Less Slow Post-ups, More Quick ISOs
As it stands, Okafor’s post-ups are not providing maximum efficiency. Okafor’s offensive play-type stats are very revealing.
Okafor's YTD play-type breakdown. Wouldn't mind trading less post-ups for more ISOs pic.twitter.com/90gsaArgWv
— Mike O'Connor (@MOConnor_NBA) December 17, 2016
Unfortunately, Okafor’s post-ups account for 39.6 percent compared to 21.9 percent for isolation. As noted on the previous slide, Okafor has a tendency to dribble the air out of the ball on his post-ups.
the next closest is Greg Monroe at 46%.
— Mike O'Connor (@MOConnor_NBA) December 17, 2016
Jahlil Okafor is very adept at taking bigs off the dribble, a skill that is considerably underutilized.
Okafor uses a combination of dribble moves to take Vuc to the rack on this iso drive. pic.twitter.com/Ig8YAtLmAJ
— Nicholas Sciria (@Nick_Sciria) July 28, 2016
Notice how much better Jahlil Okafor is when he makes quick decisions to attack as opposed to taking several back-down dribbles.
Conventional thinking in today’s NBA says that isolation situations are generally inefficient.
But Okafor’s high relative efficiency makes his isolating a viable part of any offense. No matter how much teams try to avoid it, isolation will always remain a major part of NBA offenses.
Next: Philadelphia 76ers’ Draft: Jayson Tatum Shining Early
Having a player like Jahlil Okafor to shoulder that burden in an efficient manner is a huge plus. The Sixers must figure out how to prioritize his isolations over his post-ups to maximize efficiency.