Originally Posted by
new city champ
I respect your analysis, but I think it's more of a snap shot of the past and has limited predictive value of what a player can be. Guys grow and change in this league all the time. They expand their games. They get in better physical condition. You can miss all that if you just rely on past numbers, especially if they are out of date or come from a limited sample. You've got to allow for some visual assessment of the player's actual play.
Looking at Okafor I see a guy who has changed his body while retaining his impressive array of offensive moves. I think he clearly has the size and athletic ability to be a decent interior defender but that's hard to assess without actually allowing him to play. Likewise, he seems to have plenty of ball skill to be a passer and work within an offense, not just be a black hole who you dump the ball down to and stand around and watch.
It's a limited sample, but when Okafor got more than 20 minutes in 20 real games mostly in January and February of last year he averaged 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds on 63.3% shooting to with 1.35 blocks. In 8 games where he got more than 30 minutes he averaged 22.5 points, 11.1 boards and 2.1 blocks while shooting 67.5%. For a (then) 23-year-old prospect that shows promise worth exploring. As for shooting, at some point everyone has to translate it from practice to a game. That takes sign off from coaches as the quickest way to the bench is to take shots the coaches haven't pre-approved, especially if you happen to miss a couple. Jah has a nice looking stroke. I'd be all for letting him start trying them in games if that's what the system calls for.
Again, it's just about solving a problem. The Pels have notorious scoring lulls with the second unit. Okafor is a potential answer to that problem and his skill set can create open looks and cuts for others. He has the talent. It may just be as simple as letting him play through the growing pains like you do with any prospect.