Who is this Emeka Okafor?!

[WalterHerrmannFan]

My buddy and I have been noticing something about Okafor. Ever since Nazi came over, it seems like Okafor is out to prove himself more, maybe because initially Nazi was getting more playing time then him. Lately he has just been beasting on people with sick blocks (which he's always had), sick dunks on people (Tyrus Thomas, dude on Clippers tonight), and he's developed a nice jump shot, which he NEVER had before. I mean he's getting 20pts 15 rebs a night, and THAT is what I expected of him. He is quickly becoming a dominate force in the league, which is what I expected him to be.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy, or is Okafor really busting his ass out there and playing up to his potential?

[Alex]

I don't see anything different. He's had nice little runs like this in the past. I don't think he'll ever be more than a 15 and 10 player at best in this league.

[wil]

What do you guys think? Am I crazy, or is Okafor really busting his ass out there and playing up to his potential?


I don't think your crazy, but i think you're dreaming the dream that he still has a chance to be a "dwight howard", which i dont know what's actually worse... :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:


He should have been traded long ago, i still believe we can do better if we trade him for a "true" and dominant Big man, agile, low post n mid range game, a real low post threat that will command a double team.. the likes of Gasol, Brand, Boozer, etc.. :afro: :afro:

Who is this Emeka??? The one who thinks he deserve "dwight" money... :mad:

[dav7z]

He don't deserve Dwight money but i thiNK some one must have told him him he had to ern a contract, I've seen more emotion harder play .A offenive gmme thets much better than i thought he had. Hes used moves in the last two weeks he;s never used.He's had some sick dunks the last two weaks two. He looks like he could have been pulling a 20 and 12 all year right now. When the money gets on the line things change fast.
Im back to looking at a six year 65 milion contract if he continues to play at the level he has the past two weaks. If his play inproves a little more that might have a chance of going up.

[Dunk]

He's inconsistent, IMO. He could throw up 9/5 next game and only get 20 minutes of burn due to foul trouble.

[ammofan]

I think he and Julius Peppers hung out during the summer.

[amour217]

I think he and Julius Peppers hung out during the summer.


http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/amour217/Clown.jpg

that made me laugh hard...+1 ammofan :D

[ammofan]

lol at that whack picture!!!! +1 for you too!

[MattD]

See my, Emeka Who? Thread I made a while ago... its still true even when you fools wasnt listening

[BIGCatBobcat]

Mek is a solid double double guy, which are hard to come by. I think I heard someone say there are only about 10 or so in the league, there are 30 teams, so keeping him helps us be better than about 20 other teams. Logical? Yes. But are we as fans logical? No. Fan = short for fanatic, almost lunatic. Do we want Mek out there every night? Yes. He was our first and best for about 2 years. Okafor in '04. ROY. He has a long career ahead of him. Once we have a coach that can define roles, figure out how he and Nazr can work at the same time, he is going to be great. Or maybe just fine...either way I like the guy.

[MattD]

Mek is a solid double double guy,


Wrong.... Wrong. Wrong. This is where he is looked at incorrectly. Let me just check his averages, o ok 12 points 10 rebounds. Hes solid, not great not bad. WRONG. He goes out some nights and is unbelievable, 18 points 15 rebounds 4 blocks. He looks like a stud. Fine everyone has great games, then he manages to come back out two nights later with 4 points on 1-7 shooting with 2-8 freethrows and grabs 6 boards. Eventually, it averages out to be 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The inconsistency is where we are killed. How are we supposed to have a foundation when a pillar is shaking. Consistency and Chemistry make teams. We have neither right now (chemistry between coach and player that is), and thats why with a talented roster we are not as good as we should be. Mek is not worth more then 6-7 mill a year in my opinion. I dont know if I would even want him back, his chemistry with vincent is obviously disastrous. Take note he never plays at the end of close games.

Say what you like, but I'd rather have a player who averages 6 points 8 boards, and does it every night then have mr zero to hero to zero.

