Thoughts on Okongwu?

[kg01]

17 hours ago, benhillboy said:

Yeah I think the references to King Kong aren’t in the best taste.  Young Yek is what I call him.  Double-O-Wreckin if I wanna get a little corny lol.

Yall see what @Spud2nique did to me...he ain’t right.

benhilly' avatar had me like ...

[Spud2nique]

3 hours ago, AHF said:

Looked it up and it was bleachkit who held that honor.  

Ya I wore Luka remember... Ironic thing is Luka was my target prospect for the entire 2018 draft. It was rough.

[JayBirdHawk]

3 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Ya I wore Luka remember... Ironic thing is Luka was my target prospect for the entire 2018 draft. It was rough.

that was fun while you had the Luka avatar. 

[JayBirdHawk]

16 hours ago, Cwell said:

Yeah, everybody was like wtf when we heard about the promise we gave Shelden. I was in denial, like Billy can't be this damn stupid, especially after passing on Chris Paul the year prior.....but little did I know smh

This sounds like me, denial all the way until the announcement.....

 

[JayBirdHawk]

All these avatar changes, love it  - I guess I need a new one for Sunday.

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, JayBirdHawk said:

All these avatar changes, love it  - I guess I need a new one for Sunday.

Kg went big screen comedy  lw3 went rapper delight. I don’t know what the hell is next. 

[Spud2nique]

6 hours ago, kg01 said:

benhilly' avatar had me like ...

Love Lovitz  

 

[Spud2nique]

16 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

that was fun while you had the Luka avatar. 

[Gray Mule]

53 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Kg went big screen comedy  lw3 went rapper delight. I don’t know what the hell is next. 

Me, I went great grand son!

[JayBirdHawk]

Hawks GM Travis Schlenk on Knicks matchup, Nate McMillan’s future in Atlanta, Cam Reddish, offseason priorities – The Athletic

Quote

Development of young players

Because this year was about winning instead of the development of the rookies, we saw a slow process for Onyeka Okongwu unfold. He wasn’t able to participate in training camp before the start of the season due to his foot injury and, again, because the team was so deep and focused on winning, it meant figuring out when to use Okongwu just wasn’t a priority for Pierce and McMillan.

Schlenk said he had meetings with both coaches to try getting him on the court for short stints in the first half of games. That’s why we saw some games when Okongwu would play three to five minutes in the first half and not play at all in the second half. If Okongwu didn’t play well in those few minutes, then there was no need to put him back out there in the second half, but if he did play well in that short amount of time, he’d play in the second half.

That’s what the team was forced to do to evaluate him because the Hawks didn’t have a G League team play this season, so that little amount of time was the only time they could get a sense of the kind of player he was. Over time, Okongwu ended up getting more comfortable, and we saw him start to carve out a role for himself as the backup five. He’s already shown that he has the potential to be a special player in this league because you can just see his knowledge of what he’s supposed to do on the floor pop in important moments.

“Everyone was calling him a bust at the beginning, but you have to remember that this was a young man who didn’t have a Summer League because of COVID, he didn’t have a training camp because of his foot and we’re playing games that we’re trying to win,” Schlenk said.

“In the long term, he has a really good touch around the basket. I think you’re going to see him become a good shooter. He’s going to be a good foul shooter. I anticipate he’ll be able to make jump shots. I think he has a great feel for the game. When we’re trying to post somebody up and the post is fronted, flash into the high post and go high-low. He has that stuff naturally. Catching the ball on the short roll, looking to the weak side corner. Just little things like that that take players time. He already has that stuff. Defensively, he has great timing and he has great hands. Being able to get steals, strips and being able to protect the rim are what you are going to see out of him.”

It’s not clear what kind of role, if any, Okongwu will have in the playoffs, but what we saw over the past few weeks should be encouraging for his future spot in the rotation moving forward.

 

[bleachkit]

On 5/19/2021 at 9:13 AM, AHF said:

Looked it up and it was bleachkit who held that honor.  

