Unfortunate to lose Sengun but this is one of the silver linings. Udoka has made great strides with Jabari on perimeter defense and now playing C is going to expand his defensive experience/skill set. He’s needed to play a bit more aggressive and improve his interior play. This is a useful opportunity. It’s clear he has the frame to add muscle and I’ve been saying he’s a 4/5 more than a 3. His game really requires him to put on muscle so that he can develop one or two stabilizing and efficient post moves. I’m not too worried about it. I think for the amount of time he spends on the perimeter he’s going to be a good rebounder and shot blocker. His game is developing nicely. Slightly improving his shooting in volume and efficiency seems highly likely. His defense gets better every month and he’s just coming into his own. Just does what the team needs. Such an excellent player to have in our core.
That doesn't contradict what I said. He plays better when he doesn't force shots and just takes when he's given.
7 of the 11 games...he shot AT LEAST 14 shots or higher (14 twice,15 shots 3 times, 18 and 19 3 games he shot 13 shots 1 game he shot 10 shots. As a rule, he's not "given" 14-19 shots....that's why there are 11 games of scoring 20 pts. or better. Must hit high % on low volume shots with FT's. Averages 10-12 shots pretty much.
One of the few games he did not attempt a 3 pointer. And the team was making 27 of them. Ah I missed the altercation with Dunn.
Topics like these make me laugh. OP and the absolute morons who liked the original post will be the same people saying, "We weren't ******** on Jabari, he was playing poorly AT THE TIME so we were right to criticize." Calling a kid SOFT as the entire topic is just braindead. Hopefully some of them mature and let these kids develop, but... I doubt it.
Jabari is quite clutch I'll give him that. It seems like no matter how badly he shoots in the previous 3 quarters, he will drain the 3's you need the most at the end
I have seen this as well. I hate how he goes to a spot during a play and just stands there in the corner completely out of the action, not even making his defender work or think. He needs to be moving to throw the defense off like Rip Hamilton. That dude would make me tired just watching him but the defense was so scattered because he was like this rogue, unpredictable force that could nail you at any moment if you didn't stick to him like glue. Jabari needs to watch tape on Rip and learn a few things.
I have a ton of faults. My favorite thing about myself is that I’m self aware. I know what I’m really good at and I know what I’m not remotely good at. Jabari is clearly self aware, and I see that as a huge strength. For him to put that out there knowing we’d all see it…that’s a confidence that most people don’t have. Easy guy to root for.
These are the people I root hardest for. I am pretty sure he is a guy who cares about whether the team wins or loses. We have other Numero Unos who I’m not convinced on that account about. Jabari is a super easy dude to root for.
Weird, I have such a different perception of Bari. Love his work ethic and drive, I agree he's a good kid with lots of talent. No argument there. However he seems to be extremely desperate to not be exactly what we need him to be and what he's good at. I feel like he is terrified of the notion that he's an elite jumper and defense guy. That he so desperately wants to prove that he can drive and handle and dribble. It's good to work on your weaknesses but it's important to embrace who you are and what you do well. He doesn't complain about his role but his mind and - from his interviews - his off-season work seems geared towards working on an iso game. If right now he were hitting 39% of his 3's at a high volume and playing excellent defense, I would get it. At that point you're expanding your game. But if there's no foundation then you're going to turn yourself into a jack of all trades after half a decade of work. I wish he were a little more proud and confident about what he does well. I see him sulking too often as though he's so far from success and in a hopeless place. I'd tell him to keep his chin up and swallow that self-pity. No one is down on him because he can't take people off the dribble. Be was drafted that high because he's a killer with his jumper, didn't need to dribble the ball much to assault defenses and played great defense. If he were doing the basics be was drafted for he'd be getting a ton of recognition. I don't know if he sees that. If he wants to do it this way - mostly focus on what he can't do - there's not going to be many confidence boosters along the way because he's years from being trusted to iso for a good team. It's like Shaq spending his summers working on 3's and not being able to celebrate his interior dominance. That would be a motivational mess. I think a lot of this is just age too. He has to go through this to discover that it doesn't have to happen in such a particular order. In any case, expecting to see an even more improved middie&3&D player this year. Players with his work ethic always improve.
If Jabari Smith learns to pass it out to our guards off a defensive rebound instead of ruining a potential fast break score by trying to bring the ball up I'll be satisfied that he learned what his role is.
