FistOfOakley wrote:and yes the ankle injury for okafor sure didn't help his cause but he was already at an unsatisfactory level before that... the injury just shows how close he is to complete non-existence...
Yeah, he looked pretty non existent plowing through a UNC front line that has a minimum of two NBA prospects on its front line. He was also a no show in that one game against Syracuse where he shut down Rakeem Christmas. Can OK4 can improve his D? Yeah. But you're overstating how bad.
towns has his defense and his effort level... he has sound mechanics in all phases of the game... if anything he is much much closer to tim duncan than okafor is and the numbers bear that out...
he is fundamentally sound and he is the only top prospect that significantly improved as the season has gone on... that means something especially at their age... it means he is able to adjust his game and find BETTER ways to succeed... he floated outside the perimeter the majority of the time with mild success.. and then he decided to work exclusively in the post and he became something special...
he is at a point now where he's not too far behind okafor on the offensive end... it's because of that it is clear that he is the best prospect...
Okafor might play PF in the NBA and not center. That might be more appropriate for him.
I think for if you want ok4's full offensive impact you put him at the 4. Like Pops did with Duncan. He will have a MJ easier time not having to shoot over 7 footers.
If you need to hide ok4 defensively you put him at the 5
look i've always said that okafor is talented offensively... in any other year he's #1.. he's on the level of blake griffin as a prospect... that's why this draft is special... very rarely do you have a franchise center... a superstar guard... AND a dominant frontcourt scorer in the same draft.... we haven't had this strong a top 3 since the oden/durant/horford draft...
but when you compare him to elite centers... he falls short on the defensive side whereas towns doesn't have those question mark... it is very evident if you watch the games and if you see the numbers... it is not so evident if you just pay attention to when they have the ball or look at the box score...
i think okafor is going to have lot of success if you pair him with an ibaka type of player... a guy who blocks shots but can also hit a jumper... kanter is finding good success BUT he is literally tied to ibaka's hip.. he doesn't see the floor without him which makes him very limited...
okafor isn't as bad as kanter on the defensive end but he has a long ways to go...
FistOfOakley wrote:i think okafor is going to have lot of success if you pair him with an ibaka type of player... a guy who blocks shots but can also hit a jumper... kanter is finding good success BUT he is literally tied to ibaka's hip.. he doesn't see the floor without him which makes him very limited...okafor isn't as bad as kanter on the defensive end but he has a long ways to go...
You could be foreshadowing the value of Thanasis if he pans out. He is the closest thing to Ibaka the Knicks will probably ever have.
Towns I think will be fine playing the 4 or 5
Splat wrote:FistOfOakley wrote:i think okafor is going to have lot of success if you pair him with an ibaka type of player... a guy who blocks shots but can also hit a jumper... kanter is finding good success BUT he is literally tied to ibaka's hip.. he doesn't see the floor without him which makes him very limited...okafor isn't as bad as kanter on the defensive end but he has a long ways to go...
You could be foreshadowing the value of Thanasis if he pans out. He is the closest thing to Ibaka the Knicks will probably ever have.
He better still be growing because right now he plays the same position as Melo
gunsnewing wrote:Splat wrote:FistOfOakley wrote:i think okafor is going to have lot of success if you pair him with an ibaka type of player... a guy who blocks shots but can also hit a jumper... kanter is finding good success BUT he is literally tied to ibaka's hip.. he doesn't see the floor without him which makes him very limited...okafor isn't as bad as kanter on the defensive end but he has a long ways to go...
You could be foreshadowing the value of Thanasis if he pans out. He is the closest thing to Ibaka the Knicks will probably ever have.
He better still be growing because right now he plays the same position as Melo
As listed, but if Okafor is a Knick, then you'd somebody with shot blocking ability to complete the front line. Those three together may not be the tallest front line, but if Thanasis thrives he could be one of the league leaders in shot blocks.
