How will Jahlil Okafor fit beside Nerlens Noel?
The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Jahlil Okafor knowing full well they already had two potential franchise pillars in their frontcourt. But with Joel Embiid sidelined for the foreseeable future, the question now becomes "how does Okafor fit beside Nerlens Noel?"
Bleacher Report's Dylan Murphy tries to answer that very question right here:
"Maybe the most crucial piece of the Noel-Okafor combination will be how Noel moves off the ball in isolation post ups. There's no doubt that Brown will feed Okafor the ball down low, and he proved at Duke that he's a capable passer in tight quarters. Finding these crevices in the paint—particularly in two-big lineup combinations—is crucial to maintaining the integrity of an offense's spacing. Hover too close to a post-up player with the ball and you've effectively brought a double-team without providing an outlet. Sit too far away and you're not able to be seen."
Overall spacing should be an issue, but if Okafor can command double teams as a rookie then it will open the floor for teammates to cut off the ball. Defense could be a problem, too. But these are two talented players and Philadelphia is counting on them to make it work.
(h/t: Bleacher Report)
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Darren Hauck
