Philadelphia 76ers: Pick And Pop Game Could Save Jahlil Okafor

The Philadelphia 76ers seemingly have an overload of un-pairable talent at the frontcourt. Already testing out Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel together, the Philadelphia 76ers must hope for some change in style…or a change in personnel.

The Philadelphia 76ers and Jahlil Okafor are finding themselves in quite the predicament heading towards the draft. The team holds the top pick in the draft and could use it on stud LSU forward Ben Simmons, creating even more of a jam down low.

Jahlil Okafor’s defense is what’s troubling many about a Simmons-Okafor pairing, as they are calling for the Philadelphia 76ers to move the big man from Duke. It is true that the lack of defense from both Simmons and Okafor is concerning, but there could be a way for Okafor and Nerlens Noel/Joel Embiid to coexist on the court offensively while not giving up too much on defense.

Throughout the season, we saw the entire Philadelphia 76ers roster struggle with multiple aspects, but screen setting being a glaring issue. This issue was fore-fronted by Jahlil Okafor, who rarely was able to complete a successful NBA screen.

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With Okafor’s mid-range game surprisingly becoming more of a factor than most expected in his rookie season, his screen setting development could turn him from simply a post player, into an offensive threat that could somewhat spread the floor.

His mid-range shooting does still need refinement, as he shot .463 from 3 to <10 ft., .353 from 10 to <16 ft., and .274 from 16ft. to 3-point territory. The promise is still there for Okafor to become a consistent mid-range shooter. With hard screens set, Okafor will be able to peel out and give himself more open shot looks.

A look at some of the screenplays the Philadelphia 76ers centered around Okafor last season shows potential that he could become a dynamic scorer. (Excuse the picture quality.)

We see here that Okafor is setting an off-ball screen for Robert Covington, trying to free up the shooter. Knicks players Carmelo Anthony and Robin Lopez are unfavorably spaced close together, making it easy for Okafor to set a screen without much movement.

Okafor ties up Anthony pretty well, allowing Covington some room to work. Lopez, in the meanwhile, drops back on defense to prevent the layup. This is where Okafor’s effort comes into play.

Okafor takes himself out of the play. Instead of coming off the screen hard to peel out into a shooting position, Okafor kind of just dangles out of the screen and Covington is forced to reset the offense by giving it up to Kendall Marshall at the top of the key.

Let’s look at some more examples.

Later in the same game, we see Okafor setting an on-ball screen for Kendall Marshall. Notice at how the ballside of the defense is focusing all attention on Marshall/Okafor. You see Anthony giving Hollis Thompson room in the corner because of this screen.

This is where Okafor can excel. After the screen he peeled out to the free throw line. The play developed a little slowly, as Okafor took an unnecessary dribble, but he still hit the mid-range shot over Lopez. Okafor tends to shoot better near the left elbow anyway, and we could see more pick and pops on the this side of the hoop if he were to continue his career with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Here we see the Philadelphia 76ers take it back to the basics. Okafor comes to Marshall’s right side and sets a poor screen, whiffing on most of Cleveland Cavaliers’ guard Matthew Dellavedova. A good screen here would have allowed Kendall Marshall to take the corner and drive to the lane.

Because of the poor screen and Okafor’s mistaken decision of trying to roll into a crowded lane, the offense is now unmovable. Okafor here had the opportunity to peel out to behind the free throw line, allowing him a semi-decent chance.

This subpar screen setting not just from Okafor, but from the rest of the team as well, crippled the Philadelphia 76ers from effectively moving the ball in the half-court set. Again, this isn’t an unfixable impairment for the Philadelphia 76ers or Okafor.

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Okafor’s size should allow him to become a good screen setter. It comes down to effort and positioning, which both can be polished this offseason. Okafor can become this team’s leader on the court, but he will have to make an extra effort to prove his worth to the Philadelphia 76ers.