Sir'Dom Pointer
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I really like The Stepien's breakdown of Okoro. Their basic view is that, at worst, he will be an energy guy that is a high-level on-ball defender. At best, they see a prime Iguodala-type with slightly worse playmaking.
Isaac Okoro Scouting Report - The Stepien
Net Rating: +12 Athleticism / Frame Overview: Very strong (functional strength) with a great base (low center of gravity, too), quick reactions, quick hips (fluid hips), and quick feet (though...www.thestepien.com
Some key points:
-"Strong shot IQ – really knows how to play to his strengths. ~51% of his shots come in the paint, only 33% on jumpers, 7% on runners, and 9% on postups (where he is effective using strength / touch against mismatches)."
-"Shot location from jumpers is really good for his role and for the modern NBA. He knows he’s not someone who can really create off the bounce for himself, so only 6% of the jumpers are off the bounce – as mentioned above, he does a nice job creating some space on stepbacks (and keeping balance with a fluid transition from space creation into his jumper), but it’s not something he will likely go to often. In terms of how his jumper locations fit in the modern NBA, 93% of his jumpers come from 3 – and given his role will likely be a 3/D wing who can attack off the catch (D&K, finish, etc) off the ball, the shot locations fit perfectly to that role. Does a nice job drawing fouls – .498 FTr, 3.625 fouls drawn per game."
-"Auburn really did not run many PnRs with Okoro as the ballhandler, so there is a limited sample size…but he did a nice job splitting his reps between passing and looking to score. 49 total possessions, 26 scoring attempts and 23 passes."
-"Good PnR passer – should have been used as a creator more at Auburn, but showed really nice ability when he did run it. Not comfortable hitting the roll guy with pocket passes, but can see the full court and hit all other areas – 17/23 passes were to spot ups (all over the perimeter), 4 to cutters, and 2 to the roll (only 1 was an actual roll, which was a really nice look…the other pass was a pop). Flashed live-action passes to cutters, opposite wings, etc."
-They also tend to think he has a really good handle and was underutilized as a playmaker at Auburn. He has a lot of potential in this area, for them, and may emerge as a secondary facilitator because of his ability to drive-and-kick.
-Defensively, their concerns are that his wingspan will limit his ability to be a "rim protector" and to interrupt passing lanes. They also are concerned about his footwork in the pick-and-roll. Overall, though, they see an elite isolation defender that is good at interrupting shots on closeouts and good positional versatility.
I want to address his PnR defense specifically:
He is a great isolation defender, no doubt about that. But his PnR defense is far from great. He gets stuck on screens and doesn't quite have the ability to recover very well. While he doesn't seem unaware to his surroundings, it doesn't seem like he takes the right angles defending the PnR. He doesn't slide over or under the pick, but seems like he gets stuck in between.
There are some great athletes that can recover so fucking fast that it doesn't even matter like this guy
With Okoro he pops up athletically at certain aspects, but at some other aspects, not so much(from what I have seen). For example, his start stop ability is not elite and it shows on his ability to recover. He is strong laterally and takes good angles in isolation, but it doesn't pop in straight line acceleration and top end speed. When you factor that into his PnR defense that could be the reason why he is stuck in between when defending the PnR..he has no issues sliding laterally obviously, but when he has to move his feet in every other direction(sliding over or under depending on the action) while moving his feet laterally it becomes a bit muddy...and it doesn't look like he has that elite ability to recover well when behind.
This is an assumption from what I have seen. I don't know if it's combination of PnR awareness as well, but it will be interesting to see how he looks in that area. How is it going to affect his ability to guard the PG position? Can he do it?
I'm hopeful that with his build and strength he will able to fend off screens and push them into more favorable angles, and hopefully against quicker players and PnR savvy players he will also be able to switch effectively if he proves to be able to handle 4s and 5s on a switch. Which I believe can be a realistic expectation.
I do believe that he is the prototypical player to match up against the herky jerky bullshit iso dribbling clowns like Harden and Kyrie. He doesn't seem to waste any movement, he has good balance and stance and takes good angles in isolation. That part of his defense I'm pretty confident about. He is also great off the ball..always in good position, good with rotations etc.. so he will fit most schemes from day 1.
But I have to wonder how he is going to look in the PnR against NBA athletes. Whether it's just an entirely technique/awareness/experience, or it is also an athletic deficiency.
As for his wingspan and being a rim protector and distruptor. Well, I don't think he is that guy. He has low stl+blk rate, and doesn't have the quickest hands. I think he won't be an on-ball disruptor like Thybulle or Kawhi for example, or a rim protector like Lebron, but he will be good at playing off-ball and covering ground and angles with good positioning. So as far as playing the passing lanes, I think he is going to be pretty good at that...don't know whether it is going to result in high steals or not in those scenarios for himself, but I think it's going to create a lot of chaos because of good rotations and lack of passing angles..so whether it results in a tough shot, a steal for the other guy or for himself, I think it is going to be as a result of his addition.
I read that he was in the 94% in isolation. So that is clearly going for him. He is good attacking the rim and making the correct play which is great. However, back into my mixed athleticism concern, it seems like he is at times earth bounded on his finishes. For a guy with his athletic profile I would expect to play a bit more above the rim on his drives. How is it going to look against NBA length and athleticism? On the other hand, with his strength(which will only improve), I do have to wonder if he is going to incorporate a little bit of a push off with his off hand on his drives(and receive leeway from the refs).. that alone could open up the game and make it a non issue..at least againt his own primary defender (against help defender and centers it's different I suppose), similar to how Kawhi operates on his drives. But in Okoro's favor he is much smoother on drives and gets down lower than Kawhi.
All in all, a lot to look forward to.