Remember the old bobcats who played musical chairs for whos turn it was to score a lot that night. How did that work out? Yeahhhhh

[BIGCatBobcat]

Matt I gotta say youre right. As I finished my post, I just like him because he is our guy, but team comes first.

[MattD]

Matt I gotta say youre right. As I finished my post, I just like him because he is our guy, but team comes first.


yeah I didnt mean to come down hard, but its just the way I feel, and I love the guy too, he is the Bobcats guy you know? But sometimes, when a team wants to "elevate" themselves, they need to take their roster seriously and not spend a lot of money on a player who isnt worth it or maybe is not even helping the franchise with his play. Recently though, I have to say, Mek has been looking better. Still sign him to a shorter like 2 year 13 million contract, and then if he has shown he is ready to step up and be a difference maker, give him the big bucks. Not yet though, not now. And if he wont accept it, move on, they are going to be some nice FA's on the market

[willyfray]

I think that part of the reason he has transformed himself, to some extent, over the past few weeks is not only because of the challenger in Nazr, but also because Mek is in a contract year and wants to prove that he deserves "Dwight money." I agree that he certainly does not deserve that kind of money, but, looking at it from a smart, business perspective, as Emeka would do, having seriously majored in business at UConn, I would say that he has a chance to get a pretty large contract, judging from the increased openness of Bob Johnson's wallet, the loyal nature of MJ (as we have seen in his hirings), the loyal nature of Bernie, who will not want to see Emeka, his first draft pick, leave, and the dumb-blonde-ness of Vincent. In addition to the fact that he is now surrounded by more talent than he ever has been since his college days, Emeka has more reason to play as hard as possible because the Bobcats have a seriously legit chance of making the playoffs (one game out as of last night!). Also, the addition of Nazr makes comparison of his current numbers to his pre-Nazr numbers somewhat skewed, because he can worry less about fouling (leading to more blocks) with Nazr as back-up instead of Gerald. With this wider distribution of fouls, he plays longer, and, thus, gets higher numbers. Hopefully the main reason that he is improving his stats is that he has genuinely turned it on because of an increased desire to win, but I doubt that this is the truth.

[MattD]

Will... all that is true, but heres the problem. Vincent doesn't like to play them together. Go figure?

I think the ultimate decision would be ditch Vincent and see how it goes, because in some ways I am afraid we are not seeing the "real" okafor that we should be under this idiot coach

[willyfray]

When I was saying that Nazr had helped him, it was more that Emeka was freer to play tougher defense and get more breaks because he had real help, which he has never had before, except for the small amount of games that May has played in. That's a good point about Vincent, though, another reason why we should get rid of him.

[dav7z]

Oka shows flashes of being a beast .Then other times hes seems below average. Vincent could play a big role in that. I remember in his rookie year he was MR. consistant now he's any thing but that.
Either he has got very complasent because of the big bucks or the coaching or somthing is holding him back.

I have noticed more fire and better play the last two weaks. I think thats due to it being a contract year.The next 40 games is going to play a big part in what size contract he gets.

[Keetch]

I've noticed a huge upgrade in Mek's play the last 5 games (since MLK day against San Antonio). I don't have any idea why, but I'm sure there's a reason; he's probably just stopped listening to Mokeski and Radio is all. In any event...I LIKE IT. Seeing Mek excel is very exciting to watch.

Lately, Okafor is hitting jumpers from 15 feet with consistency which is something he totally wasn't doing before. That plus he's slamming the ball down for 2 like every opportunity and not relying on weak and defendable bank shots.

His weakness will always be his hands. They're just not great and probably never will be. He'll go through spells where he's fumbling the ball; and that's pretty frustrating for a Center, but not all that uncommon.

Lately he's been playing like an All-Star. Will it keep up? Well, if he can do this now, he can do it later; so why not? Bobcats coaching is the only why not I can think of.

