Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor hugs a teammate after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2015 NCAA Men
C, Jahlil Okafor
Okafor comes to Philadelphia with big expectations, and just in the few weeks that he has been a Sixer, you can kind of see the moves that the Sixers brass is making to help Okafor. Trading for Stauskas. Signing Scottie Wilbekin and Pierre Jackson. Yes, these are moves that could have happened regardless of Okafor, but you get the sense that shooting will be emphasized more and more — especially if Okafor succeeds.
With better shooters around him than he had in summer league, Okafor does have things he needs to work on himself. I feel like I’ve blabbed on about these things (getting in shape, free throw shooting, quicker decision-making, etc.) so I won’t continue to do so here. But I will say that if there is anyone who will have Okafor ready for the season it will be Brett Brown. If not the fact, he needs him ready for the season. Okafor will be carrying a heavy load from the onset, and should be the focal point of the offense. Making stat line predictions will be for another time, but there’s a reason he’s the early Rookie of the Year favorite.
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