I don't think Okafor will be as bad as people say he is just with his shear size. I do think he may have a little trouble when he gets pulled out on pick and rolls. Shaq had this issue, so did Yao, these guys just aren't light on their feet. Karl is a bit more nimble and possesses the ability to hedge out effectively and disrupt pick and rolls. People are just putting a little more stock into that ability because that's where the league is currently at with offense.
I don't mind pick and roll offense, but it's not a substitute for a real post playing big man to me. If you can create out of the post, you're winning the battle. You're right Shaq and Yao couldn't hedge well on screens, but I think their careers worked out just fine regardless of that. Pick and rolls are stopped on team defense anyway. It's a simple play that's not terribly hard to defend if you've got the right mindset/effort on the defensive end of the floor. It's all about rotating to help. Now these days you need a couple athletic guys on the perimeter to defend it effectively so they can play the passing lanes, but it's still mostly about effort/rotations. Give me the post guy who can create with his back to the basket, find others, and dominate the paint. That's the guy I want on my team all day every day. Just look at my avatar!
About 30 years ago, Pat Riley said something to the effect of, "in 25 years there will be five 6'9" guys out there doing a little bit of everything." His timeline's a bit off, but I think that's the next evolution of the league. Most of the better offenses utilize a ton of screens, both on the ball and off of it. The fundamental premise behind it is that you create mismatches, even in short windows of time, and those mismatches can be exploited. DeAndre Jordan sets a down screen for JJ Redick, and if DJ makes contact the big man has to "show" on Redick, or else he gets a wide open 3. This means that someone from the weak side has to show on DJ who's rolling to the basket, and now you have a chain reaction of mismatches. Big buys time for Redick's man, weak side wing buys time for DJ's man, weak side top man has to play centerfield between the weak side corder & weak side wing, etc. It's really just up to the PG to make the right decision if you can get separation off of a screen, and you'll get an open shot far more often than not. The defensive counter to this is switching the screen. The reason that most teams don't do this is because they don't have the personnel. What, Marc Gasol is gonna chase JJ Redick around now? Good luck with that. But there are certain guys who can do it and hold their own. We used to switch with Lamar a lot, for example, and the Clippers do it too with DJ. You've now changed the Play Type being used from Spot Up (Redick, Barnes on weak side) or a Cut (DJ, Griffin) to an ISO. Sure, it's an ISO between a mobile big and a guard...but how bad is that? How many PPP will the guard generate in that switch? I'd venture a guess that it's lower than what you'd yield from a Cut, Roll Man, or Spot Up. Between KAT and Randle (who is also quick footed), you could completely blow up what teams are looking to do, and turn it into a game of ISOs. You'd raise the ISO yield that teams get, but not to the point where it would catch up with Spot Ups, Cuts, & Roll Men...the byproducts of the screening game. I believe that over the next 5 years you will see a rise in the "switch everything" philosophy, and teams making a concerted effort to find talent that can pull it off.
Whats funny is I think Towns is the better fit for the team CURRENTLY but still love Okafor too much. Heres the better question. Are we going to play Okafor at C or not because if he plays PF, what happens with Randle, do the lakers believe he can play the 3 or they let him be a force off the bench?
If you draft Okafor, he's got to play Center. He's developing a 15 foot shot, but it's not there yet. He can't really play PF without someone who can shoot next to him. But we could definitely try to move Randle up to SF if we signed another PF/C type this summer.
Dont you think hes going to have too much on his plate guarding the beasts in the west, use up too much energy guarding them and would be able to dominate the other teams PF instead? Realistically. I think he can play at center, how do you think he matches up with Gasol/Jordan/Bogut/Howard?
I think he'll do fine. He's going to get tired quickly, but I think he can handle his own just fine against those guys for 20-25 minutes a night or so.
I really value your opinion, but I don't see Randle at SF.... at all. Think he's closer to being an undersized Center (Noah Jr) before I want to see him on the wing getting lit up. His ceiling is ZBo. Can you imagine him at the 3?
jahlil okafor for me. both of them have different upsides but the difference maker for me is attitude. when i hear towns having a character name karlito, that sealed the deal for me. I don't need a fun person on my team. i need a no nonsense, perfectionist. i want a student of the game and i see that in jahlil. i don't wanna be involve in a hypothetical situation where kobe is f***ing towns up and he's turns to talk to karlito. jahlil has that serious attitude which kobe has and i would much prefer kobe to mentor him.
I think he can do it. James Worthy loves the kid and sees a lot of himself in him. Defensively he'd have a tough time, but offensively if his jumper is dropping I think he'd fit in really well. It's not ideal, but I could see the Lakers doing it if they had a shot at Love, Jordan, or Gasol.
I agree as far as not putting him at SF, just believe itll take away from the big picture with him and hope he can develope into Barkley/Webber.
Randle is a lot more mobile than people give him credit for. Honestly, he's built like Lebron. He might not have the exact strength and vertical that Lebron does, but he's got that crazy size / speed combination that allows him to play 3/4.
He isn't actually like Z-Bo. He's extremely athletic for a man his size. Larry Johnson is a closer comparison. ZBo has long arms and is practically glued to the floor. Randle can jump and run. Can he play the 3? That I don't know. But he certainly isn't Cement shoes Z-Bo
Jordan/Bogut/Howard aren't offensive players. They're players who need to be setup. Okafor also has the size to defend these guys straight up. He'll have a tougher time chasing these new tweener/stretch 4's. Let him camp in the paint and utilize his size. Towns' is a little more versatile and can play 4/5 defensively.
Okafor and Randle; that could such suck a devastating combo to the opposing team. Them co-existing and forming a high level-tandem is predicated on 2 things which are the following: jump-shooting and defense. If their at least 'average' defensively, I have no doubt their jump-shots will come in due time. Honestly, I think they could both be All-Star positions at their respective positions for years to come... Jump-shooting and defense has to be emphasized this summer to both, though. It has too for this too work...
http://static5.uk.businessinsider.com/image/5522ce24dd08953c308b45de/jahlil okafor post 1.gif I don't know to embed it. He (Okafor) is going have an elite face up game. Everyone characterizes him as a back to the basket center but that's just looking at his usage in college. Similar to how people characterized Julius as a ZBo clone. Jahlil has serious skills and versatility on offense. If we get Okafor, with Jahlil and Julius we will have two big men who can bang down low or bring their guy out and put the opposing defense in a matchup nightmare.n4-5 Pick in Roll with Randle Okafor. Horns would work great with the two of them as well. Hi-Lo. Unstoppable offense through our bigs, which really makes us a matchup nightmare.
This is great. Another thing I'll add. This is one of the ways you could play Okafor.... What makes it deadly at the next level is his ability to face up (which, coupled with the movement of the other players to the weak side, allows him to see a passing angle to each), hit the shot, put it on the floor, or pass on a double.
There's a couple other impressive gifs of him taking his man off the dribble from the 3 point line. One of him stripping the ball out on the perimeter and taking it all the way to the rim on the 1 man fast break. And probably one of my favorite examples of his mobility was during the tourney when they tried trapping him out on the corner and he turned the corner and dribbled past half the other team's players. Type in "Jahlil Okafor gif" on the Google. Point is he's much more fluid and mobile than most are giving him credit for. He's not a stiff by any stretch of the imagination.