Okafor and Crash on defense are pure joy to watch, and for the past 5 games, Mek's offense has been almost just as fun.

[Muttley]

Lately, Okafor is hitting jumpers from 15 feet with consistency which is something he totally wasn't doing before. That plus he's slamming the ball down for 2 like every opportunity and not relying on weak and defendable bank shots.


Yeah, where the hell did those jumpers come from? They're usually pretty dead-on too. I don't know where they came from, and I don't care, just keep hitting them.

It's gotta be the coach...

[amour217]

It's gotta be the coach...


http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/amour217/Okafor2.jpg

[Keetch]

lol that needs a caption "mmmmmm.....fine ham biscuit...."

[Mustachio]

You guys are looking for Bigfoot.

Everyone keeps saying trade Okafor or give him a crappy contract and if he doesn't like it... let his ass walk. Ok great idea... trade him or let him go. But you tell me, is there another option. NO, the grass is always greener on the other team(i think thats how it goes).

There is no bigfoot. There is no superstar Center that magically produces more than Mek, or wants less money, or is attainable. there just isnt.

Emeka Okafor is a solid NBA player. Sure he has stone hands and disappears in some games. But you cant name 4 Centers in this league that you cant say the very same exact thing about.

Bottom line look at the Detroit Pistons. You can look at every position on that team and pick 2-3 better individual players at that position. Yet despite they go out every night and win and make the playoffs and win championships. They have 3 things that we dont even slightly have. Coaching. Chemistry. Experience.

This isnt fantasy basketball boys. You don't go out and build a team with 13 superstars and win ball games. Every other team out there is trying to win too. You guys seem to think replacing 20-10 at the center position is cake. IS IT. ask New Jersey. ask Cleveland. Orlando isnt gonna come to us and say you know what... how bout we give you Dwight Howard for Okafor and call it a day. It aint happening.

Are there better centers than Emeka Okafor. Sure. Do we have a chance at getting them? Hell no. Im not saying pay the man Dwight Howard money. Im just making sure we can replace what we are so anxious to get rid of. Its not as easy as some of you would like to think.

[amour217]

You guys are looking for Bigfoot.

Everyone keeps saying trade Okafor or give him a crappy contract and if he doesn't like it... let his ass walk. Ok great idea... trade him or let him go. But you tell me, is there another option. NO, the grass is always greener on the other team(i think thats how it goes).

There is no bigfoot. There is no superstar Center that magically produces more than Mek, or wants less money, or is attainable. there just isnt.

Emeka Okafor is a solid NBA player. Sure he has stone hands and disappears in some games. But you cant name 4 Centers in this league that you cant say the very same exact thing about.

Bottom line look at the Detroit Pistons. You can look at every position on that team and pick 2-3 better individual players at that position. Yet despite they go out every night and win and make the playoffs and win championships. They have 3 things that we dont even slightly have. Coaching. Chemistry. Experience.

This isnt fantasy basketball boys. You don't go out and build a team with 13 superstars and win ball games. Every other team out there is trying to win too. You guys seem to think replacing 20-10 at the center position is cake. IS IT. ask New Jersey. ask Cleveland. Orlando isnt gonna come to us and say you know what... how bout we give you Dwight Howard for Okafor and call it a day. It aint happening.

Are there better centers than Emeka Okafor. Sure. Do we have a chance at getting them? Hell no. Im not saying pay the man Dwight Howard money. Im just making sure we can replace what we are so anxious to get rid of. Its not as easy as some of you would like to think.


You hit the nail on the head, homie. While Okafor has shown signs of being wildly inconsistent, it could definitely be worse...we could have someone like Mark Blount out there. I think if Okafor wants to earn his money, he should also start learning to play some PF. Okafor's no moron, he's a smart player who can be dominant if he really puts his mind to it. It'll also allow Crash to move to SF and preserve his body, while giving us a front line of Nazr, Okafor, and Crash...that's a nice defensive front line. J-Rich and Felton at the guard positions makes for a very nice-looking team.

