Okeke, Okoro NBA Talk

[WarTim 3,456]

On 3/25/2021 at 12:19 PM, tgrogan21 said:

The Cavs have a really promising young roster. Sexton, Garland, Okoro, and Allen can grow together and become something really special, IMO. I don't get to watch every game they play but I watched the Cavs/Bulls game last night and if you just look at stats you don't realize what a special player Okoro is at such a young age. He is so freaking tenacious on defense and never quits and it becomes infectious with the other guys. Now he's starting to be a bit more agressive on offense with driving to the bucket and his 3 point percentage is sitting at like 38% over his last 12 games.

There was a play last night that really stood out to me. There was a loose ball and him and another Cavs player dove for it before it just bounced to an open man in the corner. Okoro was on his feet and back on defense with a hand in the shooters face to cause him to miss what should have been a wide open 3. It was only about a second or two but I was impressed with how fast he was able to recover and make the shooter miss.

Great post. Really good D. 

[tgrogan21 6,198]

Okeke gets the start tonight after his hot game the other night. 8 minutes left in the first half and he has 12 points on 5-6 shooting and 2-2 from 3. He also has 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.

I actually had to change my post because he made another shot while typing it out.

Edited March 27, 2021 by tgrogan21

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

I wish they left that troglodyte unbanned...Chuma technically looking like a ROTY favorite (not actually eligible I believe)

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

Dude is already starting to mold into an elite 3 and D player in his first season....a truncated season at that

what a horrible poster

[mcgufcm 4,096]

I love Chuma. Super excited to see him carve out a larger role, but LaMelo ended the ROTY debate a long time ago. Even without playing the rest of the season. That’s over. 

[augolf1716 21,109]

From last night game against Portland

 

Chuma Okeke — a career high 22 for the first year forward, courtesy of an eye-popping 9-15 from the field and 4-6 from deep. He also chipped in 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while demonstrating individual defensive gains in his matchup against Carmelo (who torched him last time out).

[TexasTiger 12,835]

16 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

From last night game against Portland

 

Chuma Okeke — a career high 22 for the first year forward, courtesy of an eye-popping 9-15 from the field and 4-6 from deep. He also chipped in 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while demonstrating individual defensive gains in his matchup against Carmelo (who torched him last time out).

What a bust.

[jj3jordan 2,051]

1 hour ago, augolf1716 said:

From last night game against Portland

 

Chuma Okeke — a career high 22 for the first year forward, courtesy of an eye-popping 9-15 from the field and 4-6 from deep. He also chipped in 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while demonstrating individual defensive gains in his matchup against Carmelo (who torched him last time out).

I check both "O"s box scores every game and they are doing great. But it seems the box score hardly ever adds up correctly. Am I crazy or is 9-15 (18 pts) and 4-6 from deep (12 pts) supposed to add up to 30 not 22? It happens all the time to numerous players on every ESPN box score.  Sometimes it adds up sometimes not. Can someone explain this to me? Or does the NBA/ESPN have the worst interns ever.

[TexasTiger 12,835]

1 hour ago, jj3jordan said:

I check both "O"s box scores every game and they are doing great. But it seems the box score hardly ever adds up correctly. Am I crazy or is 9-15 (18 pts) and 4-6 from deep (12 pts) supposed to add up to 30 not 22? It happens all the time to numerous players on every ESPN box score.  Sometimes it adds up sometimes not. Can someone explain this to me? Or does the NBA/ESPN have the worst interns ever.

He was 5 of 9 from within the arc.

[augolf1716 21,109]

1 hour ago, jj3jordan said:

I check both "O"s box scores every game and they are doing great. But it seems the box score hardly ever adds up correctly. Am I crazy or is 9-15 (18 pts) and 4-6 from deep (12 pts) supposed to add up to 30 not 22? It happens all the time to numerous players on every ESPN box score.  Sometimes it adds up sometimes not. Can someone explain this to me? Or does the NBA/ESPN have the worst interns ever.

It adds up 4 threes with 5 twos equal 22. He had no FT's

[jj3jordan 2,051]

1 hour ago, augolf1716 said:

It adds up 4 threes with 5 twos equal 22. He had no FT's

Oh ok thanks. I thought the shots were broken out by twos and threes. That makes sense now.  Glad to see they are both doing so great. Bummed that they could both be on our team right now!!

Edited March 27, 2021 by jj3jordan

[cole256 17,051]

12 hours ago, mcgufcm said:

I love Chuma. Super excited to see him carve out a larger role, but LaMelo ended the ROTY debate a long time ago. Even without playing the rest of the season. That’s over. 

