The impression that Jahlil Okafor left in his first professional game was as lasting as it was immediate. During the opening 10 minutes of play at TD Garden on Wednesday, the third overall pick in the June 2015 NBA Draft picked apart the Boston Celtics’ veteran front line , scoring 10 points, grabbing two rebounds, and blocking a pair of shots. About 12 hours after the Sixers arrived back in Philadelphia following their 112-95 loss to the C’s, there was still buzz about the rookie’s debut.
“I didn’t sleep long, but I slept well last night,” said Brett Brown, who had the team go through only a light, 50-minute on-court walkthrough at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine on Thursday. “You feel comfort in that I can see what can be.”
Okafor took cues from Brown when it came to evaluating his own performance.
“After talking to coach, and talking to the team, he thought it was positive,” Okafor said Thursday. “He thought there was a lot of positive things during the game. I trust Coach, so does the team, so I left [Boston] feeling positive.”
As much as Okafor’s tangible stats jumped off the final box score, Brown was also encouraged by some of the subtleties of the Duke product’s game.
Brown pointed out, “He came down the floor, and tried to break someone down off a live ball, that was a little bit different. Him backing people down and showing one way and finishing back the other was a little different. Him making a jab-step pull through, and then hitting a tough 15-footer over a hand, and we haven’t even gotten to the basic post-up. I saw somebody that can score in a variety of ways.”
Many of those successful moves came at the expense of Boston center Tyler Zeller. The four-year veteran was no match for Okafor, who scored his first eight points against Zeller. With Okafor having his way, Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens decided to sub out Zeller after about five minutes. When Okafor won another man-to-man battle against the bigger-bodied Jared Sullinger, Stevens later resorted to deploying a double-team.
“I was surprised that they started double-teaming me,” Okafor said. “I didn’t think I was going to be doubled my first NBA game. I knew it would happen eventually, but I got off to a hot start, so as a result, I got double-teamed.”
Next up for Okafor and the Sixers is Friday’s home-opener against Utah. The Jazz boasts the Stifle Tower, Rudy Gobert. The France native weighs in at 7’1″, 245-pounds (three inches shorter, roughly 25 pounds lighter than Okafor), and is coming off a strong second NBA season. Last year, he had the league’s eighth-best offensive rating, and fifth-best defensive rating.
Practice Points:
Jahlil Okafor’s efforts against the Celtics created a valuable residual effect, with Nerlens Noel finding additional situations in which he could assert himself. Noel took 13 shots, and seven free throw attempts. He finished with 14 points, and 12 boards. Brett Brown said confidently, “[Okafor] and Nerlens can co-exist. And I think life’s going to be even simpler when you get [Robert] Covington back that can shoot, and [Nik] Stauskas back that can shoot.”Brown felt that, at Boston, Noel was searching for chances to set-up Okafor.”He was looking at that big-big relationship we keep talking about. [His] first look should be to shoot it, second look should be to find the other big, third look should be to play that other side of the floor and quarterback the gym.”
Friday will be the first regular season opportunity for Sixers fans to see the team play at The Center. Brett Brown believes the home crowd will identify with several characteristics that the young group has so far displayed. “I feel that [the fans] respect competitive play. I feel that the city respects energy. I feel that the city appreciates no backdown. By and large, we play like that. So to walk into our building, and deliver that type of mindset and attitude, and let these guys understand, that’s all [the fans] want at this stage. The city is fantastic in supporting us. It’s on us to reciprocate and play with that type of style.”
Nik Stauskas has been classified as “probable” for Friday’s contest against the Utah Jazz. Stauskas started experiencing back spasms during Wednesday’s pre-game warm-ups.Brett Brown said that Stauskas “may play…but is still up in the air.” Brown also confirmed that Robert Covington will remain sidelined versus Utah with a right knee MCL sprain.
