Author Topic: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.  (Read 6557 times)

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Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #30 on: May 05, 2016, 02:16:55 PM »

Offline CoachBo

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So you have a horrible defensive player with a completely one dimensional offensive game (Okafor), and an overglorified role player whos average on defense and completely incapable of scoring unless he's wide open (Horford).

One is an immature head case, and the other is on the decline, and both move like they're in quicksand.

Wow, what a disaster.

I'm sorry, but all I can say to this is, "LOL"

My point exactly. TP.
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Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #31 on: May 05, 2016, 02:21:21 PM »

Offline KG Living Legend

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So you have a horrible defensive player with a completely one dimensional offensive game (Okafor), and an overglorified role player whos average on defense and completely incapable of scoring unless he's wide open (Horford).

One is an immature head case, and the other is on the decline, and both move like they're in quicksand.

Wow, what a disaster.

I'm sorry, but all I can say to this is, "LOL"



 Thank you Pho, Tp. 

 That's exactly what I was thinking the really smart fundamentally sound Horford would be a great fit with 19 year old man child that needs some help with all the little things in life.

 Crimson you are so quick to bash, but where is your idea for a better frontcourt. You act like Okafor,Horford, Kelly, Amir, Mickey isn't a big upgrade over Sullinger, Zeller, Amir, Jonas, and Kelly??  Keep dreaming brother.

Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #32 on: May 05, 2016, 02:39:52 PM »

Offline jpotter33

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I'm not high on Okafor at all, but if we get pick 3 or later and can't trade it for a star (Butler, Cousins, Love, etc.), then I would trade it for Okafor everyday and twice on Sunday. Even with his potential limitations, I think he is twice the prospect of anyone else from 3 down.

I honestly would rather have Noel, though. At least that way we might not score much, but neither will the opponent.

Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #33 on: May 05, 2016, 03:26:39 PM »

Offline A Future of Stevens

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I don't really mind this actually. However does horford really solve the issues that okafor creates? I think it does on offense aka the stretching the floor part. However I think most peogle perceive his weaknesses as defense (horford is competent atleast at this) and rebounding.

Not sure horford really helps in the rebounding department at all.
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Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #34 on: May 05, 2016, 03:42:32 PM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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I'd make that move and laugh all the way to the bank.

Okafor's first year is wildly taken out of context on this board. His feet are more than good enough to defend decently in this league, and he's going to grow into a big-time scorer.

He would be a huge addition to a club that cannot shoot a lick.
perhaps, and it is hard to judge much about any player who spent their rookie season on the sucky sixers.

but one of my concerns about okafor is that his "shooting" take place very close to the basket and that he cannot stretch the floor.  the defense can still collapse into the middle, daring the celtics to take outside shots. this is what killed the team in the playoffs.

i am not sure okafor will solve THAT problem with his shooting.
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Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #35 on: May 05, 2016, 03:58:51 PM »

Offline greece66

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If we get Okafor we do not need Horford and vice versa.

Too expensive (and pointless) to get both.

Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #36 on: May 05, 2016, 04:01:52 PM »

Offline Evantime34

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If we get Okafor we do not need Horford and vice versa.

Too expensive (and pointless) to get both.
I don't think Okafor is ready to handle big time minutes for a playoff team. So I could see Horford starting and Okafor learning from him off the bench until he's ready.
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Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #37 on: May 05, 2016, 04:02:26 PM »

Offline Moranis

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I'd make that move and laugh all the way to the bank.

Okafor's first year is wildly taken out of context on this board. His feet are more than good enough to defend decently in this league, and he's going to grow into a big-time scorer.

He would be a huge addition to a club that cannot shoot a lick.
perhaps, and it is hard to judge much about any player who spent their rookie season on the sucky sixers.

but one of my concerns about okafor is that his "shooting" take place very close to the basket and that he cannot stretch the floor.  the defense can still collapse into the middle, daring the celtics to take outside shots. this is what killed the team in the playoffs.

