Would Jabari benefit from being put on the Giannis strength and conditioning program?

Someone who wins a marathon balances both speed and endurance. On them long marathons, the body type of the winners are Nigerian skinny types, and not the body of a no neck body builder.

If someone was already not fast / athletic (average) when they were skinny, they're not likely going to be faster when they gain more weight (even the good kind). But the risk of the opposite is more likely.

Bari's athletic baseline is not a Zion nor Giannis.

A guard having half a step vs a full step on a defender drastically affect the defender's ability to stay on the court. Normally happens to players who gotten older (and yes also more filled out). If muscles mattered, Dwight Howard wouldn't be overseas.


League rules is already an uphill battle for defenders. To defend well have move the feet and be able to stay in front. That requires speed and quickness. Length to bother an opponent's shot is more prevalent than just brute strength.

Good cardio to play intense minutes instead of lugging extra weight around.

Westbrook has abs, doesn't help his 3pt jumper. KPJ had a cut physique didn't matter if the actual bball skills is not there. Body goals might be a Giannis but might turn him into a Thanasis.

 

Jabari needs to take up dancing or something... dude is stiff, no bend, can't drop his hips. one of the least athletic players on the court.

 

Yes... or at least his type of athleticism doesn't lend itself to much fluidity.

This is why i am often perplexed that folks want to move him to the small forward. Not that we have a dominant small forward that can do "stuff" really, but ideally you're small forward is one of your more athletic players on the court, capable of sliding down and up, dribbling and cutting a bit, but also playing big and tall and banging.

One of Bari's main issues is that he doesn't excel either way. He's not "big" enough to be big, and not athletic enough to be a real wing type.

If I had to pick a direction for him, it would be the BULK UP direction. I just don't see the athleticism coming. That doesn't mean he'd be useless at the 3, and certainly you could still run those lineups, but for both Bari and this team i think it is best if he gets on the Giannis bulk program for sure.

Bearing in mind, without that Giannis athleticism, that means he has to really become that sniper.

I think we're a pretty far way off from that though. He's VERY young, so it can happen, but Giannis-like transformations have to be more the exception than the norm. But there is definitely bulk to be added.

 

Yes. Hell yes! I've been saying that for a while. At the minimum, if he can gain 20+ lbs. muscle this summer...oh my!

 

Instead of trying to be fast for a SF (which I'm not entirely against; depending on matchups), or bulk up to be a Steven Adams, he could just ya know, play his current position as a PF.

Even as bball become less position-less, keep enough of speed to defend different types of opposing team.

 

Giannis
2013 6'9" 190 lbs
2014 6'11" 217 lbs
2016 6'11" 222 lbs
2017 6'11" 230 lbs
2018 6'11" 242 lbs

Jabari
2022 6'11" 210 lbs
2023 6'11" 220 lbs

He's getting there. Give him couple more years.

 

They should spend the summer with Tim Grover.

 

If you mean inject him with steroids sure.

 

He’s 20.

Giannis wasn’t that guy at 20 either.

 

Other than both being the same height there's not a whole lot of similarities between Jabari Smith and Giannis style wise.

 

It wasn't until he got on a proper nba-level "nutrition" program that things bulked up for Giannis. Let's see how our guys do with that

 

I think the main issue with Jabari is physicality, which is normal for a 20-year-old. He contests the same amount of shots at the rim as Kevin Durant, and about half the number that a guy like Evan Mobley does. He is capable of being a guy who not only defends his man but defends others as well. I want to see more Eddie Griffin out of him next year. Sneaking over to help out Yao and corralling rebounds out of his area. If you ever see Jabari in person on the court, he is huge. He can hang with anyone in terms of his length and lateral quickness. We need to get him in more impactful spaces on defense. There is a bully inside him that has not been fully released yet. I am so excited for that day to come.

I think Tari Eason could sort of glue Jabari and Alperen together and cure a lot of our weaknesses, but I am also curious to see Bari+Alperen+Aquaman together with our two-man fast-break. (Amen & JG)

 

Jalen should have already been working on that AND his game. Instead, the entitled brat didn't want it bad enough. Now, he can put in the work somewhere else. We'll get a real good player that fits in with what we're doing in that deal. A guy that can work within the structure on both ends.

 

I think this kinda thinking is very cliché, the difference between Jabari and Giannis is a whole lot more than just size or strength.

You have to understand what Giannis does better than anyone else in the league is get down hill with the ball and finishing at / in the rim.
Jabari doesn't get down hill and getting bigger or stronger isn't going to change that one bit.
He doesn't have the handles (yet) ....and he doesn't finish well around the rim.

Giannis has the mindset that he's going to get to the rim and put you in it, Jabari doesn't have that mindset nor the ball handling ability to do it.

Sure, maybe a bit of strength might help him finishing around the basket .... but it's not going to change the mindset that gets him to the rim.

I think the biggest change has to come from the coaching staff - giving Jabari the opportunities to attack the rim like that - run some plays for him, otherwise he's just going to continue to be a jump shooter.

I think the tools are there with a little polish .... he may not be Giannis but he can attack the rim in a similar way.

 

Giannis was a starving kid coming over and Bari is a privileged kid.

I am taking Giannis' drive any day.

 

Several Athletes who bulked up on the roids got a lot faster. Canseco. Ben Johnson, and a slew of others. Muscles make you faster.

 

Jabari's lateral quickness on defense is one of his strengths. Allows him to be more switchable than most guys his height. You add too much mass and he may lose some of that, even if his verticality and straight-line speed improves.

It may be worth it--certainly he should gain at least some muscle mass. How far you want him to take it might depend on whether you see him as a SF/PF combo forward, or a PF/C big man.

 

Giannis in his rookie season, look how skinny he was. Cant wait until Bari gets stronger and bulkier

 

Most of the human population would.

 

He definitely needs to get a little bit thicker and i think extra 20 more pounds wouldn't affect his game negatively he'll still be fast enough to guard 4s and 5s and he will be able to embrace the contract much better. I don't think that he's weak he doesn't get push around but i like him to be more intimidating. Same thing for Sengun. He needs to be more muscly above the waist line.