Yeah, sometimes you just need to throw the ball down to the big man, let him operate, and catch your breath for a second. I know we used to do it all the time with Shaq.
BTdubs, any legit reason why Towns only played 20 mins a game last year? I know he was a Freshman, but come on, at least high 20's minimum shouldn't be too much to ask.
Unfair depth to a team where you're able to make platoon substitutions and half your team enters the draft and are nearly all 1st round prospects. With WCS there, Towns was able to foul more or use up more energy quicker, because they wouldn't suffer much when altering the rotation. Whereas Okafor's backup is the third Plumlee brother.
Mitch is the luckiest GM in the business right now... He doesn't have to make the decision. Every GM would be ecstatic to have either one of these guys, but Mitch doesn't have to choose. The player that intrigues me though is Winslow.. I'm curious how many guys outside the presumed top two that the Lakers will work out..
Agree. There was a bigger load asked of Okafor than Towns. Granted, he did play with an excellent cast but he also had the bulls-eye of every defense he had to play against. On the games I saw, Okafor did not force himself but let the game come to him. When he did, he laid waste to whoever tried to stop him.
Yeah I totally understand wanting the more versatile player in Towns, but I can't remember the last time I saw a post player like this. What he does is so completely natural. He's a post game prodigy, it's that simple. In a recent interview he said that every move he does is scripted, but so are Kobe's fadeaway jumpers and they're unstoppable. Last year Embiid looked great at times in the post, but his looked like a kid who watched Olajuwon's tapes and copied them. Don't get me wrong, he did a great job of copying those moves, but Okafor's post game is just absolutely natural. I'm super old school when it comes to basketball. Give me the back-to-the-basket post guy all day every day. Yeah I know it's not sexy by today's NBA standards, but it's consistent and when it's done right it's the most effective play in basketball. I want Okafor more than any other player, but whoever we end up with is going to be a stud.
Well, I don't think there's anything barring a major injury that will prevent Towns from going #1, but if he's there, Towns is definitely my pick. A few reasons why: 1. Defense. Outside of his obvious low ceiling on D the main thing that bothers me about Okafor is he appeared to give very little effort & not care much at times. He could definitely develop into a good team defender, but I think that's his ceiling on that side of the ball. Towns is much more explosive & should be a good rim protector, which we're going to need next to Randle. I see him being able to guard the Pick & Roll extremely well & also being an above average man to man defender against both PF's & C's. Just a much more versatile defender. I will concede that the situation he was in at Kentucky allowed him to take a lot more chances than Okafor. He was able to be super disruptive & not really worry about foul trouble because he had WCS, Dakari Johnson, & Poythress to pick up the slack defensively if he got in foul trouble. But I think he'll still be able to become a superb defender at this level once he learns to balance that aggression & stay in games, ability is ability, & he has a ton of it. 2. Offense. Much the same story. Towns is just so much more versatile. He doesn't have nearly the post game that Okafor does, but he does have a nice hook with both hands as a foundation due to his soft touch. He's quick enough to cut & finish when a lane presents itself. He can knock the jumper down from mid or long range. Much better FT shooter than Okafor. The 1 area where Okafor has the edge is post ups, & I've stated how I feel about C's that rely on the post many times. They're quickly being phased out of the league as the increase in advanced metrics shows teams that bigs can be used in much smarter ways than just pounding the ball inside. Guys aren't spending the summer trying to become the next Hakeem anymore. They're working on their outside shots to improve spacing. They're working on setting solid screens to create even more spacing, stepping out to the 3 point line to set the screen & forcing an interior defender/rebounder to vacate the paint due to their respectable jumpers. Marc Gasol is really the only C leading a winning team with his scoring, & they're adapting more & more to the modern playing style. 3. Potential. Of course both guys could be busts. But I see it like this. Assuming both players are successful, low end of success for Okafor: Greg Monroe. High end: Al Jefferson. Low end of success for Towns: Rasheed Wallace. High end: Anthony Davis. 4. Value. Not saying we should trade the pick, but far more teams have Towns at #1 on their board & see him as a potential future altering Franchise Player. The return we could get for Towns is probably insane. We could probably run down the list of teams 3-10 or however many have assets we want. Noel + #3?. Don't want anything the Knicks have. Vucevic, Oladipo, or Payton + #5? We could probably get even more added on. Cousins + #6?. A package built around Lawson or Nurkic + #7? Detroit isn't giving up Drummond & we don't want anything else. Charlotte doesn't have the pieces unless they include future 1st's. Whiteside + #10 + bunch of future 1st's?. Surely Bird wouldn't give up PG. Gobert + Burke + #12? Bledsoe + Len + #13? I wouldn't be surprised if any of those teams made those deals for Towns.