I don't think so. If Edwards continue his pace and consistently put up 20 a game he'll get it

[cole256 17,051]

4 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

It adds up 4 threes with 5 twos equal 22. He had no FT's

When Isaac get back.....going to be scary. All they need is the right free agent......they'll be legit

[augolf1716 21,109]

9 minutes ago, cole256 said:

When Isaac get back.....going to be scary. All they need is the right free agent......they'll be legit

If Isaac coud stay healthy it could be legit......seems like the Magic have been rebuilding since Howard left

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

12 hours ago, mcgufcm said:

I love Chuma. Super excited to see him carve out a larger role, but LaMelo ended the ROTY debate a long time ago. Even without playing the rest of the season. That’s over. 

I dunno! I loved Lamelo, but the guy's been playing with at least 3 very good NBA players in Rozier, Bridges and Gordon. Made his job alot easier and obv gave the guy the adv of a playoff contending team. Outside of Vuce and Terrance Ross....I mean

Orlando isnt the greatest! but amongst guys that were drafted this year, Melo is definitely a step above to me 

[cole256 17,051]

7 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I dunno! I loved Lamelo, but the guy's been playing with at least 3 very good NBA players in Rozier, Bridges and Gordon. Made his job alot easier and obv gave the guy the adv of a playoff contending team. Outside of Vuce and Terrance Ross....I mean

Orlando isnt the greatest! but amongst guys that were drafted this year, Melo is definitely a step above to me 

I told people Melo wasn't a joke. Me and @Tiger had PM's going and I told him you could tell he was going to be lanky as he got older and his vision was crazy. But he could really shoot and score too. He has been the alpha everywhere he's played. You have to look at stuff like that.

You can see I have him in my avi, I'm not surprised at all. Only thing that could mess him up is if he had a horrible coach.

 

Man can you even imagine what he could do in Bruce's offense? He is literally made for it. I suggested I wish we could get him and a few people were against that.....you have to look at the player and what all they can do.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

12 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I told people Melo wasn't a joke. Me and @Tiger had PM's going and I told him you could tell he was going to be lanky as he got older and his vision was crazy. But he could really shoot and score too. He has been the alpha everywhere he's played. You have to look at stuff like that.

You can see I have him in my avi, I'm not surprised at all. Only thing that could mess him up is if he had a horrible coach.

 

Man can you even imagine what he could do in Bruce's offense? He is literally made for it. I suggested I wish we could get him and a few people were against that.....you have to look at the player and what all they can do.

Anyone who was actually...put off, by his father was just someone I couldnt talk ball with. Even if he was obnoxious as possible all season, who cares??? Lakers gave dude a slap on the wrist, he calmed down a little. That's all you gotta do! 

You deal with it, and you get a 6'8 PG (I think he was like 6'5 at that point), with every tool that Cade has plus near Lonzo level facilitating. I'd say his vision is actually preferable bc of the fact he can dribble better and get to his spots in the half court. That's always going to work against Zo. 

The death of the NCAA is going to come in them giving prospects like Melo, Jalen Green, etc another opportunity. They couldve modernized, but they picked this path, and now we have a TRANSCENDENT draft...and almost NONE of that starpower is in the tourney right now.

[toddc 13,194]

10 hours ago, jj3jordan said:

I check both "O"s box scores every game and they are doing great. But it seems the box score hardly ever adds up correctly. Am I crazy or is 9-15 (18 pts) and 4-6 from deep (12 pts) supposed to add up to 30 not 22? It happens all the time to numerous players on every ESPN box score.  Sometimes it adds up sometimes not. Can someone explain this to me? Or does the NBA/ESPN have the worst interns ever.

It means total % including 3s

[casatiger 513]

Okeke led the Magic in scoring last night.  Good win for the team. 

[Rednilla 5,390]

Amusing that this thread has gone so utterly opposite of what the troll wanted to do with it...

[toddc 13,194]

Chuma Okeke excelling as starter for Orlando Magic

88 minutes ago

The Orlando Magic certainly aren’t regretting their decision to insert Chuma Okeke into the starting lineup.

After the franchise unloaded its frontcourt stars at the NBA trade deadline and went into full rebuilding mode, the door was opened for Okeke, a former Auburn standout, to assume a starting role — which he has for the past three games.

And over the past week, Okeke has been a highly efficient player for the Magic in all aspects of his game. In his last four games, three of them starts, Okeke is averaging 17.8 points per game on 62.8% shooting from the floor and an even more impressive 63.2% clip (12-for-19) from 3-point range. Okeke is also averaging 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per outing during the four-game stretch.

