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Philadelphia 76ers, Time To Invest In Jahlil Okafor

By Bret Stuter

Dec 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) and forward Dario Saric (9) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the 76ers 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) and forward Dario Saric (9) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the 76ers 123-116. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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The True Competition for Jahlil Okafor

In the grand scheme of things, the ultimate competition for Jahlil Okafor was never Nerlens Noel, nor Joel Embiid, but Jahlil Okafor himself. And to be completely honest, the entire rookie season gets tossed.

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    • Why?

    There was no scheme, right or wrong, for Jahlil Okafor when he arrived. The team basically moved the ball down the floor, fed the ball to Okafor, and tried to play rebounds if he missed.  In short, it was the closest thing to an NBA “pickup” game you will ever see in the history of the NBA.

    Jahlil Okafor, despite a tender age of 19, proved early and often that he was indeed up to the NBA challenge. In fact, the rookie year experience seemed to feed right into his wheelhouse.  He is a player who has great instincts and moves.  In short, he’s got great game in free style basketball.

    But free style does not get teams to championships.  To get there, structure is needed.  A head coach scheme is drawn up, executed, evaluated, and modified.  Free style is improvisation. The task at hand, and one everyone must be patient over, is converting free style Okafor into structure Okafor.

    That burden falls upon head coach Brett Brown.  So far, Brown has been completely supportive of his center.