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

[WorldWideWoe]

While there certainly is a limit on how much he should be paid, he is a Swiss knife on defense, is still super young, has tangibly improved several skills progressively(albeit slowly) from season to season.

His three buckets today were all on agressive drives to the bucket and although he missed both threes tonight he did the right think by quickly taking the open three. There was a bad late in the shot clock decision when first he then Mobley hesitated to take shots they needed to take that led to a 24 second violation.

He can’t control how high he was drafted or the hopes and expectations that come with that. But you acting like he’s Lamar Stevens is either an emotional reaction to a bad game 6 or a sign that you’re not interested in being genuinely honest about his incremental development.

I think he's developed in his transition game way more than I expected, and he deserves full credit for now being a legitimate threat finishing on the break. He's always been willing to take the baseline drive (because he wasn't guarded if we're being honest), and I like that he's developed confidence in the last year to try to finish at the rim from off the dribble on the wing. He's also improved his regular season confidence unguarded from the three point line. That's real development and he deserves credit.

I also think all of the above plays mostly to the regular season against guys not giving full effort, and playoff basketball exposes guys who can't create or don't shoot with confidence. Opponents are happy to scheme rotations to end as many possessions as possible with our worst option shooting, and I think the results are pretty clear in what teams want.

That's a huge liability in the playoffs if a guy isn't valuable enough on defense to outweigh those negatives on offense. In my opinion, a guy like Mobley does, and Okoro doesn't. For those who want to mirror ESPN's line about him limiting Banchero in the second half, that's conveniently forgetting Okoro having the primary assignment on Banchero in the first half. Maybe we give him credit for tiring him out?

We can of course disagree on his impact, but I feel like I've accurately described his improvement over the years. Do you think I'm missing something?

 

[MirORich]

I think he's developed in his transition game way more than I expected, and he deserves full credit for now being a legitimate threat finishing on the break. He's always been willing to take the baseline drive (because he wasn't guarded if we're being honest), and I like that he's developed confidence in the last year to try to finish at the rim from off the dribble on the wing. He's also improved his regular season confidence unguarded from the three point line. That's real development and he deserves credit.

I also think all of the above plays mostly to the regular season against guys not giving full effort, and playoff basketball exposes guys who can't create or don't shoot with confidence. Opponents are happy to scheme rotations to end as many possessions as possible with our worst option shooting, and I think the results are pretty clear in what teams want.

That's a huge liability in the playoffs if a guy isn't valuable enough on defense to outweigh those negatives on offense. In my opinion, a guy like Mobley does, and Okoro doesn't. For those who want to mirror ESPN's line about him limiting Banchero in the second half, that's conveniently forgetting Okoro having the primary assignment on Banchero in the first half. Maybe we give him credit for tiring him out?

We can of course disagree on his impact, but I feel like I've accurately described his improvement over the years. Do you think I'm missing something?

Well sure, this post is more reasonable don’t agree with every detail but it’s mostly fair and realistic. In your post that I responded to, you basically called him a G League player/lamar Stevens/“would barely play for almost any other NBA team

Whether we agree or disagree, I much prefer the substance and post style of this recent one than the initial one I responded to.

 

[Cavatt]

IF he can play on the road like he does at home, that would be a great sign of growth.

Very curious what the offense in general is going to look like against the Celtics. I think there will be more opportunities

 

[bushwick_bill]

 

[bleedwineandgold03]

Okoro balled out and I’m so proud of him. After all the smack I said all this years I take it back his defense hasn’t reached the limit yet and his getting better and better

 

[WorldWideWoe]

Fantastic first half offensively, and was the only player outside of Mitchell who showed up to play. Loved his aggression going to the hoop and confidence from behind the line.

That, as is too often the case, all went away in the second half.

I think Boston's game plan was pretty instructive. From the jump, they wanted Brown iso action on Okoro and whoever else they could get to switch. Okoro was completely invisible on Brown and went under way too many screens to give Brown space, or end up with a switch. I don't know how many times he played great positional defense and then didn't contest a shot/pass at all to finish out the possession. He had ONE rebound.

He is a good defender as long as he has a shot blocker behind him. That's going to be tough without Allen, because Boston is going to keep drawing Mobley out of the paint. And maybe even with Allen when Horford is spacing the floor.

So what is he bringing to the table? On offense, he got the absolutely disrespectful Tony Allen treatment, with Horford "guarding" him while occupying the paint. So when fans get frustrated that Garland is dribbling into defenders shutting down the offense, the other team's lack of respect for Okoro is a big reason why.

Okoro is not a playoff player for a contender. At best, he's a 7th or 8th man guarding whatever playmaker is on the floor for the second unit, and trying to steal a couple transition buckets.

I don't hate him and like him as a person. I just see Koby and JBB's insistence that he's a high in the rotation player as part of why this team has stagnated. It would be a huge mistake to pay him given all the other commitments we're going to have.

 

[bushwick_bill]

 

[stick]

If he scores 11+ points in Game 3, he will match or exceed his total points output for the entirety of the 7 game Orlando series.

Ice providing this scoring output early in the round is very, very, very encouraging. It makes a big difference. The early scoring bursts especially. It helps folks like Donovan to pace themselves for the load they will carry later into the game and just helps with overall rhythm of the team.

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I don't mind his rebounding numbers at the moment because he's being instructed to hurt Boston in transition. He's faster and stronger than whoever is guarding him (poor Al Horford when he's matched with Okoro) and causing some damage.

His screen game is coming along nicely too! He's using good angles, good stances, mixing up ghosts, a gamut of moves, which is going a little under the radar in the half court. He's always had the body for it so to see him do that in the half court instead of always standing in the corner ... Man, it's awesome to see.

Beautiful stuff! I expect his defense to improve as the series goes on.

 

[Thelastcavsfan]

we’re asking him to do too much because there’s no other options, but you can not bring him back expecting anything other than being the 9th man. Not a starter in any situation. He’s inconsistent because he’s just not that good offensively. Maybe as he gets older and matures he’ll be more consistent, still a young guy, but do not overpay

 

[DirtyDan]

 

[Rich]

Okoro is just one of those guys who we have really low expectations for and when he plays well you remember it for more than you should.


He's a niche player. This series he's being asked to guard the other teams bigger guard. Something you'd think he should excel at. And Brown is just torching him.


I like Okoro, but he is no way a guy the Cavs should be prioritizing to bring back this summer considering the team makeup.

 

[The Oi]

If he played matchup specific 12-15 mpg off the bench he could be a fan favorite.

As is, he’s one of my least favorite Cavs ever.

How most people feel about Levert is how I feel about Okoro. In fact, if you combined the worst of both of their traits into one NBA player the guy wouldn’t even be picked at your local YMCA.

 

[Cement]

We're going to end up paying this guy $15 million a year, aren't we.

 

[BigZ94]

Give him that 20 mil extension already

 

[Cement]

Chris Fedor is going to write another puff piece in October about how hard he's worked on his shot and offensive game and he's ready to be the 3 & D guy we've needed.