Author Topic: Can Jabari Parker play defense?  (Read 12280 times)

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Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« on: April 18, 2014, 01:14:11 AM »

Offline vjcsmoke

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That's the one consistent negative I seem to see on scouting reports.  If Parker can't defend, will he turn into a one dimensional scorer?  And if that's the case, is he really worth a top 3 or perhaps even the #1 overall pick in this year's draft?

Articles:

Mannix considers if Parker's 'porous defense' bounces him out of top 3
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20140328/nba-big-board-andrew-wiggins-jabari-parker-joel-embiid/

Conditioning concerns raised about Parker
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/draft/2014/01/31/stock-watch-jabari-parker-jordan-clarkson-deandre-kane/5089783/

Parker was being subbed out during the NCAA tourney because he was getting killed on defense:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2001539-what-jabari-parker-has-to-prove-to-scouts-before-nba-draft

Hmm interesting tidbit -- both Ainge and Parker are Mormons:
http://www.csnne.com/blog/celtics-talk/attention-celts-jabari-parker-enters-nba-draft

Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2014, 05:56:27 AM »

Offline clover

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I'm confident in the C's conditioning and coaching staffs being able to coach up these weaknesses. IMO he has the right mentality for a leading scorer and the skill needed. As long as Embiid's back holds up I still see four big-time players at the top. (With Wiggins and Exum as well.)

And if the coin toss goes the C's way today, they'll have a 43.7% chance at a top-4 pick.

Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2014, 06:40:59 AM »

Offline CelticG1

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Depends how good a scorer he is.

If he is Melo, Dirk , vince carter in his prime type scorer, than like those guys no one will care how bad they are at defense.

If be is in the Rudy Gay, monta ellis category its a little diffent

Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2014, 08:31:17 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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He's smart, he's a pretty good athlete, he's got decent size, and he seems to be a hard worker.  So I think the odds are good that he can become at least an average defender with the right coaching.
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Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2014, 11:37:21 AM »

Offline Tr1boy

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His body/size while a real weapon on the offensive end is a big weakness on the defensive end.

He has wide shoulders but a narrow base. His movements are kind of choppy and he lacks that initial burst.  Don't think no matter how fit he gets, he will really improve on these weaknesses.   

Getting in better condition though will improve his stamina and maybe in a few years with adding 15-20 pounds of muscle, can play the pf spot though not really a pf like Carmelo Anthony, Nowitzki


Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2014, 11:59:34 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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I don't want to see Jabari bulking up any, he needs to slim down still. He was still heavier at Duke than he'll need to be in the NBA if he wants to succeed at SF.

Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2014, 01:00:53 PM »

Offline Evantime34

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I think he will absolutely become a better defender. At Duke they often had him playing the four or even the five which left him out of position. I think by the time he reshapes his body this summer and loses some of the baby fat, he will become quicker and able to guard the 3 position.

I honestly would be equally happy with Embiid, Parker or Wiggins, to the point that if we get the first pick I would like to see us trade back to two or three to pick up another asset.
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Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2014, 01:28:33 PM »

Offline Yoki_IsTheName

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If Kyle Korver can become an excellent team defender, I think Jabari can as well.

One on one, he may not have the athletic ability to contain LeBron or KD or maybe Rudy Gay. But if he can be developed into a team defender, someone who knows where and when to rotate, be active on the floor and just be a presence, add to it his offensive gifts, he'll be a very good player.

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Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2014, 01:47:04 PM »

Offline Galeto

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It's unbelievable how bad his conditioning was last season.  He actually appeared to gain weight during the season.  Who does not during a basketball season at age 19?   I'm guessing his metabolism is slow and/or his eating habits are junk.  Because of how poorly in shape he was, it's hard to get a read on both his offense and defense.  He sometimes got so winded that he dropped his head and closed his eyes for a few seconds and then lost track of his man on defense (embarrassing stuff).  Or he got so winded that he could barely box out.  This all happened in a college game that is filled with timeouts and in which he rarely played stint longer than six minutes (which were still broken up by a timeout).  He has so far to go to reach NBA-level conditioning.

Conditioning issues seemed to be the biggest problem with his team defense.  Generally he seemed pretty engaged, keeping his hand up, rotating over when he could to defend the rim, etc but it's hard to separate out.  It's also hard to say whether his lateral quickness after getting in shape will be of the surprising variety as with guys like Pierce and yes Melo.  There's a real possibility that he'll be one of those players with a defensive RPM of -3 or worse.  The best case scenario for his defensive RPM might be a neutral 0. 

Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2014, 01:56:08 PM »

Online Roy H.

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He's smart, he's a pretty good athlete, he's got decent size, and he seems to be a hard worker.  So I think the odds are good that he can become at least an average defender with the right coaching.

Bingo.  When assessing college freshman, I think the factors you identify are more important than immediate results.

People forget that Lebron was regarded as a poor defender for his first couple years in the league.  Parker doesn't have Lebron's size or athleticism so he'll never reach that level, but it's important to remember that no 19 year old is a finished product.


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Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2014, 02:00:51 PM »

Offline Donoghus

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As far as things defensively with this kid, I really don't care.  Obviously, it'd be nice to see him get up to average on defense but it isn't a deal breaker with this kid.

He's proven to me that he can create his own shot and provide an offensive spark.  He's a scorer and he can do it in several manners.

