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

[BodegaBayCav]

I love the fact that Okoro is making a major team impact and excelling with his defense and yet, he has so many short comings offensively which I am confident he will improve upon with time.

Currently, he is playing a guard but has limited dribbling ability, no floater, no mid range game, and unknown passing abilities. Somehow, I feel confident that given time he will develop in all these areas and become an all star.

 

[stick]

Very small sample size but when Collin and Okoro are starting, the Cavs have scored 121, 128, 147, and 125 points (Hornets/Pistons/Nets x2). None of those teams are good defensively, but it's very good to see that kind of production.

If Issac's biggest flaw (at the moment) is being an offensive liability individually, the team itself has had no trouble scoring when he has a scorer like Collin or Garland around and Issac playing heavy minutes (36 mpg).

Okoro right now plays within the team offense really well. He makes swing passes/hockey assists very quickly and accurately from the wing to corner three shooters. He takes open threes when he has them (more accurate at baseline threes). He runs the floor in transition. Sometimes on offense he is simply clearing the floor and doesn't move much, but he also makes cuts every once in awhile that lead to easy shots. I wonder how he would fair as the screener in PnR situations?

He struggles with getting into the paint, shooting from the wing, finishing over length, creating for himself/ball handling, free throw shooting/drawing fouls. All of these things he can absolutely improve. I believe he will.

Defensively, he's a menace already. He will only improve with more reps. Maybe he doesn't have the length to contest shots at a super high level (his technique is very good here tho), but I would rather a premier defender from the perimeter knock guys off their fav. spots, successfully play the passing lanes while limiting gambling, limit dribble penetration, effectively switch/navigate screens. He does all of those things right now while taking the most difficult perimeter assignment. I remember a minor concern being his relatively low steal numbers/counting stats. He's not really the type of player to fill up the boxscore, but he has 9 steals in the last 5 games, which is super solid. Low rebounding, I'm not too concerned about given the composition of the team and Okoro running in transition/boxing out.

The Cavs are dangerous and Issac is a big part of it. He's only going to improve.

 

[shoes22]

But wait, I thought he was a bust from just looking at box scores?

 

[rastamon87]

He fits well if the Cavs continues to build around Sexland.... With 2 ball dominant players already, you need guys who are low maintenance, plays off the ball and does their role well (for him playing defense)... Just need to continue developing his shot

 

[Jack Brickman]

I love the fact that Okoro is making a major team impact and excelling with his defense and yet, he has so many short comings offensively which I am confident he will improve upon with time.

Currently, he is playing a guard but has limited dribbling ability, no floater, no mid range game, and unknown passing abilities. Somehow, I feel confident that given time he will develop in all these areas and become an all star.

Honestly, if he can just become a 40% three point shooter, that'd be enough for him to have a huge impact given his defensive ceiling and ability in transition. Anything more than that is gravy, but if he can be a knock-down shooter that'd be absolutely huge for us.

 

[weepinwillow]

Honestly, if he can just become a 40% three point shooter

So just top 20-30 of NBA shooters in the NBA depending on the season?

 

[shoes22]

Is Okoro a guard/forward tweener?

 

[chuck0609]

He’s 19. He already looks like he belongs out there. His offense will take longer to develop, but his defense will be excellent with a few years, if not sooner. You can see how he doesn’t take flaws steps and knows how to be in the right position.
He’s going to be fun.

 

[Soar]

So Okoro is not a match for Durant, Brown, and James which is both completely understandable and not a surprise.

He's going to be physically limited at the SF spot unless he grows which is not impossible since he's barely 20.

He's probably a very solid starting 2 if you have a dynamic scoring 3. Not sure about him as a starting 3 with Garland and Sexton at 1 and 2 though.

If all 3 are here in 2 years, one of Garland, Sexton, or Okoro has a bench role with perhaps Garland looking like the most obvious one as of today... subject to change obviously.

 

[Rich]

He was good tonight.

Last night, not so much.

Tonight....tonight had nothing at all to do with his effort or even his size.

LeBron was hitting turn around fadeaways with Jarrett Allen flying at him. Scottie Pippen could have been on him and it would have made no difference. That's life.

I'm not willing to write him off as a potential small forward because, in his first 20 games of his career, LeBron and Durant scored on him.

 

[Sebastian]

He was good tonight.

Last night, not so much.

Tonight....tonight had nothing at all to do with his effort or even his size.

LeBron was hitting turn around fadeaways with Jarrett Allen flying at him. Scottie Pippen could have been on him and it would have made no difference. That's life.

I'm not willing to write him off as a potential small forward because, in his first 20 games of his career, LeBron and Durant scored on him.

The fact he has not embarrassed himself guarding them is actually a big, helpful sign.

 

[inliner311]

So Okoro is not a match for Durant, Brown, and James which is both completely understandable and not a surprise.

He's going to be physically limited at the SF spot unless he grows which is not impossible since he's barely 20.

He's probably a very solid starting 2 if you have a dynamic scoring 3. Not sure about him as a starting 3 with Garland and Sexton at 1 and 2 though.

If all 3 are here in 2 years, one of Garland, Sexton, or Okoro has a bench role with perhaps Garland looking like the most obvious one as of today... subject to change obviously.

I also have a hard time seeing him as the starting SF with a Sexton/Garland backcourt. It felt like that's what they drafted him for which is disappointing. He can still be a very good player but it's another reason why I think we need to find that top tier talent before making a real push for the playoffs. There are still big holes in the starting unit to be filled.

 

[Cavatt]

You have to be encouraged. Even though Lebron was hitting everything, his defense on Lebron in the 4th was better than in the 1st. Kid has great focus and intelligence on the defensive side.

He makes clutch plays frequently. I really think he processes the game at a very high speed. His body is not yet able to operate at that speed. When it does, he will be a killer. Needs more offensive confidence.

Lebron used to abuse Jalen Brown like this. Larry would have been on Lebron and got cooked too

 

[MD13]

Something I noticed about him is he clearly puts in the work studying tendencies and reading the scouting report. Against Harden he conscientiously kept his hands up where the ref could see and didn't bite for any of the hesitation dribbles or pump fakes, and against James he was taking away the drive and trying to get out and contest the step back to the left. Nothing you can do when LeBron is feeling like that though.

 

[pinoycavsfan]

I wish the kid would attempt to dunk more on his drives. Stop evading contact and go straight up. He has to be more aggressive.