I don't get It either really.
I mean I do get why people are high on him:
* He's only 19 years old
* He's almost 7 feet tall with a 7'5" wingspan
* He's already an outstanding post scorer
* His college game suggested he had high basketball IQ
But after a year in the NBA I just feel that he has a LOT of limitations / red flags that make me very hesitant to take a risk on him, such as:
* Conditioning issues (don't want to go through that again)
* Weak rebounding numbers
* Questionable off-court behaviour
* Terrible defence
* Poor lateral mobility
* Lack of offensive outside of the paint
* Weak court feel (poor assist-to-turnover ratio)
Okafor was supposed to be an elite offensive talent, yet he only managed 17 PPG on what was by far the worst team in the NBA. Wiggins was seen as a pretty raw prospect and yet h averaged the same in his rookie year on a team with much more offensive talent.
Okafor is a big man and he was surrounded by horrible shooters who couldn't create for anybody even themselves. He didn't have an actual point guard passing him the ball till halfway through the season.
Are you forgetting that Karl-Anthony Towns was playing with Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins? You can't get a backcourt that shoots much worse then that.
Also what does having a PG to pass to him have to do with anything?
Does that explain why:
* His jumper is so bad?
* He averaged around 2 turnovers for every assist?
* He rebounded at an almost embarrassing rate for somebody his size?
* He couldn't defend anything that isn't standing still?
Of course it doesn't.
Okafor is a talented player. There is no denying the fact that he has physical talent, and he has some skills. The problem with Okafor is that he has so many weaknesses in his game right now, that it makes it extremely difficult to find another big man you can pair him with.
Okafor + Kevin Love = fail because you'd have horrendously bad defense
Okafor + Olynyk = fail because you'd have atrocious rebounding
Okafor + Dwight = fail because you'd have no ability to stretch the floor
A guy like Okafor has so many major flaws in his game that there are a very select few guys you could actually play alongside him without giving in to major liabilities in one part of the game or other.
For all his offensive shortcomings, Noel is actually easier to pair with because at least he:
1) Has the mobility to defend multiple positions and switch on defence
2) Is a good rim protector
3) Is a pretty good (if not great) rebounder
4) Doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective
As long as you can pair him with a good offensive big man who can hit a long-two (or even better, the odd three) you're fine.
But Okafor...you need to cover for his poor defense, his poor rebounding, his poor jumper, his poor mobility, and the list goes on.
Okafor would have been a beast back in Jordan's era, when the lack of a zone defence option would have allowed him to dominate the post at will. This is a different era, and it's much harder for a guy like him to excel in a time like.
Even Monroe is easier to pair with then Okafor, because at least he can rebound at a high level and is an excellent passing big.
Okafor may well improve his jumper, his rebounding, his defence. I just don't feel comfortable gambling assets of any significant value he hope that he will do that.
Topic: Why is everyone in love with Okafor? (Read 11321 times)