Isaac 3 & D Okoro - A Two Way Playing Basketball Savant

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

With good court vision?

.... averages a whopping 2 assists per game.

Can't say I've met many players with great court vision who are below average passers.

He is a better passer than his stats suggest. He was on a team full of seniors and a ball hog PG. That area will surprise some people I think.

 

[Alec]

With good court vision?

.... averages a whopping 2 assists per game.

Can't say I've met many players with good court vision who are below average passers.

Calling him a below average passer is simply ignorant. It doesn't take into consideration usage, scheme, and personnel.

 

[OptimusPrime]

Garland, Sexton, and KPJ are going to eat up all the minutes at Guard. Drafting Okoro does not address of our biggest weaknesses which is size. We're constantly trotting out an undersized team with guys at every position who are on the smaller end for their positions.

If we're going to get a defensive minded wing shouldn't we get one that can guard 2-4?

He'll be fine guarding 2-4. And he's a defensive minded wing with offensive game. If there's another one of those available instead of him, I'll consider them too.

 

[Los216]

He has some nice step backs. The issue is they don't go in. He has enough twitch to make room. He needs to tighten his handle and fix his shot. Not insignificant obstacles, I admit. If these things weren't issues, he'd be fighting for the #1 overall spot. But alas we pick 5th and imperfect players define this entire draft.

Re: defense. We have a bunch of guards and wings. None of them have proven they can play good defense and some are dangerously close to being clearly bad defenders. I'm more concerned about a backcourt player who can stop 1s and 2s right now from a, moreso than a backcourt player's ability to guard big men. If drafting Okoro inspires the front office to clear the logjam of Windler/KPJ/Cedi/Garland/Sexton, so be it.

And now he's going to have to improve his offensive weaknesses against NBA wings and he won't be bullying smaller guards all the time.

And as it stands we only have two wings. Cedi and Windler. KPJ is most effective at SG and not being forced to play at the wing because we have two 6'1 guards out there with him. he's not a true wing player yet. Spot minutes there maybe but if KPJ is on the wing it usually means we have two small guards in the game which is a recipe for disaster.

 

[CavsFan07]

Calling him a below average passer is simply ignorant. It doesn't take into consideration usage, scheme, and personnel.

So you can label someone as "good vision" without having any actual statistical evidence to back it up?

Got it. Definitely not a simply ignorant statement.

 

[Alec]

And now he's going to have to improve his offensive weaknesses against NBA wings and he won't be bullying smaller guards all the time.

And as it stands we only have two wings. Cedi and Windler. KPJ is most effective at SG and not being forced to play at the wing because we have two 6'1 guards out there with him. he's not a true wing player yet. Spot minutes there maybe but if KPJ is on the wing it usually means we have two small guards in the game which is a recipe for disaster.

Your concerns about the roster construction are very valid. Luckily we aren’t trying to fix this entire mess of a team this offseason.

 

[Los216]

He'll be fine guarding 2-4. And he's a defensive minded wing with offensive game. If there's another one of those available instead of him, I'll consider them too.

I don't think he has all of the tools to excel at guarding 4's. He lacks the height and length to do that effectively. Unless you think he can be PJ Tucker but we shouldn't be playing him in that role in the first place. He does seem to have the strength and effort to do it but you need more then that.

I'm find with him having a great work ethic and really working hard to improve his game but Colin Sexton as hard as he works is still a bad defender. Does it have more to do with his size or his effort? With Okoro I worry a bit about his effectiveness against bigger forwards. That's why I said on tape he looks more like a bully SG.

 

[Alec]

So you can label someone as "good vision" without having any actual statistical evidence to back it up?

Got it. Definitely not a simply ignorant statement.

Watch the tape. There’s many passes that a bad passer simply doesn’t attempt, let alone complete. Not saying he’s Chris Paul, but from what would be expected from Okoro (drive and kicks, stuff like that, not running an offense), he’s just fine.

 

[CavsFan07]

Watch the tape. There’s many passes that a bad passer simply doesn’t attempt, let alone complete. Not saying he’s Chris Paul, but from what would be expected from Okoro (drive and kicks, stuff like that, not running an offense), he’s just fine.

I've watched an abundance of his tape.

I understand the love for defensive minded players and how he could be a very high level defender. Offensively there's major red flags.... not to mention he's more of a SG than a SF size wise and we damn sure don't need more guards on this roster.

