What we are seeing is his ascent. While Sengun and FVV should be the hubs, Smith is the guy that should lead the team in shot attempts. I don’t think he will ever facilitate for others at an All-Star level BUT I think he is our best option to get to 25 points a game, efficiently. You are seeing him, becoming more affluent driving to the rim and using his strides, and length to finish. The form on his jumpshot is consistent and efficient. he generates extra points for himself, by being an offensive rebounder. I want him shooting 16 times.
He has to pass the test of defenses loading up on him after they scout he's the number one option. Many of his pts come off of defenses loading up on the guards or Sengun where his primary defender isn't set fully.
His handle is arguably better than both Green and Amen now. Which is pretty darn fantastic considering knee jerkers were cluelessly mouthing off about how he had the worst handles they have ever seen coming into the NBA.
Jabari is improving his game very impressively. His defense has stayed solid, his shooting percentages have gone up considerably, his rebounding is becoming more efficient. I don’t know if he’d ever be a 25-30 point scorer; but I know that he will be an efficient scorer. But I think that Sengun and Smith compliment each other’s game very well. The Rockets picked the right player at #3 and they’d pick Smith again in a heartbeat.
I will take this a step further by saying he should be playing at the three. Makes his size even more of an advantage. Brooks slides down to the shooting guard. We need another big —> 3&D role player to make it happen. Eason is best as a backup for both forwards get starters type minutes.
Sengun getting tripled teamed now. Ime needs to at least split those post touches with Bari. Bari wants those shots too. Fred needs to find bari more instead of always going to the Alpi well. diversify the offense.
Jabari won't become the #1 option this season, if ever. He needs perimeter creators to open up the defense (or a unique post player like Sengun). What he CAN be is a deadeye 3-point shooter, a slasher to the rim with either hand and a post player when guarded by a shorter player. These are enough for him get 16 shots, score 22-23 ppg, grab 10 rebs, etc. His instinct for finding an open spot on the floor has improved a lot. Same for his finishing ability when contested at the rim. If/when Jabari becomes good enough to force defenses to prepare for him, he might hit a bump in the road but with Sengun and one other good passer on the floor, he'll adapt and go next level. That all said, if the Rockets become a contender in 2-3 years, they better have someone else as a better first option than Jabari. His handle will continue improving but he's not a creator in the half-court. Last comment: Let's hope he's able to become a legit backup C option. Just imagine Jabari at 235 lbs!
Sengun and Bari and FVV should shoot most, and Tari should clean up. Quite different shot profiles. Bari is the one out of the top three who needs the other two to create for him.
I think Jabari still relies on others to create shots for him for the most part, but he can generate offense if given the ball in the mid post against some defenders. I think the next evolution of his game will be getting the ball anywhere in the half court and being able to get to his spots and simply rising up over defenders and making shots. Regardless of what he ultimately becomes I’m confident he’s going to be an extremely valuable player based on the progress that he’s made. I think Ime’s style of basketball suits Jabari more than whatever Silas was doing because there is more structure and we aren’t just doing whatever the hell comes to mind from possession to possession. Jabari is a real team first kind of guy so having others generate offense while he knocks down shots and does some dirty work is right up his alley.
It absolutely isn't. That's an unhinged take. Green does a lot of his dribble moves against set defenses loading up on his side.. and since he isn't the shooting threat that Bari is teams give him the middie so if he wants to go to the rim he has to really force the issue due to the combination of teams loading up on him from fear of his blow by ability and then packing the paint and playing drop coverage. Green really needs to get opposing teams to respect his middie game because they are giving him that all day. Seriously ask yourself if trust Bari or Green more to take the ball up the court against some type of full court press coverage.
I thought he was drafted to be a 3 and D guy according to some folks round here lol ..Dude gonna be a beast in a few years IMO... He doesn't need to be the no.1 option right now .. But they definitely should get him more face ups and postups when the offense is stagnant..
His "role" will eventually be putting up something like 24 &12, while leading one of the NBA's top D's. What an embarrassment of riches we have...
Love his improvement and think he should continue to shoot more. The more offensive weapons we have, the better.
2 good games and he’s #1 option? He’s barely averaging 13 in December. Go look at his other games. He has a long way to go, shown better strides lately. I want to see some plays run for him, post up and do what he does best. Those elbow shots are money and nobody can block it.
2 - 3 years from now when he's bulked up and can throw his weight around and take the hits from the heavier defenders he'll be getting 20+ a night easily, and that defense. . . . ?
Jabari is becoming pretty consistent at taking advantage of what the defense gives. You can't play drop coverage on Jabari because he is a legitimate good shooter. He is driving on guys who aren't set very well taking advantage of his length using long strides on one or two dribble moves when he as a open lane to the the rim. He's taking advantage of his mismatches almost all the time when a shorter player gets switched on him. He's consistently punishing that switch. These are all excellent developments of Jabari. He's on track for a 3rd overall pick.