i am not sure okafor will solve THAT problem with his shooting.
Okafor isn't a bad shooter though.  He certainly isn't going to start bombing 3 pointers, but he has very solid mechanic's and has a nice touch.  He was at 68.6% from the line which is pretty good for a big guy.  From 3 to 10 feet he shot 46.3% and from 10 to 16 feet was at 35.3%.  Obviously not great, but not horrible, especially from a rookie on a terrible team where he was by far the best offensive player and focal point of the offense.  And for the record, that 35.3% from 10 to 16 feet is better than Kelly Olynyk, Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, and Jared Sullinger shot this past season.  From 3 to 10 feet the only Celtics better than Okafor were James Young and Amir Johnson (and Young had like almost 0 shots from that distance).  Okafor isn't good outside of 16 feet, but inside he actually showed a fairly nice touch and hit at a very respectable percentage. 
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Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #38 on: May 05, 2016, 04:12:11 PM »

Offline tankcity!

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Can anyone explain to me how this guy is as slow as people are saying after watching these highlights? That's not Brook Lopez out there. There is def potential to grow. He's going to be a perennial all star.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbRwBeO70SY

Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #39 on: May 05, 2016, 04:18:26 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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Can anyone explain to me how this guy is as slow as people are saying after watching these highlights? That's not Brook Lopez out there. There is def potential to grow. He's going to be a perennial all star.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbRwBeO70SY

I'm not really sure what you are trying to show with this. I watched a minute of this and it is mostly him hitting jumpers and some pretty methodical drives. They are nice plays for sure, but I don't get how this relates to foot speed at all....

Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #40 on: May 05, 2016, 04:19:12 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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Okafor has great touch, footwork, and ballhandling for a player his size.  He also has shown an ability to pass out of the post when he has teammates to pass to.

Horford is an excellent shooter, screen setter, passer, and floor runner.  His main weakness is on the boards, but that would be less pronounced if he were used as more of a hybrid four five than as a full time center.

Okafor has limited range now but is already lethal within ten feet, and has shown the touch and skill level to expand his range out to the three point line.  I really think he will ultimately be more like Pau than Big Al on the offensive end.


Horford and Okafor would not be a perfect pairing, but I think they could present a lot of problems for opposing frontcourts.  The combined size, strength, and skill level would be off the charts.  With a coach like Brad and on court mentors like Horford and Amir, I think Okafor could become every bit as valuable as Pau was at his peak.
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Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #41 on: May 05, 2016, 04:21:32 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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Can anyone explain to me how this guy is as slow as people are saying after watching these highlights? That's not Brook Lopez out there. There is def potential to grow. He's going to be a perennial all star.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbRwBeO70SY

I'm not really sure what you are trying to show with this. I watched a minute of this and it is mostly him hitting jumpers and some pretty methodical drives. They are nice plays for sure, but I don't get how this relates to foot speed at all....

The place to look for foot speed is when goes into his size up, drop step and spin moves in the post.  He seems to have the natural instincts of a scorer, a la Paul Pierce.  Not exceptionally quick, but adept at making use of quick changes in speed to get the advantage on the opponent.  What he has is superlative size, hands, and body control. 

Compare this to a guy like Brook who lumbers and always moves in slow motion, but is just so big and skilled that opponents have trouble stopping him anyway.
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Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #42 on: May 05, 2016, 04:36:58 PM »

Offline tankcity!

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Can anyone explain to me how this guy is as slow as people are saying after watching these highlights? That's not Brook Lopez out there. There is def potential to grow. He's going to be a perennial all star.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbRwBeO70SY

I'm not really sure what you are trying to show with this. I watched a minute of this and it is mostly him hitting jumpers and some pretty methodical drives. They are nice plays for sure, but I don't get how this relates to foot speed at all....

The place to look for foot speed is when goes into his size up, drop step and spin moves in the post.  He seems to have the natural instincts of a scorer, a la Paul Pierce.  Not exceptionally quick, but adept at making use of quick changes in speed to get the advantage on the opponent.  What he has is superlative size, hands, and body control. 

Compare this to a guy like Brook who lumbers and always moves in slow motion, but is just so big and skilled that opponents have trouble stopping him anyway.

This.

I posted this to refer to Chambers ludicrous comments. As you can see, he is much more than just a simple post up scorer as well.

Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #43 on: May 05, 2016, 05:14:30 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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Can anyone explain to me how this guy is as slow as people are saying after watching these highlights? That's not Brook Lopez out there. There is def potential to grow. He's going to be a perennial all star.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbRwBeO70SY

I'm not really sure what you are trying to show with this. I watched a minute of this and it is mostly him hitting jumpers and some pretty methodical drives. They are nice plays for sure, but I don't get how this relates to foot speed at all....

The place to look for foot speed is when goes into his size up, drop step and spin moves in the post.  He seems to have the natural instincts of a scorer, a la Paul Pierce.  Not exceptionally quick, but adept at making use of quick changes in speed to get the advantage on the opponent.  What he has is superlative size, hands, and body control. 

Compare this to a guy like Brook who lumbers and always moves in slow motion, but is just so big and skilled that opponents have trouble stopping him anyway.

This.

I posted this to refer to Chambers ludicrous comments. As you can see, he is much more than just a simple post up scorer as well.

I mean. I think Brook was probably faster multiple foot surgeries and 7 years ago right? I don't really get why people are so anxious to proclaim Okafor will be a long time star. As others have stated, there have been a large number of rookies that have put up really solid numbers on terrible teams as rookies. Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings and to a lesser extent, MCW stand out in fairly recent times for doing so. I think it is so hard to say how good he will be when he is surrounded by actual NBA players and not playing in blowouts. This could go either way, maybe guards getting him in better position and having better shooters around him will turn him into an even more dominant force. Maybe playing on a better and a lot less blowouts he ends up with less shots, playing against more serious defense and his numbers end up dropping. I really think it could go either way.

I wish one thing we could all agree on is the trade for Okafor threads are out of control here. We average like 4-5 a month and at various times have had 3 of them in the top 10 recent topics. It is not like there is big news on this guy that requires new threads. He actually has not played basketball in 3 months. Maybe we can just sticky one of these threads and stop the insanity of people arguing about him forever.

Re: Envisioning Okafor, Horford Frontcourt pairing.
« Reply #44 on: May 05, 2016, 05:36:20 PM »

Offline tankcity!

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Can anyone explain to me how this guy is as slow as people are saying after watching these highlights? That's not Brook Lopez out there. There is def potential to grow. He's going to be a perennial all star.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbRwBeO70SY

I'm not really sure what you are trying to show with this. I watched a minute of this and it is mostly him hitting jumpers and some pretty methodical drives. They are nice plays for sure, but I don't get how this relates to foot speed at all....

The place to look for foot speed is when goes into his size up, drop step and spin moves in the post.  He seems to have the natural instincts of a scorer, a la Paul Pierce.  Not exceptionally quick, but adept at making use of quick changes in speed to get the advantage on the opponent.  What he has is superlative size, hands, and body control. 

Compare this to a guy like Brook who lumbers and always moves in slow motion, but is just so big and skilled that opponents have trouble stopping him anyway.

This.

I posted this to refer to Chambers ludicrous comments. As you can see, he is much more than just a simple post up scorer as well.

I mean. I think Brook was probably faster multiple foot surgeries and 7 years ago right? I don't really get why people are so anxious to proclaim Okafor will be a long time star. As others have stated, there have been a large number of rookies that have put up really solid numbers on terrible teams as rookies. Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings and to a lesser extent, MCW stand out in fairly recent times for doing so. I think it is so hard to say how good he will be when he is surrounded by actual NBA players and not playing in blowouts. This could go either way, maybe guards getting him in better position and having better shooters around him will turn him into an even more dominant force. Maybe playing on a better and a lot less blowouts he ends up with less shots, playing against more serious defense and his numbers end up dropping. I really think it could go either way.

I wish one thing we could all agree on is the trade for Okafor threads are out of control here. We average like 4-5 a month and at various times have had 3 of them in the top 10 recent topics. It is not like there is big news on this guy that requires new threads. He actually has not played basketball in 3 months. Maybe we can just sticky one of these threads and stop the insanity of people arguing about him forever.

You might want to watch those Rookie Brook Lopez highlights and compare with Okafor. It's not even close. Okafor is a lot more agile.

Also, hard to compare with Jennings and MCW since they both shot terribly while Okafor was very efficient. I honestly don't know what happened to Tyreke Evans. He was great his rookie year and looked great as well. That's a rare example. The injury is concerning for sure, but this the common argument on this thread has been about Okafor's ability and skills, not if he is durable.