So Melo & OK4 at center + Thanasis as 2nd forward or Melo + OK4 at PF + Defensive Center.
OK4 is going to have success no matter where you put him...4 or 5. I know what OK4 is and I can see where he plugs in on the Knicks. Towns is a good athlete, but I'm not confident he can do anything at an NBA level outside of rebounding. He has touch, but he barerly has range out to the college tgree point line. He flashes a post game, but it's been use against shorter players for the most part. He reminds me of Eddie Griffin at this point. Could he be another Holford? Sure. But we're projecting. I can say for certainty that OK4 can come one and anchor a NBA team's post game. I've said this before, but I still not sure what Towns can bring from game to game. I know OK4 is going to come to play each game.
Splat wrote:Okafor might play PF in the NBA and not center. That might be more appropriate for him.
Absolutely both Towns and Okafor are 4-5's. A pure 5 would be a Robert Upshaw or Dakari Johnson.
BRIGGS wrote:Allanfan20 wrote:What about the defense?
Allan--here's my take on Okafor's D. He needs to shed 10 pounds and work agility drills to expand lateral speed. Hes 19 years old. He also plays pretty solid 1-1 defense for a freshmen. I think with a 10 pd reduction to 260 and time spent building lateral agility and timing--he'd be a fine defender in the NBA. How good was Karl Malone on defense? Pretty good but they had a solid rim protector next to him.
conditioning will be key for okafor. for me it will be interesting to monitor his weight and body fat percentage. my hunch is that, when the college draft pages list his body fat % as NA, then there will be issues.... what are they trying to hide? obviously that he will get abused on defense and fade late in playoff contests!
gunsnewing wrote:BRIGGS wrote:FistOfOakley wrote:ok4 is good but there is just not that much evidence to suggest he's better than towns... i'm sorry.. defense counts a good deal for a center...and bilas doesn't really know what he's talking about when he talks about prospects..
yeah Im sure anyone here knows more than Bilas.
Is this sarcasm? Just wondering how you really feel about Bilas
briggs feels that because bilas is on tv that his opinion has more validity somehow. you and i may feel that this is just another racket. for the record i like bilas but don't agree with everything he says. jon barry, albeit a commentator not a studio analyst, has terrific insights. hubie brown knows the game. chris webber is great. believe it or not bob wischusien whose regular gig is the ny jets if i recall, is a great play by play guy.
dk7th wrote:BRIGGS wrote:Allanfan20 wrote:What about the defense?
Allan--here's my take on Okafor's D. He needs to shed 10 pounds and work agility drills to expand lateral speed. Hes 19 years old. He also plays pretty solid 1-1 defense for a freshmen. I think with a 10 pd reduction to 260 and time spent building lateral agility and timing--he'd be a fine defender in the NBA. How good was Karl Malone on defense? Pretty good but they had a solid rim protector next to him.
conditioning will be key for okafor. for me it will be interesting to monitor his weight and body fat percentage. my hunch is that, when the college draft pages list his body fat % as NA, then there will be issues.... what are they trying to hide? obviously that he will get abused on defense and fade late in playoff contests!
I think Okafor has been playing with a hurt ankle for almost a month now. Three games in a row I saw him flinch after sitting out. Hes not himself--but like anyone who saw the game start--no doubting his unbelievable skill/size package
BRIGGS wrote:dk7th wrote:BRIGGS wrote:Allanfan20 wrote:What about the defense?
Allan--here's my take on Okafor's D. He needs to shed 10 pounds and work agility drills to expand lateral speed. Hes 19 years old. He also plays pretty solid 1-1 defense for a freshmen. I think with a 10 pd reduction to 260 and time spent building lateral agility and timing--he'd be a fine defender in the NBA. How good was Karl Malone on defense? Pretty good but they had a solid rim protector next to him.
conditioning will be key for okafor. for me it will be interesting to monitor his weight and body fat percentage. my hunch is that, when the college draft pages list his body fat % as NA, then there will be issues.... what are they trying to hide? obviously that he will get abused on defense and fade late in playoff contests!