[Mustachio]

i still have yet to see what is wrong with this lineup.

Ray, Rich, Crash, Oak, Nazr. He wont try it for more than 8 minutes so theres no telling how it works.

I believe that with some playing time that lineup could be very very good.

allow that lineup to gel, build chemistry, and develop with eachother. MAKE THAT YOUR STARTING 5!!!

Then actually give your starters a rest AT THE APPROPRIATE times, by subbing in Jeff, Matt, Dude, Hollins, and Davidson.

you know... like an NBA team. Sams overthinking this thing i think.

[davcbow]

Davidson is in the D League right now so that would be the big O or is that 0?
:g:

[MattD]

You guys are looking for Bigfoot.

Everyone keeps saying trade Okafor or give him a crappy contract and if he doesn't like it... let his ass walk. Ok great idea... trade him or let him go. But you tell me, is there another option.

Antwain Jamison... play nazr at starting center



Emeka Okafor is a solid NBA player. Sure he has stone hands and disappears in some games. But you cant name 4 Centers in this league that you cant say the very same exact thing about.

Im going to be honest, Ive been repeating this line over and over in my head... still isnt making any sense. I can not name 4 centers who i cannot say the same about? Ok I think I got it, yeah I can, Marcus Camby, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming (all superstars, but there are more).




Bottom line look at the Detroit Pistons. You can look at every position on that team and pick 2-3 better individual players at that position. Yet despite they go out every night and win and make the playoffs and win championships. They have 3 things that we dont even slightly have. Coaching. Chemistry. Experience.

great example in my argument... they are consistant. Rarely does one of their great core players go out and have an off night. It happens, but they can recover from that, with our limited team, we get screwed. Emeka lives on and off.



This isnt fantasy basketball boys. You don't go out and build a team with 13 superstars and win ball games. Every other team out there is trying to win too. You guys seem to think replacing 20-10 at the center position is cake. IS IT. ask New Jersey. ask Cleveland. Orlando isnt gonna come to us and say you know what... how bout we give you Dwight Howard for Okafor and call it a day. It aint happening.

obviously, except we have a great opportunity to get Jamison this summer. we are in position, so if we open our wallet, it is a piece of cake



I will say it again, hes inconsistency hurts us, though he has been playing like a beast recently. Frankly I still believe everything I wrote earlier about this subject.

[spectre]

Antwain Jamison... play nazr at starting center

Sell me on that one, esp. on defense and him being able to stay in the game without getting into foul trouble. Take into account that Jamison is considered a VERY weak defender.

[MattD]

and okafor is considered elite? he has been mediocre, and terrible and great. At least antawn can score and trust me he was one of the better defenders on the wizards, not that that says much... He doesnt replace a true big, but still, I would rather have antawn in my lineup then okafor

[TheBeagle]

i still have yet to see what is wrong with this lineup.

Ray, Rich, Crash, Oak, Nazr. He wont try it for more than 8 minutes so theres no telling how it works.

I believe that with some playing time that lineup could be very very good.

allow that lineup to gel, build chemistry, and develop with eachother. MAKE THAT YOUR STARTING 5!!!

Then actually give your starters a rest AT THE APPROPRIATE times, by subbing in Jeff, Matt, Dude, Hollins, and Davidson.

you know... like an NBA team. Sams overthinking this thing i think.
I agree. I've been crying for that lineup for a month or so. It's the stubborness, the recalcitrance of not even trying it is what pisses me off the most. If it doesn't work, so be it; but it can hardly be any worse than some of the holes we dig ourselves by starting Jeff every game, even when, especially when the matchups are against that!

[spectre]

and okafor is considered elite?  he has been mediocre, and terrible and great.  At least antawn can score and trust me he was one of the better defenders on the wizards, not that that says much...  He doesnt replace a true big, but still, I would rather have antawn in my lineup then okafor


You can't expect to shoot your way to victory while allowing the other team unfettered access to the rim.