My finest hour as Hawksquawk poster.

[Wretch]

@Spud2nique

So, no I'm not ready to gush over this kid...  Though last night, Okongwu caught my attention with his activity on the glass.  It wasn't just his production during that short stint on the floor, it was the way he was getting to the ball.  I'm sure you were going nuts over that stretch and I have to admit, he was impressive. 

Mind you, this isn't a full on endorsement of the pick and I still haven't seen enough to make me want to retract what I've previously said...and I'm doubling down on the crux of my indifference - which is that I don't feel like it's necessary to burn a high lottery pick on his type of potential (or at least the the potential that I've seen in him). 

However, in light of what I saw last night he piqued my interest for the first time all season and I can say with some confidence that

Spoiler

I like Okongwu.

 

[HawkingAwesome]

Okongwu is special 

[cam1218]

15 minutes ago, Wretch said:

@Spud2nique

So, no I'm not ready to gush over this kid...  Though last night, Okongwu caught my attention with his activity on the glass.  It wasn't just his production during that short stint on the floor, it was the way he was getting to the ball.  I'm sure you were going nuts over that stretch and I have to admit, he was impressive. 

Mind you, this isn't a full on endorsement of the pick and I still haven't seen enough to make me want to retract what I've previously said...and I'm doubling down on the crux of my indifference - which is that I don't feel like it's necessary to burn a high lottery pick on his type of potential (or at least the the potential that I've seen in him). 

However, in light of what I saw last night he piqued my interest for the first time all season and I can say with some confidence that

  Reveal hidden contents

I like Okongwu.

 

The way he got to the ball plus what he did after. I was also impressed he didn’t try to force the issue and score each time. He’d immediately find an open ball handler to pass it out to.

[ATLHawks3]

Big shoutout to 'Gwu for the work he put in last night. 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 6 minutes. He was impactful in the minutes he got and did a nice job of being a defensive anchor. 

[benhillboy]

He posted a total rebound percentage in the first round of 18.5 (only 2.5 less than Capela) and a crazy 8.9 block percentage (5.4 higher than Capela.). This versus some pretty physical paint vets in Noel, Gibson, and Randle.  Somehow he shot more free throws than field goal attempts, all culminating in a 118 offensive rating to 110 defensively for the series.  That’s sensational for a rookie.  For comparison  Playoffs Headliner Trae was 120 to 110.

I think he is gonna be special because I value rebounding so much.  He covers long distances on his jumps and jumps hard and quick.  He always grabs and squeezed with two hands.  Then he immediately looks down to make sure he’s coming down safely.  He’s even made a few slick passes this season.

[HawkingAwesome]

1 minute ago, benhillboy said:

He posted a total rebound percentage in the first round of 18.5 (only 2.5 less than Capela) and a crazy 8.9 block percentage (5.4 higher than Capela.). This versus some pretty physical paint vets in Noel, Gibson, and Randle.  Somehow he shot more free throws than field goal attempts, all culminating in a 118 offensive rating to 110 defensively for the series.  That’s sensational for a rookie.  For comparison  Playoffs Headliner Trae was 120 to 110.

I think he is gonna be special because I value rebounding so much.  He covers long distances on his jumps and jumps hard and quick.  He always grabs and squeezed with two hands.  Then he immediately looks down to make sure he’s coming down safely.  He’s even made a few slick passes this season.

he's got basketball heat seeker hands and springs

[JayBirdHawk]

Imagine how much further along he would have been if he wasn't injured to start his NBA career.

I have high hopes for him going forward.

Edited June 3, 2021 by JayBirdHawk

[KB21]

4 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Imagine how much further along he would have been if he wasn't injured to start his NBA career.

I have high hopes for him going forward.

I have very high hopes.  He was my favorite prospect in the 2020 draft.  

[Thomas]

00 was effective and efficient. More minutes in the next round do believe and think Nate is gonna be at least a bit more free with that. Big glass battles coming up with Philly.