If he's the pick I will accept it but I can't justify taking him at #5. Someone near the top is going to fall, they almost always do on draft night. If we trade back and acquire assets at fall to #8 and hes the BPA because the next 2 we wanted went at 6 and 7, sure!

At #5 I just can't see it.

 

[Los216]

I've watched an abundance of his tape.

I understand the love for defensive minded players and how he could be a very high level defender. Offensively there's major red flags.... not to mention he's more of a SG than a SF size wise and we damn sure don't need more guards on this roster.

If he's the pick I will accept it but I can't justify taking him at #5. Someone near the top is going to fall, they almost always do on draft night. If we trade back and acquire assets at #8 and hes the BPA because the next 2 we wanted went at 6 and 7, sure!

At #5 I just can't see it.

Jarrett Culver and De'Andre Hunter

 

[Alec]

I've watched an abundance of his tape.

I understand the love for defensive minded players and how he could be a very high level defender. Offensively there's major red flags.... not to mention he's more of a SG than a SF size wise and we damn sure don't need more guards on this roster.

If he's the pick I will accept it but I can't justify taking him at #5. Someone near the top is going to fall, they almost always do on draft night. If we trade back and acquire assets at fall to #8 and hes the BPA because the next 2 we wanted went at 6 and 7, sure!

At #5 I just can't see it.

I echo all of your concerns. I just think he’s a capable passer within an offense. His presence definitely creates an even worse logjam, especially if they find he isn’t a SF stopper.

 

[CavsFan07]

I echo all of your concerns. I just think he’s a capable passer within an offense. His presence definitely creates an even worse logjam, especially if they find he isn’t a SF stopper.

Trust me if he's the pick.. I HOPE I'm wrong. I'll gladly eat crow as long as it makes the Cavs less of a dumpster fire.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I don't think he has all of the tools to excel at guarding 4's. He lacks the height and length to do that effectively. Unless you think he can be PJ Tucker but we shouldn't be playing him in that role in the first place. He does seem to have the strength and effort to do it but you need more then that.

I'm find with him having a great work ethic and really working hard to improve his game but Colin Sexton as hard as he works is still a bad defender. Does it have more to do with his size or his effort? With Okoro I worry a bit about his effectiveness against bigger forwards. That's why I said on tape he looks more like a bully SG.

I respect your criticisms of Okoro's lack of length. I really do. I just believe that some really strong guys have shown the ability throw off the game of bigger players. Eric Snow, Caron Butler, and Jimmy Butler all did it. But I'd also say it isn't a sure thing, either, so I get the criticism.

I'd just add two points:

1) I'd rather have a guy who can guard 1-3 than 2-4, and there are very few guys who can effectively guard 1-4. So to the extent Okoro's lack of length makes him unable to guard 4's, I'll take in exchange that he's shorter, and so can better guard PG's.

2) I really like the potential combination of Okoro/Windler as wing players. Okoro may struggle with guys too tall for him, and Windler with guys too strong. But together, I think a good defensive mind can work the primary matchups pretty well. I'm also not completely sold on KPJ at SG, and if that ends up being Okoro's position...I'm fine with that.

 

[CleveRocks]

He is not a Kawhi Leonard type of player.
Why do people always have to make direct comparisons even when they don't fit?

A lot of people agree with you, but some agree with me. Its what I see. When I watch Kahwai, I never see super speed or separation like say is easy to see in James. But I see a guy who wiggles in traffic and scores anyway. And he defends. He has developed all the tools offensively and we have not seen that from okoro per se. But when Okoro drives in traffic, I see him get contact and not be bothered by it. I could be wrong and likely will be about some things. I think we would both agree that Okoro would have to improve a lot to be equivalent to Mr Leonard, and that this kind of improvement is long odds. But I will stand by my premise that he has the best shot at it of the players in this draft (might be an 8% chance for example)..

 

[daytripper]

Okoro has eyes in the back of his head when it comes to passing out of the post in heavy traffic. He can make some passes that even some PG's can't make. I'm definitely not calling him a PG or even a great playmaker at this point but he has a really high basketball IQ. The ball doesn't stick with him like it does with alot of these dudes that grew up in the AAU system. I believe he does have a little potential down the road as a secondary type ballhandler like what Miami tried to do with Justice Winslow. His spin moves are something that even Lebron didn't develop until the latter parts of his career. Again not saying he has that type of potential but there are little rays of hope that he can definitely develop into a really nice NBA player.