Okafor: I can fit in fast-paced attack
One problem for the 6-foot-11, 255-pound former No. 3 overall pick is simple: Jahlil Okafor is a 1990s power forward trapped in the 2018 NBA for the Nets.
The Nets are reliant on fast-pace, 3-point shooting. Stretch fours and fives are the VIPs. Still, Okafor believes his style can fit.
“I think it can. It’s just trying to figure out how I can make it fit in without messing up the flow,” said Okafor, who hopes to show the Nets more aggressive play in the final 22 games, starting Monday against the Bulls at Barclays Center.
“There was a lot I was thinking about when I first got here. But it definitely can work. It’s just reps and games, something that it will be easier for me and easier for my teammates,” said Okafor, who did not play in the Nets’ most recent game.
Again, he is an interior peg trying to fit into a perimeter hole. In the past five games, the Nets have attempted 228 3-point shots — 45.6 a game. Consider, in their last five, the Rockets tried 220, the Warriors attempted 153. Okafor, in his 127game NBA life, has shot nine (he made one).
“Sometimes, it’s circumstances,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, who met with Okafor on Friday, said of him not playing Thursday against the Hornets. “We’ve added some new players. We’re looking at all different rotations. We had a stretch where he was in there. That could change in a week. He’s played decently when he’s in there. Unfortunately, he’s part of the group [when] we haven’t been playing well. Sometimes, those are circumstances. His attitude’s been great, his spirit’s been great, his understanding of what we’re trying to do has been really good. He’s just got to hang in there.”
Okafor, only 22, went through this in Philadelphia. After an All-Rookie first team season, he fell off the radar. The Nets acquired him in December. His averages for 22 games: 6.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 13.0 minutes.
“I wish we’d had him since training camp. It makes it easier. We’re scrambling here trying to find a lineup so he’s a little bit of a victim of that,” Atkinson said. “But I really like what he’s tried to do. I like his engagement. I had a good talk with him [Friday].”
Okafor’s option for next season has not been picked up, but he likes his current location and sounds like he wants to make Brooklyn home.
“It’s definitely a challenge coming to a team midseason. … It’s definitely going to be easier next year starting with the team in training camp,” he said.
“I’m extremely happy to be here. They’ve been nothing but generous to me. We’re staying together and we expect to win. It’s not like we’re going into games thinking we’re going to lose. That was kind of different when I was in Philly my rookie season. We expect to win here. We just haven’t as much as we’d like.”