Yeah I think overall the gaurd play was a lot of one on one no structure and Smith isn't going to thrive in that environment. His numbers weren't what you would expect from the 3rd overall pick, but we didn't draft him because he is a guy you just give the ball to and get out the way. I know Doris is garbage to a lot of people here, but she hit the nail on the head when she said if you're a gaurd you should show your value by getting Jabari the ball. They just weren't that interested in... well... playing point. I expected better passing from TyTy. Eventually Smith can get to where he generates his own offense but as of now he is an elite 3 and D guy who just played his first summer league game.
He looked good, needs to work on face up handles… He had 1 layup taken away by traveling call (wasn’t a travel) and another blocked If JC and Nix actually looked for him coming off PnR he would of easily had 15+ His defense was excellent…
You guys actually didn't think he would light up Summer League right? Jabari is a utility player, he will look as well as the team would look. Our "pg" Christopher had fewer assists than Jabari like what
That makes sense, since he's not the one initiating the offense. What I thought was hesitancy on his part might just be him trying to figure out the offensive schemes and getting used to his teammates.
That and our tenured sophomore who is supposed to be developing his PG skills decided to channel his inner Kobe instead.
After re-watching his possessions following day: - His handle is much better inside the arc when he's decisive and trying to get to the rim. He can't create outside of the circle and that's when he looks most uncomfortable with his dribble. Likely because he has the defense where he wants them within 10-15 feet and they know he can just rise and shoot it. That's a free throw to him. - He needs to pump fake. I saw this at Auburn as well. He drives to the basket but always forces the shot instead of stopping and letting the defender fly by him. Silas or Lucas need to practice this with him. - Top of the key 3 was the only 3 he didn't like in college and he translated that yesterday. At the elbows he's cash. Top of the key is not his sweet spot. - Defensively he's every bit as advertised. Very active, active hands and gets into defenders bodies and space. Aldridge with more range, conditioning and defense. - His willingness to pass was a bright spot. His best pass was negated because his guards have **** for brains and couldn't catch it. Would've been a highlight for sure. - The elbows. Get him the ball at the elbows and you can just write 2 or 3 points on the scoreboard and we can get back on defense. - Anyone that has more shots than Jabari next game should be benched for Game 3. JayGup played like this last year and it was annoying AF. Get Jabari the ball. Would like to see more TyTy and much less Nix as well. All in all I saw what I needed to. It was frustrating at the time but much easier to swallow after watching the replays. Sengun/Green and hopefully KPJ should get him better looks and more space during the season.
As advertised. Defend well. Shoot well. Doesn't have a good handle (or really, has a poor handle). It's too bad that developing a good handle is very hard.
4 games plus the 'championship game'. But I think they added another one for the none 'championship game ' participants. So 5 gamesss? This is where I hype my yearly proposal to make it 3 weeks like a world cup tournie. And the Championship winner gets a 10 mil trade exception plus two 2nd round picks
You guys are really going to appreciate this man after this year. I like Jabari a lot but on offense Wood is far more advanced in multiple facets. The hope is Jabari developing those areas one day while providing much more defense. But at least for next year, swapping Wood for Jabari means we will have a great shot at Wemby (not a complaint).
Thankfully we don't need him to ever develop good handles, only serviceable ones. 99% of the time, we want him to get to the elbow to setup his turnaround midrange OR have him leak out to the perimeter when Green / KPJ / Sengun drives to the rim.
Looked basically borderline all NBA defense already, that’s the main thing for me. Will also get better looks playing with better playmakers - KPJ & Sengun. spacing with Jalen also will look better as the only scoring option from guard was JC.
Just keep in mind; Evan Mobley in summer league 2021, shot 35% from the field(not from 3, from the field), averaged 11.3 pts and 7.7 RBS with 3 AST to 3.3 TOs and obviously we all know how he did in the regular season. Just give it time. We need more plays run for him
