Okafor

[phillyeagles36]

Is quickly becoming my most hated Philly athlete and that is saying something with the WRs and CBs the Eagles have. What a bum the dude is. Zero effort. No ability to guard on the defensive end. Throws junk up at the rim when he is posting up. Total jagoff and I pray the Sixers keep Noel over him which won't happen.

[phillyeagles36]

Okafor then strings out 11 points quickly..... Still hate his effort and defense.

[Ground_Meat]

Ya great post...13 points in 12 minutes.

He sucks. Right.

[phillyeagles36]

Ya great post...13 points in 12 minutes.

He sucks. Right.

Fans like you are what irk me. He makes no one better offensively. His movement offensively is horrible. The only way he scores is by throwing it to him on the post and letting him play ISO ball. Thing is, he is not nearly consistent enough to score like that night in and night out. He is horrible in the pick and roll offensively because his rolls are lethargic and slow. Perimeter defenders easily tag him and recover to their man. Let alone his defense is abysmal in just about every aspect. Zero awareness, ability, and effort on that end far too frequently.

[Ground_Meat]

He's 20.

[McCarthy12]

Haha I wouldn't go that far, but I feel pretty strongly at this point that if they are going to keep one of Okafor or Noel, they should keep Noel. Okafor is obviously a better offensive player, but he's not the offensive piece they are going to build around. Between Embiid, Simmons and the upcoming draft and free agency periods they should be fine. I love Noel's defense and effort and you need players like that too.

I don't hate Okafor, I think he's a good player. He seems to have regressed though and I'm not sure he'll ever flourish on this team with Embiid in the middle. Seems to have affected his effort at times which is a little troubling. Maybe he'll have more success somewhere else.

[nerd]

Haha I wouldn't go that far, but I feel pretty strongly at this point that if they are going to keep one of Okafor or Noel, they should keep Noel. Okafor is obviously a better offensive player, but he's not the offensive piece they are going to build around. Between Embiid, Simmons and the upcoming draft and free agency periods they should be fine. I love Noel's defense and effort and you need players like that too.

I don't hate Okafor, I think he's a good player. He seems to have regressed though and I'm not sure he'll ever flourish on this team with Embiid in the middle. Seems to have affected his effort at times which is a little troubling. Maybe he'll have more success somewhere else.

He is a good scorer but he is bad at defense. He might get better but you would think he would have shown something on the defensive end, but so far he has been disappointing.

[Sect 236]

When he's on the court, the team's defense nosedives.

When he's on the court with Embiid, JoJo is doing extra work to cover for Jah's defensive deficiencies, sometimes picking up more fouls because of a breakdown by Jah.

Okafor's offensive game requires the ball being in his hands. If you want to capitalize on the only thing Okafor does well you have to give him the ball, let him back guys down for a few seconds and keep it out Embiid's hands. He makes Embiid less effective on both sides of the ball.

Embiid has been vocal about Noel being his best friend on the team. When your star wants some of his buddies on the team, you do what you got to to appease him. There's a reason Birdman, James Jones and Mo Williams are on the Cavs and it's not their skills on the court.

To me, the choice is clear, let's see if Colangelo can do anything about it.

Side note: Has anyone seen a low post threat like Jah who sets up further away from the basket? I swear every time I see him calling for the ball to back a guy down, he's a step inside the 3-pt line. Get in the paint!

[McCarthy12]

Okafor's offensive game requires the ball being in his hands. If you want to capitalize on the only thing Okafor does well you have to give him the ball, let him back guys down for a few seconds and keep it out Embiid's hands. He makes Embiid less effective on both sides of the ball.

I think this is ultimately the point. Okafor is never going to be "that guy" on this team. Not with Embiid and Simmons. That's not a knock on him, just reality. Maybe he can be a go-to, high volume scorer somewhere else.

As you said though, it's up to Colangelo to figure it all out. No more blaming Hinkie. Just make it work.

[phillyeagles36]

When he's on the court, the team's defense nosedives.

When he's on the court with Embiid, JoJo is doing extra work to cover for Jah's defensive deficiencies, sometimes picking up more fouls because of a breakdown by Jah.

Okafor's offensive game requires the ball being in his hands. If you want to capitalize on the only thing Okafor does well you have to give him the ball, let him back guys down for a few seconds and keep it out Embiid's hands. He makes Embiid less effective on both sides of the ball.

Embiid has been vocal about Noel being his best friend on the team. When your star wants some of his buddies on the team, you do what you got to to appease him. There's a reason Birdman, James Jones and Mo Williams are on the Cavs and it's not their skills on the court.

To me, the choice is clear, let's see if Colangelo can do anything about it.

Side note: Has anyone seen a low post threat like Jah who sets up further away from the basket? I swear every time I see him calling for the ball to back a guy down, he's a step inside the 3-pt line. Get in the paint!

I'll be upset if they trade Noel in favor of Okafor. I really like Noel. Wish he was a better rebounder but I don't think that should be too big of a problem if he's on the court with Simmons and Embiid. With your last point, I agree with 100%. The looks he generates out of the post are usually wild and not fluid. A lot of that is a result of not fighting for position to get deeper post touches where all he has to do is make a quick move then score. Okafor's touch around the rim is his strength but he doesn't utilize it enough.