At the trade deadline, Orlando sent two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and former No. 4 overall pick Aaron Gordonto the Bulls and Nuggets, respectively, diving head first into a rebuild with a mostly young and unproven roster — and paving the way for Okeke to make up for the Vucevic and Gordon's minutes. Evan Fournier, a wing, was also traded to the Celtics.

One game before the big trades and before Okeke was given the starting nod, the rookie gave Orlando good reason to trust him on the court moving forward. In a win over the Suns, Okeke scored a career-high 17 points, thanks in large part to a 4-for-4 mark from downtown.

The following game, Okeke's first career start, he bested his season high again, scoring 22 points with six rebounds, six assists and two steals against the Trail Blazers.

In a win over the Clippers on Tuesday night, Okeke led the Magic in scoring with 18 points and helped Orlando pull off a comeback win, as the team ended the game on a 17-3 run.

Okeke, a 6-foot-8, 229-pound power forward, has an average game score (measure of overall player productivity) of 15.75 over his last four games. Anything greater than 10 is considered an above-average game score.

“He is going to continue to grow because of his attitude,” Magic head coach Steve Clifford said after the win Tuesday. “He works. He has got good instincts. He competes naturally. It’s too early to be saying he can be this or he can be that, but he has a chance to be a very good player.”

Drafted 16th overall two years ago, Okeke sat out the entirety of his first NBA season and was designated to Orlando's G League team while he recovered from a knee injury that he suffered during Auburn's NCAA tournament run to the Final Four. But the Magic made a long-term investment with drafting Okeke, not needing him to step up immediately and knowing his recovery and development would take time.

Though the Magic said early on that Okeke could possibly return to the court in the G League last season, his coaches urged him not to rush, and ultimately the two sides agreed on a “redshirt year” for Okeke. The move benefitted both sides. Orlando wasn’t paying a player to sit on the bench but was still able to retain his rights by way of Okeke’s G League contract, and Okeke will make more money on his rookie deal by signing on the rookie scale — which inflates annually — for 2020-21 rather than 2019.

On the season, Okeke has played 31 games for the Magic; he missed a month with a bone bruise sustained in December. He had scored in double figures just twice prior to his recent four-game tear.

A former four-star prospect from the Atlanta area, Okeke played two years for Bruce Pearl at Auburn, emerging into a pro prospect as a sophomore. Entering the 2019 NCAA tournament, there was some NBA buzz for Okeke due to his all-around skill set for a player his size, but his stock exploded once the postseason began.

He had dominant showings against Tennessee in the SEC tournament title game, Kansas in the Round of 32 and North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen until he tore his ACL with 8 minutes remaining in that game.

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His teammates then adopted the mantra "Do it for Chuma" ahead of their Elite Eight matchup with Kentucky. Okeke was not present at the arena in Kansas City at the start of the game after his surgery just a day prior. But once things tipped off, he decided he needed to be there with his team. He was wheeled into the arena in the second half, and he watched Auburn secure its first Final Four berth in program history by way of an overtime win over Kentucky.

3COMMENTS

Okeke then became Auburn's first player to be drafted in the first round since 2000. Isaac Okoro then followed him up by becoming the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft, giving Auburn consecutive first-round NBA draft picks for the first time in program history.

The Tigers could have three straight this year should point guard Sharife Cooper, who has been given first-round grade by most, declare.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

So much for the opinion of some wannabe "experts" here re. Okeke

Edited March 31, 2021 by Proud Tiger

[gravejd 3,270]

I'm just a little sad the OP got kicked before we could all thoroughly rub his face in it. Not much sad.....very little lol

But man am i happy to see okeke thriving now. He was such a dominant player the last half of his sophmore season. I knew if he could recover even 75% of the player that he was then he was going to be fine in the NBA. Looks like he has more than recovered and has taken the time off to really fine tune his game. Those shooting percentages are off the charts amazing! 

[cole256 17,051]

👌🏾

[mustache eagle 2,398]

On 4/1/2021 at 10:07 AM, gravejd said:

I'm just a little sad the OP got kicked before we could all thoroughly rub his face in it. Not much sad.....very little lol

But man am i happy to see okeke thriving now. He was such a dominant player the last half of his sophmore season. I knew if he could recover even 75% of the player that he was then he was going to be fine in the NBA. Looks like he has more than recovered and has taken the time off to really fine tune his game. Those shooting percentages are off the charts amazing! 

The guy was a douche troll ...  absolutely guarantee he has come back and read every post in this thread.  That’s what a loser like him would do.