By SAMEER KUMAR
Jahlil Okafor finally found a new home on Thursday as the Brooklyn Nets acquired him along with Nik Stauskas and a 2019 2nd round pick for Trevor Booker. Okafor, the 3rd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, has had trouble seeing any action on the court following a successful rookie season where he averaged 17.5 points per game, seven rebounds per game and 1.2 blocks per game; earning him a spot on the 2016 NBA All-Rookie First Team.
A lot of the reason why he hasn’t seen any action is due to the emergence of Joel Embiid, who finally made his NBA debut in 2016 after missing his first two seasons due to foot injuries. There are also a lot of questions about Okafor’s ability to play in the modern-day NBA since he’s not very quick, he’s not very reliable scorer outside the paint, and although he is physical enough to bang with the big men down in the paint, his overall defensive ability isn’t great. His skillset seems like it would translate much better in the 90s.
However, I think Brooklyn is the perfect spot for him. They have a coach in Kenny Atkinson that is known for taking on players with multiple flaws in their game and turning a lot of those flaws into strengths. In the past, Atkinson has worked with bigs such as Brook Lopez and Al Horford and helped them gain a reliable 3-point shot.
Okafor has shown immense potential to be a dominant scorer in the paint and has great passing skills, so that ability alone will keep defenses on their toes and have them think twice about sending another defender to the paint. That would really open up Brooklyn’s offense since they have a plethora of snipers from beyond the arc. Another promising aspect of Okafor is not only that he’s 21 years old, but he has lost a significant amount of weight due to following a “mostly vegan” diet. If Atkinson can work his magic once again and help Okafor turn his flaws into strengths, then the Brooklyn Nets will have themselves an absolute steal.
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Victor Oladipo is making his case stronger everyday for a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team this season. The Pacers guard exploded for 47 points Sunday night to go along with seven rebounds and six assists against the Denver Nuggets. Oladipo was also instrumental in helping Indiana snap the Cavs’ 13-game winning streak, as he dropped 33 points. Oladipo is averaging 28.0 points per game on 53.9 percent shooting from the floor in his last five games, and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
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The Houston Rockets are the first team in the NBA to reach 20 wins, as they’re currently riding a 9-game winning streak. The streak started as soon as Chris Paul returned from injury, and has been locked in as he has averaged 15.4 points per game and 9.8 assists per game during this streak. On the other hand, James Harden is averaging a sizzling 34.9 points per game and 7.3 assists per game during this streak. That in turn has led Houston to have a lot of success so far this season, and should now be considered a serious threat to the Golden State Warriors if they aren’t already.
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