Yesterday he had 9 but it was revised down to 7. Today he has blocked duncan twice in 8 minutes. Has 4 blocks in the first half. He is leading the league in the blocks.He is becoming one of the best defensive players in the league.
Emeka Okafor has been largely ignored by the media and I brought that up this off season. He's come back strong. 19/13/2/4 a game. He's only played 7 games but holy cow he's becoming a defensive force like you said.
He's coming back really nicely, I watched a few of his games and he can really play some defense. I hope he keeps this up, he's really getting up there.
Yeah, I think Okafor is probaly one of the best shot blockers in the league,I mean we probaly haven't heard much about him because he has been injured.
I think that Okafor and Jermaine O'neal are the two best shot blockers in the game. Both Okafor and O'Neal have a great nack for finding and raising to the release point of the offensive player, and blocking it right out of his hands. Both are also athletic as well. As of right now, I would take Okafor as the best but there are others that can compete with him...
Yeah Emeka is a beast, he had a huge stuff on Timmy tonight. Tim was going to dunk it and Emeka just stuffed the hell out of his shot once it got to the rim, it was just like the block Amare had on Duncan in the 2005 playoffs.Anyways I do think that Emeka is the best shot blocker in the league cause he is so strong yet very mobile and explosive.
Man he is sooooo beast right now. I wish I had him on my fantasy team...unfortunately he is on my opponents team this week.
Right now he is the best. He has been dominant on the defensive end, and not only with shot blocks, but with his rebounding. He has taken the leadership role in Charlotte alongside Raymond Felton. I am looking forward to seing how far this team can go this year and next season.
Emeka hasn't gotten any hype or any recognition in the past year and a half because he's been out so much. People forget that he won Rookie of the Year 2 seasons ago, and people forget how good he really is. I love Emeka, and if he stays healthy he'll be one of the best bigs in the league for a long time. He does everything. He has an ok post game, he's as strong as anyone in the league, he's an excellent rebounder, he's an outstanding 1-on-1 defender, he's a great shot blocker, he's a model citizen and a great guy to build around, and he's very unselfish. He has the total package, the only thing that has kept him back was injuries.But is he the best shot blocker in the league? He may very well be, but you can't quite dethrown Mourning, Jermaine, Camby just yet. But he is an outstanding shot blocker. If he's not #1, he's easily top 3 right now IMO.
Honestly, imo Okafor is better than dwight howard when healthy. Firstly, he's offensive arsenal is much better. He's even pulling off dream shakes, hooks and 12 footers. Whenever I watch Dwight howard he has one move and it consists of spin move and dunk. He doesn't have the post game that Okafor us. Also, Okafor is a much better defensive player. The guy Blocked duncan twice in 8 minutes and is a shotblocking king. Probably the only think Howard has on him is his rebounding and upside.
Look at the shot attempts that Okafor takes and then look at Dwights. For some dumb reason, Dwight isnt taking enough shots and I have no idea why. When he gets it in the block, he tends to kick it back out and to be quite honest, he doesn't get the ball downlow very much at all. When he does get it however, they nearly go in everytime. And you are wrong when you say all he can do is dunk it. He has a decent hookshot and a pretty good fadeaway to the baseline that I have seen a few times this year. His rebounding talent is amazing, and they are both good shot blockers (Emeka is better but not by a whole lot IMO). Once Dwight becomes more comfortable on the offensive end, he is going to be a COMPLETE monster. Also, look at the age differential...
I'm sure there's players out there (I.e. Theo Ratlff, Mourning, Joel Priz... (portland) ...) that if they played more minutes could be in the picture.But yeah, the stats don't lie.1) Okafor2) Jermaine O'neal
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ Nov 15 2006, 07:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Emeka Okafor has been largely ignored by the media and I brought that up this off season. He's come back strong. 19/13/2/4 a game. He's only played 7 games but holy cow he's becoming a defensive force like you said.</div>He's becoming a defensive force? He has been one ever since high school. When he came to UConn he was good at defense, but couldn't make a shot for his life. Calhoun developed his offense and his D has been just as good, maybe a little bit better since college. He hasn't just magically started to stuff the sh*t outta people, he has all his life.Saying that, I think he is the best shot blocker in the league. You cannot get past him in the lane.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melo061 @ Nov 16 2006, 06:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Honestly, imo Okafor is better than dwight howard when healthy. Firstly, he's offensive arsenal is much better. He's even pulling off dream shakes, hooks and 12 footers. Whenever I watch Dwight howard he has one move and it consists of spin move and dunk. He doesn't have the post game that Okafor us. Also, Okafor is a much better defensive player. The guy Blocked duncan twice in 8 minutes and is a shotblocking king. Probably the only think Howard has on him is his rebounding and upside.</div>The other day Dwight put up 21/22. Emeka's stats are great and hes probably been overshadowed alot since the 'Cats aren't very good right now but 22 points and 23 boards in one game is insane. If he would take as many shots as he did that game we might be seeing 20/15 every night from Dwight. I can't say what hes doing is wrong though, the Magic are rolling right now.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Nov 16 2006, 11:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'm sure there's players out there (I.e. Theo Ratlff, Mourning, Joel Priz... (portland) ...) that if they played more minutes could be in the picture.But yeah, the stats don't lie.1) Okafor2) Jermaine O'neal</div>Had to get a Pacer in there huh.... As far as the Dwight v. Emeka debate goes, I think that Mek has the advantage offensively to Dwight right now, and defensively it is about equal. These two will both be the cream of the crop in NBA big men in the future.