Nazr has never been able to stay on the court consistently without getting into foul trouble and you're wanting him to match up against Howard, Garnett, JON, Shaq, Curry/Randolph and the rest for 35-40 mpg?  He'll NEVER make it.  To even make this work you're going to have to get  a Haywood/Diop type to show some sign of defense in the paint...and it can't be a Jake Voskuhl because he's going to have to pull big minutes as well.

Jamison has also never been considered a "good" defender; at his very best it's average.  That's not to say I wouldn't love to have him, but you can't ignore the negatives.  Regardless the question I asked wasn't about Jamison, but Nazr.

Edit:

Maybe you could cover it in the draft with a Hibbert type?

[MattD]

he pulled down 20 rebounds last night... and brendan haywood, brendan freakin haywood manages to do just what you are saying nazr cannot, and nazr is much better then him... and the wiz have a better record.

As far as shooting your way to victory, I agree, but at the same time, Golden State does it.

[willyfray]

I don't know how to do this, but Matty D deserves a +1 thing for his post earlier.

[spectre]

he pulled down 20 rebounds last night... and brendan haywood, brendan freakin haywood manages to do just what you are saying nazr cannot, and nazr is much better then him... and the wiz have a better record. 

As far as shooting your way to victory, I agree, but at the same time, Golden State does it. 


Again...I'm not asking about Jamison and to me he's beside the point as I've already said I'd love to have him...but getting rebounds isn't the same as defending the paint.  Primoz was a pretty decent rebounder for us too.

What makes you think that Nazr is a much better defender than Haywood?

So far as being a more efficient player, Hayood's EFF is over 15 while Nazr's is 10.5.  I like Nazr, but you have to look at his career stats and realize that he's never been starter material in his career.  He's also 30 and in his 9th season.

Edit: Shouldn't say "never" as obviously he has started over the years. I'm talking about the main defense for a team consistently.

[dnbman]

I've said this in other threads, but I'll say it again here:

We don't want to base judgments on individual talent on this season's performances. Vincent and his system have screwed up a lot of players, allowing for little in the way of consistency, which seems to be the biggest point of contention. Add to that the fact that we have so many young players, and it's hard to have the kind of sleek machine that Detroit has.

We need a good system and time.

There's only one trophy given out each year, and a whole lot of good organizations have yet to receive it. Building a championship team is not easy.

[dvdbumpus]

Jamison has also never been considered a "good" defender; at his very best it's average. That's not to say I wouldn't love to have him, but you can't ignore the negatives. Regardless the question I asked wasn't about Jamison, but Nazr.

Edit:

Maybe you could cover it in the draft with a Hibbert type?


I think Jamison would complement Okafor well. He's a diverse scorer who can rebound tremendously. Okafor is the defensive presense, and Jamison is a good help defender who would be able to start with May backing him up and learning from him.

Hibbert will be a good player to get, but would fit best in an old school type team like Detroit where it's half court and slowed down. Hibbert struggles in the fast paced full court press game and wouldn't fit well here.

[davcbow]

Jamison has also never been considered a "good" defender; at his very best it's average. That's not to say I wouldn't love to have him, but you can't ignore the negatives. Regardless the question I asked wasn't about Jamison, but Nazr.

Edit:

Maybe you could cover it in the draft with a Hibbert type?


I think Jamison would complement Okafor well. He's a diverse scorer who can rebound tremendously. Okafor is the defensive presense, and Jamison is a good help defender who would be able to start with May backing him up and learning from him.

Hibbert will be a good player to get, but would fit best in an old school type team like Detroit where it's half court and slowed down. Hibbert struggles in the fast paced full court press game and wouldn't fit well here.


Where would Nazr fit in ?

[Muttley]

Antwain Jamison... play nazr at starting center

Sell me on that one, esp. on defense and him being able to stay in the game without getting into foul trouble. Take into account that Jamison is considered a VERY weak defender.



