Ben Simmons Is A Perfect Compliment to Jahlil Okafor

A Tall Order

Tall Ball began conceptually as a way to fit the abundance of big talent onto the starting lineup simultaneously.  But now, I’m not so sure it’s not the definitive way to go.  Head coach Brett Brown is already starting to think like I do:

The team already knows that center Jahlil Okafor can play superb offense when he sits at or near the post.  As the team migrates the passing specialist Ben Simmons into a point guard role, that opens up the front court to an additional big.

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Center Jahlil Okafor has been afflicted with an incredible amount of analysis about why he doesn’t fit the Philadelphia 76ers scheme.  Some just echo a statement of what they had just read earlier, but some comments were incredibly loaded with valuable insights and persuasive arguments.  Jahlil Okafor is a back to the hoop center, and that era is extinct in the NBA some said.  Jahlil Okafor did not generate enough rebounds for his size and strength, others said.  Still others site Jahlil Okafor’s substandard advanced metrics, and conclude his ceiling is limited.

But the facts are these:  center Jahlil Okafor entered the NBA at 19, played just 53 NBA games his rookie season, had a true starting point guard (PG Ish Smith)  for just 26 games , and of those 26 games, he was asked to play power forward for approximately six of those games.  20 games with a starting point guard and that defines his upside?

I think there’s room to send the jury back to deliberate on this young man’s career.  But while we do that, we need to settle on a complimentary power forward to Okafor’s center play.

Next: Power Play