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ballerman2112 @ Nov 16 2006, 07:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Look at the shot attempts that Okafor takes and then look at Dwights. For some dumb reason, Dwight isnt taking enough shots and I have no idea why. When he gets it in the block, he tends to kick it back out and to be quite honest, he doesn't get the ball downlow very much at all. When he does get it however, they nearly go in everytime. And you are wrong when you say all he can do is dunk it. He has a decent hookshot and a pretty good fadeaway to the baseline that I have seen a few times this year. His rebounding talent is amazing, and they are both good shot blockers (Emeka is better but not by a whole lot IMO). Once Dwight becomes more comfortable on the offensive end, he is going to be a COMPLETE monster. Also, look at the age differential...</div>There is a couple of reason why Dwight Howard doesn't take alot of shots per game. One because he is only comfortable right next to the basket, so anytime he is pushed away from the paint he doesn't shoot. Perkins, and O'neal both proved this when they played defense on him. The other reason, is he is only comfortable doing any moves to his right. If someone takes away his right, he doesn't get good control and usually passes it back out to. Alot of players have figured this out, and keep taking away his right hand. Almost all of his shots come from in the paint, and right around the basket area, and most are going right. As for that fadeaway you talk about, I don't know where your getting that from. Howard does not have any type of fadeaway to his game, all of his stuff is power moves up to the basket. His hook shot is unreliable, as he throws the ball at the basket alot when attempting that hook shot. Really, it depends where Howard gets the ball. If he gets the ball on the right side of the basket, most of the time he will do a fake step to the middle then spin baseline, or do one or two dribbles left, then spin baseline. If he gets the ball on the left side of the basket, he does a fake step or ball fake towards the baseline, or dribbles the ball once or twice towards the baseline then spins towards the middle. That is what he does most of the time.Early in this season Okafor is a beast though, a nice rebounder even though I think Howard is a better rebounder, can get you points on a more consistent basis, and is a better defensive player right now than Howard. However, Howard's potential is through the roof, and I would take him over Okafor.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pistonfan11 @ Nov 17 2006, 07:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Had to get a Pacer in there huh.... As far as the Dwight v. Emeka debate goes, I think that Mek has the advantage offensively to Dwight right now, and defensively it is about equal. These two will both be the cream of the crop in NBA big men in the future.</div>every one else is mentioning JO and JO is second in the league in bpg (just a little under 3.5 per)
Bingo, because whenever I watched Howard his offensive arsenal seemed weak. Okafor can hit a jumper and he can pull off the dream shake. He's just the better offensive player. His also the better defensive player. What Howard has on Okafor is upside and his rebounding. Okafor is also injury prone.edit: Okafor the other day pwned Duncan, he blocked him Twice in 8 minutes. That's crazy, this is duncan we are talking about.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (valo35 @ Nov 17 2006, 12:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>There is a couple of reason why Dwight Howard doesn't take alot of shots per game. One because he is only comfortable right next to the basket, so anytime he is pushed away from the paint he doesn't shoot. Perkins, and O'neal both proved this when they played defense on him. The other reason, is he is only comfortable doing any moves to his right. If someone takes away his right, he doesn't get good control and usually passes it back out to. Alot of players have figured this out, and keep taking away his right hand. Almost all of his shots come from in the paint, and right around the basket area, and most are going right. As for that fadeaway you talk about, I don't know where your getting that from. Howard does not have any type of fadeaway to his game, all of his stuff is power moves up to the basket. His hook shot is unreliable, as he throws the ball at the basket alot when attempting that hook shot. Really, it depends where Howard gets the ball. If he gets the ball on the right side of the basket, most of the time he will do a fake step to the middle then spin baseline, or do one or two dribbles left, then spin baseline. If he gets the ball on the left side of the basket, he does a fake step or ball fake towards the baseline, or dribbles the ball once or twice towards the baseline then spins towards the middle. That is what he does most of the time.Early in this season Okafor is a beast though, a nice rebounder even though I think Howard is a better rebounder, can get you points on a more consistent basis, and is a better defensive player right now than Howard. However, Howard's potential is through the roof, and I would take him over Okafor.</div>I have seen a few times where he either spins baseline and puts up a left handed hookshot, or does a fade away and everytime he has done it, it has gone in. Im not saying that he does it alot, but I know for a fact I have seen him do it. Sure, he is a power player and that is his game for the most part, but I really dont think he is "uncomfortable". He also doesn't get the ball in the post that much. Once he gets more touches, he might show more "comfortability" that you think he is lacking.
I watch almost every game the Magic are in, since last year, I have only missed a Bucks game they were in last year, and a Hawks game they were in last year. Howard uses the same moves for 90 percent of the game. Every once in a while he will put something else up, but almost every time he does the same thing. Also, the Magic start out every game, by running the ball through him. He gets alot of touches throughout the game, and if you watch closely you will see that most of the time when he gets the ball, if someone gets on his right side he will pass the ball most of the time. He is getting alot of turnovers when he trys to spin with his left, because what teams do is run up when he turns left and slap at the ball. The Pacers, Wizards and Hawks all did this alot throughout the game, and he had alot of turnovers. The fact is, he is just not comfortable yet with his offensive game, to try alot of anything. That is why he passes out alot, and doesn't take alot of shots throughout the game.