That is something that is seriously lacking with this Celtics team.  They need that badly right now.   Parker provides that.  Work on his defense & conditioning after you draft him.  Don't make it the deal-breaker to not drafting him.


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Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2014, 02:01:31 PM »

Offline Evantime34

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It's unbelievable how bad his conditioning was last season.  He actually appeared to gain weight during the season.  Who does not during a basketball season at age 19?   I'm guessing his metabolism is slow and/or his eating habits are junk.  Because of how poorly in shape he was, it's hard to get a read on both his offense and defense.  He sometimes got so winded that he dropped his head and closed his eyes for a few seconds and then lost track of his man on defense (embarrassing stuff).  Or he got so winded that he could barely box out.  This all happened in a college game that is filled with timeouts and in which he rarely played stint longer than six minutes (which were still broken up by a timeout).  He has so far to go to reach NBA-level conditioning.

Conditioning issues seemed to be the biggest problem with his team defense.  Generally he seemed pretty engaged, keeping his hand up, rotating over when he could to defend the rim, etc but it's hard to separate out.  It's also hard to say whether his lateral quickness after getting in shape will be of the surprising variety as with guys like Pierce and yes Melo.  There's a real possibility that he'll be one of those players with a defensive RPM of -3 or worse.  The best case scenario for his defensive RPM might be a neutral 0.
He was coming off an injury in the summer that prevented him from properly training and getting in great shape.

As to the question of who gains weight as a 19 year old? Pretty much every college student ever.

I would be shocked if he didn't get in great shape this summer due to a focused work out a diet.
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Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #12 on: April 18, 2014, 02:44:34 PM »

Offline guava_wrench

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Hmm interesting tidbit -- both Ainge and Parker are Mormons:
http://www.csnne.com/blog/celtics-talk/attention-celts-jabari-parker-enters-nba-draft
I would definitely NOT draft him at 1 or 2 if he is planning on going on a Mormon mission. We are in no position to stash away a player. It is also a negative on the development curve.

Like many, I am not so concerned about many details of college basketball performance because the guys are really young, the competition level is low, and pro teams can better develop players. If he has the intelligence and drive, he can learn defenses and improve his defensive skills. Every college player ever needed to improve a lot in the NBA to reach their peak performance.

Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #13 on: April 18, 2014, 02:57:56 PM »

Offline Galeto

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It's unbelievable how bad his conditioning was last season.  He actually appeared to gain weight during the season.  Who does not during a basketball season at age 19?   I'm guessing his metabolism is slow and/or his eating habits are junk.  Because of how poorly in shape he was, it's hard to get a read on both his offense and defense.  He sometimes got so winded that he dropped his head and closed his eyes for a few seconds and then lost track of his man on defense (embarrassing stuff).  Or he got so winded that he could barely box out.  This all happened in a college game that is filled with timeouts and in which he rarely played stint longer than six minutes (which were still broken up by a timeout).  He has so far to go to reach NBA-level conditioning.

Conditioning issues seemed to be the biggest problem with his team defense.  Generally he seemed pretty engaged, keeping his hand up, rotating over when he could to defend the rim, etc but it's hard to separate out.  It's also hard to say whether his lateral quickness after getting in shape will be of the surprising variety as with guys like Pierce and yes Melo.  There's a real possibility that he'll be one of those players with a defensive RPM of -3 or worse.  The best case scenario for his defensive RPM might be a neutral 0.
He was coming off an injury in the summer that prevented him from properly training and getting in great shape.

As to the question of who gains weight as a 19 year old? Pretty much every college student ever.

I would be shocked if he didn't get in great shape this summer due to a focused work out a diet.

His injury was a fractured foot suffered BEFORE his senior year of high school.  That injury should've had nothing to do with the kind of shape he was in at Duke.  The thing is, he's never been in shape. He was out of shape throughout high school before his injury, became well out of shape after his injury, improved to his previous out of shape level and then seemingly got no positive gains from Duke's strength and conditioning staff. 

Oh my goodness, you're comparing 19 year old college students who don't play college basketball to Jabari? Come on, really?  You really didn't understand my point?  As much as basketball players run and practice, they usually lose weight during the season.  Rarely do they gain weight or seem to like Jabari. 

Re: Can Jabari Parker play defense?
« Reply #14 on: April 18, 2014, 03:05:43 PM »

Offline Galeto

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He's smart, he's a pretty good athlete, he's got decent size, and he seems to be a hard worker.  So I think the odds are good that he can become at least an average defender with the right coaching.

Bingo.  When assessing college freshman, I think the factors you identify are more important than immediate results.

People forget that Lebron was regarded as a poor defender for his first couple years in the league.  Parker doesn't have Lebron's size or athleticism so he'll never reach that level, but it's important to remember that no 19 year old is a finished product.

It's really not just defense.  Take a look at this highlight video of his game against UNC.  This was one of his better games of the season: 30 points, 10-17 from the field, 2-4 from 3, 8-9 from FT, 11 rebounds.  He barely gets off the ground in his video.  He had a thin margin of release against a very poor defensive college team.  If that was in the NBA, he would've been stuffed to smithereens. 

Of course he's young and he has good size and a very promising skill set but I don't think  he's a lock at all.  I'd be happy if the Celtics take him at five because the other guys available by then will also have their warts but frankly at this point, I'm not expecting a major star.

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