Being 25 and not 31 is helpful too.

[MattD]

I don't know how to do this, but Matty D deserves a +1 thing for his post earlier.


yeah youve got to have 50 posts I think before you can do it,

either way, your right building a championship team isnt easy. Okafor and some other bobcats players are so confusing, it seems difficult to know whether when we sign them we are hurting ourselves on the long run or putting our selfs in good position to develop these players. Tough decisions for MJ BB and Hig

[willyfray]

Who's Hig?

[Muttley]

Who's Hig?

Rod Higgins

[MattD]

he didnt disappear in the second half or anything tonight... oh wait

[TheBeagle]

he didnt disappear in the second half or anything tonight... oh wait
I'll have to say his disappearance had less to do with him than with his teammates. They'd pass the ball to him occasionally, he'd get triple teamed at times, he'd kick out, and then wouldn't get the 2nd feed. Mek was pretty strong tonight with 13 and 15, he just got absolutely nothing from Nazr (3 rebs?!?!?!?!). Poor FTs, deplorable defense, and poor 2nd half offensive execution did us in tonight; Mek held his own.

[MattD]

yeah your right... we all sucked...

[amour217]

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/amour217/numbers.jpg

[Slam]

I've really enjoyed EO50 over the past 3 years and supported him 100% although about 4 weeks ago I thought trading him would be the best idea - and the jury is till out on that one!!.

I love his intelligence, his ability to learn, his workman like approach to the game and his evolution. The one thing that I have always questioned about him though is his aggression. Is he too nice?

There is something about watching Amare jam the ball down someone's throat or Chris Wilcox soar in for the monster one hand jam or a fit (or even busted) K-Mart double hand slap the backboard after swinging from the rim just fresh from dunking over 3 defenders that really gets the juices flowing.

Our boy, although he can do a lot of things, has never done that. Until latley.

I love the power dunk not just because it's breath taking for the fans and creates a big time buzz with noises of "ohhhhhhhh's" and "ahhhhhhhhh's" from the crowd and the collective audience at home, but also because it sends a clear and decisive message to the opposing team. That message: "if I catch it, I'm down low and you are trying to guard me, you'd best be wearing your hard hat".

EO50 has always seemed more content with his spinning hooks with both hands or his attempted bank of the glass than dunking the ball with authority.................that was up until about 3 weeks ago. Then something changed. Emeka got angry!!

So my question is, can aggression like that be taught? Can it be discovered? Can it be a learnt skill or is it something that some people are just born with and others only dream about (or think it's not that important?). The way I see it is that EO50 has a new found aggression that has come about one of two ways. Those ways:

1. It's always been there, but he has been busy working on other aspects of his game to unleash it. He's been working on that 15ft baseline J, those nifty little hook shots with both hands, his drop step and his posting. Now he's decided that he's happy with the other aspects of his game that it's time to "let the big dog off the leash". He's a big, strong unit and he knows that if he goes up hard people will have trouble stopping him. It's been there all along but the time is no right to flex his ample muscle.

2. Jay Schwartz has gotten into his ear and told him that every time he plays like "toodles" he's costing himself money and the potential of a big deal over the summer. So EO50 comes out, plays strong for a few months, gets his money only to revert back to "toodles" next year because being aggressive really isn't in his nature.

So which one is it? Or am I selling the situation short and there are more than 2 options? Maybe I am over thinking the whole thing??

Either way, the "angry" EO50 has a MUCH greater effect on the game than the "toodles" EO50.

[Muttley]

"toodles"... that's good.

We've all seen both sides of Oak. I like that he's been developing these other aspects of his offensive game, but you're right on about him. Sometimes when he plays it seems as though he has no idea how powerful of a force he can be. Lately, we've been fortunate enough to see him unleash "the big dog." I hope that we'll be able to see that night in and night out for at least a few years to come.