off, missing shots he usually makes. Getting back into shape."
This is an item that can't be fixed, and it worries me. I'd kill to have some Eddie Griffin shot-blocking next to Alperen. Jabari is pretty solid at defending his own man, but his help-side instincts are not great.
I think part of what's confusing about Jabari's athleticism is that it varies considerably in different ways. He's fantastic moving laterally on the perimeter. I can't understand you guys saying he can't guard out there. It's the most impressive aspect of his game. And there's data on it as well. When he was tested by P3 they said he had the most explosive hip movements or something—whatever it is you do with your hips to move laterally—that they had tested, for a guy his size. Is it not obvious when you see how he stays in front of guards? His lack of explosiveness is obvious, but I don't know the full reason for it. That is, part of getting up as high as you can as quickly as you can is more than just how fast your muscles twitch. You can see that when Sengun has lots of time to swing his arms down and then bring them up when he's running at full speed, between his timing and his coordination, he can actually contest decently. It's just you seldom get that much preparation. With Jabari, he's got that long gait and his moves seem so predetermined—it's a move that he's practiced 10,000 times, rather than an in the moment reaction to the conditions. I don't really know how much of his crappy contesting is coordination and how much is fast/slow twitch. I also don't know how well this can be trained, but if any of you have studied this and can inform me/us, that would be dandy. I'm thrilled with Jabari's man-to-man defensive progress. It seems like he has the potential to be elite in this respect. What is frustrating to me is his help defense—which is much more important in the modern game. There was this clip of him during summer league after he was drafted in which he was on one side of the paint and then turned around suddenly and got all the way to the other side to block a shot near the top of the square. I showed it to my friends and said, oh wow, he's going to be JJJ! But...no. I guess the dude going to the rim was just summer league talent, moving at summer league speed. It was Jabari at his absolute best against mediocre competition, because I have almost never seen anything like that since he got into the league. He sure isn't quick off the ground. What I mean specifically about his help defense is consider how often when an opposing player finishes at the rim Jabari is standing right next to him when he comes down from the dunk. In the replays you see he just didn't move quickly enough to get in the way of the guy. It's the big man/contesting version of getting back door cut. He just seldom gets there in time to contest the shot. Is this court vision? Awareness? Mind-to-body reaction time or something? I don't know how it works. I'm not a neuroscientist or a trainer. But I know that it's not just Amen's speed but his awareness too that enables him to go from the perimeter to suddenly being in the paint near the freethrow line preventing someone from penetrating. He's got something approaching Kyle Lowry awareness that enables him to utilize his speed—on defense. Obviously Jabari isn't a savant like Amen, but could he be very good at help defense three years from now? Or is this just not in him? I've spoken about my skepticism of Jabari's shot. I remember reading about how for Steph Curry during certain drills making the shot with a swish isn't even enough. He'll take the shot over if the sensor shows it isn't centered perfectly, or something. Now, of course, that's Steph. That's a different universe of shooting talent. But the concept applies to anyone. When Jabari's shots go in it's because they're perfect. Everything was just right. There's just no room for error in that line drive stroke. That the arc on his shot hasn't increased in three years suggests to me that it just isn't going to.
SBNation's Seth Gupwell proposed the following deal between the 76ers and Rockets. Rockets receive: K.J. Martin, Jared McCain, an unprotected draft pick 76ers receive: Jabari Smith Jr. "The Rockets have too many bodies and need to do something. As the third overall pick of the 2022 draft, Smith Jr. hasn’t lived up to expectations," Gupwell wrote. "But he has shown flashes as a switchable shooting big with a bit of aggression." So far this season, Smith's performances are reflective of the two years previous. He is averaging 12.5 points and 7.4 rebounds on 43.9% shooting, making him a perfect compliment to either of Philadelphia's units. At 6-foot-11, the former No. 3 pick can comfortably play either forward spot. The other trade targets listed by Gupwell are Jonathan Kuminga, Keegan Murray, Bennedict Mathurin, Tari Eason, and Toumani Camara. All of them come with varying asking prices, but the one consistent is the salary of K.J. Martin. To acquire Smith, Philadelphia would need to part with the up-and-coming rookie, McCain. If the Sixers are willing to part with the former Duke Blue Devil so soon, it once begs the question of why they passed on the more experienced Dalton Knecht, who is thriving with the Los Angeles Lakers.
No thank you. If we’re trading Bari, I’d want it to be towards an established upgrade, not more picks and prospects.
Sixers are not giving up on McCain and Rockets can still use Bari. Bari for Oubre, Ricky Council, Yabusele.
Exactly! Might as well keep him rather than swap him for something else to develop. The biggest concern with Smith is his mental game. Will he ever settle in to 'owning' the fact he is an NBA player? With self-belief the shots will more often fall (imo)
People forget how young Jabari is. He was the youngest before Cam. He was the 5th best rebounding PF in the league last year. He shot decent from 3 pt last year, but obviously he needs to get automatic on wide open 3's. We don't need him to be a creator. 3 &D is his role. People need to chill out and let the guy continue to improve like he has every year. He is hitting the offensive boards hard and despite the naysayers around here, he plays good one on one defense. The one disappointment I have is his lack of filling out his frame. I'm not sure if that's on him or the training staff. It's laughable that people want to bench him so that friggin Dillon Brooks can maintain his 34% 3 pt shooting and 4 rebounds a game starting position. The starting unit should be FVV, Jalen, Amen, Jabari, and Sengun and it will be in the near future, mark my words. Our mantra this year is defense, transition, and offensive rebounding. FVV and Jabari have started out cold from 3. So what, Green was cold from 3 for 3 years. Brooks has always been mediocre from 3 at best and can't pass, create, or rebound. He does a good job guarding spindly legged guys like Wemby. If he tries that on Chet he will get eaten alive.
Yeah - of players who got 8+ rebounds per game last year, the only ones who shot better from 3 than Jabari were KAT, Tatum, Doncic, Collins and Sabonis^^ That's not horrible company to be in statistically. Obviously there are degrees most of those guys have which Jabari doesn't appear he will ever have. But of tall shooters who rebound, only KAT managed 8 boards and a better % ^^Sabonis shot a high percentage on very low volume
30% from 3. If he can't shoot, wtf does he do? Ime wants to hold everyone accountable so hold him accountable. Sit his ass down until he gets better. We're not playing for picks anymore. We don't need a tank commander.
I've consistently been one of the biggest Jabari supporters on here. I like his defensive versatility, his ability to hit big shots, and his attitude. But he's got to play better than this. He's got to play bigger than this. He's got to make more threes than this. It's year three, and he's got to start becoming the player we think he can be. Otherwise, I think his starting spot is at risk...
We see it in games - I don't know about the P3 drill. I just rewatched the first period. The Rockets put him on Chet tonight and Chet and Jalen Williams on the switch did not have any real trouble getting into the paint against him. He made them work a little , not a total blow by, but no real stops except for one on Williams where Dillon came over to double. Nothing about it though made me think he's going to stop quicker guards on the regular (nor has any other game). He's competent, tries hard etc, but a stopper? Not really.
Yes the price is low, maybe the lowest it will ever be, and I do expect him to continue to develop into a better role player - but, I'm finally selling my Jabari stock. He has talent and athleticism but he has one thing holding him back that I don't think will ever go away. He's SOFT. He's being guarded by guards all night and can't be bothered to Flash to the paint or duck in for a hook.