^Instincts TRD... You can make all the copies you want but without instincts, it matters not. There's no flow. Jefferson's post game has no flow IMHO...comes off wooden. There's plenty of sage advisors for Okafor to seek on the Laker umbrella. Abdul-Jabbar will be more than happy to help once he's fully recovered. O'Neal will needle him to be better but not with the same sarcastic, condescending tone he used with "Ted" Howard.
@LakersN4 Sorry but I disagree with almost every point you made. 1. Defense - like you said, their effort and effectiveness can only be proven under equal circumstance, ie same amount of playing time. And why are you assuming Randle is a liability on defense? He was a great defender in college and has the tools to become a beast on that end as well. 2. Offense - Versatility is great until you start falling in love with your jump shot. Look what happened to Jordan Hill for example. I prefer a player that knows his strengths and sticks to it. Do you want Shaq shooting threes? 3. Potential - That is just plain wrong. Your bias towards Towns is quite obvious here. 4. Value - They are currently equal in value.
Okafor's incorrectly pigeonholed as a post player offensively. He's not a great PnR guy (although I think I seen a state where he was efficient at it in limited attempts), but he does pretty much everything else. Incredible hands & footwork, and catches everything around the basket. He had 27 And-1's this year. Really good offensive rebounder as well. He scored 1.06 PPP in the half court, which ranked 3rd in all of college basketball. He was 0.933 PP on his post possessions. His defense concerns me much more. He's an absolutely sure thing on offense.
If ever there was a young dude that could yield an effective PPP from his post play it's him. Good Lord. Between his hands, his agility, his ball handling, his touch around the rim, and his poise, he's a monster. If this was 1995 there'd be absolutely no question about who should go #1. It would be great to have an exception-to-the-rule guy, which I think he could be.
I agree actually about Al Jefferson which is why I really don't like those comparisons. Okafor is just way, way more natural in the post than Al Jeff. Al Jefferson is effective, but that doesn't make him natural. I'm sure Kareem will give him advise. I'm not sure if Shaq is allowed to help because he's kind of a part owner or something in Sacramento, but if we are allowed to call in a favor, I'm sure he'd help. And we've got maybe the best active post player in the game right now: Kobe! He could show Okafor a thing or two. Trick Pau into a workout with him. Send him to Hakeem for personal training. More than anything though I'd love to see him study defensive tape and work on that end of the floor.
I have this voice telling me that Minnesota will draft Towns to pair him with Wiggins as an uber-athletic duo. Also, they are looking for the second coming of Garnett albeit not an obnoxious one. This of course is subject to change if Taylor senses Towns does not want to be there and trades down for multiple picks. It's OK...we gots next.
Oh yes...please. I said elsewhere, they should get another point guard. Rubio isn't getting any younger and healthier.
I just can't imagine Minny drafting Okafor. They have $12 mil tied up in Pekovic, and Towns who can play 4 or 5 just makes a ton more sense.
Well, I am calling it. Okafor will be a better defender than guys think. I've gone through quite a bit of videos, stats and articles on him today. He struggles some on pick and roll, but I do think that was, at least on some level, due to the system they ran and him wanting to stay on the floor. He is actually ok as a man to man defender and I think given his age, footwork, and aptitude for the game, he will be able to improve.
I think Okafor is a smart kid and I think he can be taught to play defense in a Marc Gasol style, once he learns to read and react better. He doesn't have closing speed (neither does Marc), but what really gets him is he doesn't know where to be and anticipate the play, so while Marc is well positioned and reading things, Okafor is getting hung out to dry. He also needs to learn how to project his size in the paint. Not needing him to jump, just close out a step earlier and get long.