I think Okafor has been playing with a hurt ankle for almost a month now. Three games in a row I saw him flinch after sitting out. Hes not himself--but like anyone who saw the game start--no doubting his unbelievable skill/size package
alright then maybe i haven't seen him at full health. i will surely be watching the ncaa this year and paying close attention.
dk7th wrote:BRIGGS wrote:dk7th wrote:BRIGGS wrote:Allanfan20 wrote:What about the defense?
Allan--here's my take on Okafor's D. He needs to shed 10 pounds and work agility drills to expand lateral speed. Hes 19 years old. He also plays pretty solid 1-1 defense for a freshmen. I think with a 10 pd reduction to 260 and time spent building lateral agility and timing--he'd be a fine defender in the NBA. How good was Karl Malone on defense? Pretty good but they had a solid rim protector next to him.
conditioning will be key for okafor. for me it will be interesting to monitor his weight and body fat percentage. my hunch is that, when the college draft pages list his body fat % as NA, then there will be issues.... what are they trying to hide? obviously that he will get abused on defense and fade late in playoff contests!
I think Okafor has been playing with a hurt ankle for almost a month now. Three games in a row I saw him flinch after sitting out. Hes not himself--but like anyone who saw the game start--no doubting his unbelievable skill/size package
alright then maybe i haven't seen him at full health. i will surely be watching the ncaa this year and paying close attention.
.... and he has been playing without the one thing that truly sets him apart, his power yarmulke. Amare stole it from him when he left for Dallas.
dk7th wrote:gunsnewing wrote:BRIGGS wrote:FistOfOakley wrote:ok4 is good but there is just not that much evidence to suggest he's better than towns... i'm sorry.. defense counts a good deal for a center...and bilas doesn't really know what he's talking about when he talks about prospects..
yeah Im sure anyone here knows more than Bilas.
Is this sarcasm? Just wondering how you really feel about Bilas
briggs feels that because bilas is on tv that his opinion has more validity somehow. you and i may feel that this is just another racket. for the record i like bilas but don't agree with everything he says. jon barry, albeit a commentator not a studio analyst, has terrific insights. hubie brown knows the game. chris webber is great. believe it or not bob wischusien whose regular gig is the ny jets if i recall, is a great play by play guy.
I really like Hubie a lot but Its funny you say this because whenever I have seen Hubie do the Knicks, he talks very complimentary towards Melo. Hubie feels Melo is the best offensive player in the league. I have heard him say this a few times.
BigRedDog wrote:dk7th wrote:gunsnewing wrote:BRIGGS wrote:FistOfOakley wrote:ok4 is good but there is just not that much evidence to suggest he's better than towns... i'm sorry.. defense counts a good deal for a center...and bilas doesn't really know what he's talking about when he talks about prospects..
yeah Im sure anyone here knows more than Bilas.
Is this sarcasm? Just wondering how you really feel about Bilas
briggs feels that because bilas is on tv that his opinion has more validity somehow. you and i may feel that this is just another racket. for the record i like bilas but don't agree with everything he says. jon barry, albeit a commentator not a studio analyst, has terrific insights. hubie brown knows the game. chris webber is great. believe it or not bob wischusien whose regular gig is the ny jets if i recall, is a great play by play guy.
I really like Hubie a lot but Its funny you say this because whenever I have seen Hubie do the Knicks, he talks very complimentary towards Melo. Hubie feels Melo is the best offensive player in the league. I have heard him say this a few times.
i don't doubt he may have had nothing but praise for carmelo. he tends to stress the positive in players and play down the negatives. i like what he says but that is often my response to his commentary.
hubie is one of my favorite color guys of all time... almost always positive... usually great insight... avoids the rhetoric... he's all about just basketball...
jon barry is the exact opposite... and he is the most annoying by far...
OK4 on defense dosen't jump like...at all
