Ojeleye on offense

This guy was not drafted to be a star on this year's team, but rather to play good defense and get some boards as a 10th or 11th man on the roster.

BUT, with all the injuries this season, he should be getting far more playing time than he is getting. Played a few decent minutes in game #1 but
only a minute last night in game #2.

Of course, his offense is why Stevens can not play more minutes per game and for longer stretches, but there is a very simple solution.

His offense really frustrates me and leaves me disappointed in his overall game.

To improve his offense he needs to POWER the ball to the hoop with his size and strength until he can develop his jump shot, ball skills and mid range game.
Even if he gets a couple of shots blocked at the rim he will gain some respect, score some points and get to the free throw line by bullying the smaller guys
at the rim.

This is not rocket science, and every decent high school coach has taught this routine to every big kid who may have entered his program without a ton of ball skills. Typically
this kid is the big football type kid, but that is exactly where I see Olejeye is as far as being an NBA offensive player.

I guarantee that the guy covering him will not want to get hit by this bull of a man who is plowing to the rim at full speed too many times before yielding a more clear path to the hoop.

wideclyde wrote:This guy was not drafted to be a star on this year's team, but rather to play good defense and get some boards as a 10th or 11th man on the roster.

BUT, with all the injuries this season, he should be getting far more playing time than he is getting.  Played a few decent minutes in game #1 but
only a minute last night in game #2.

Of course, his offense is why Stevens can not play more minutes per game and for longer stretches, but there is a very simple solution.

His offense really frustrates me and leaves me disappointed in his overall game.

To improve his offense  he needs to POWER the ball to the hoop with his size and strength until he can develop his jump shot, ball skills and mid range game.
Even if he gets a couple of shots blocked at the rim he will gain some respect, score some points and get to the free throw line by bullying the smaller guys
at the rim.  

This is not rocket science, and every decent high school coach has taught this routine to every big kid who may have entered his program without a ton of ball skills. Typically
this kid is the big football type kid, but that is exactly where I see Olejeye is as far as being an NBA offensive player.

I guarantee that the guy covering him will not want to get hit by this bull of a man who is plowing to the rim at full speed too many times before yielding a more clear path to the hoop.

Clyde,

I agree 100%. I've said, if not on the main board then on the Game On! threads, that Semi needs to cut to the basket more and just stand in the corner and hope someone passes the ball to him less. This is even more true now that we have another excellent high post passer in Monroe. If he moves, if he dives to the basket, either Al Horford or Greg Monroe will get him the ball and then he can baby Brahma bull his defender to the rim.

In his defense: he's a rookie, he was a 2nd rounder and is on a one-year contract with a team option next year and he's doing what Brad is telling him to do. He might be respected by Brad, the coaches and his teammates but he isn't "a name" in the NBA, nor does he have a multi-year contract like Jaylen or Tatum and can feel comfortable experimenting for long-term growth knowing the team sees him as a key building block. For him to get minutes and have a job next year he needs to do what he knows he does well and exactly what the coaches tell him to do.


bob



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bob,

Wonder if the coaching staff has "told" him attack the rim on offense? For some reason he is not shooting threes as well as he did in college so even trying to hide on offense by standing in the corner is not working well enough. His bulk and strength are his only current and possible offensive talents in my opinion, and so far he is not using either.

I see this strategy/change in his game as perhaps the only way he stays in Boston or maybe even in the NBA. He certainly needs to be much more effective on offense and he is not likely to become a quality ball handler/passer/shooter before it comes time to either "make it or break it" as an NBA player (after next season?) no matter how hard he works.

Statistically, if he would blast to the hoop 7 times a game he would probably score at least two hoops, draw three fouls and hence shoot 4-6 free throws and draw three fouls on the other team's defense. This is not all star quality play on offense, but is worth about 7 points each game and it is certainly better than he is doing so far this season.

Becoming a guy who can play defense against guys like Giannis (when necessary) and lots of lesser guys, get a few boards, score 7-8 points per game and earn between 14-18 minutes has quality value in the NBA even without being a quality ball handler, passer or shooter.

He showed the skills to excel on offense in college and he has elite athleticsm. His mentality isn't quite there this rookie year on offense. We've seen jumps though for talented players. I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a huge leap in the offseason much like Bradley or Rozier who similarly were lost on offense as rookies (to a lesser extent so was Brown)

I think he had played much better the past 3 weeks of the season.  

He is a quick on the ball defender but surprisingly inept on the glass.

Yabu is a more competitive renounder.  He has a long wingspan and gets his hands on the ball.  He fights for rebounds.

Neither is reliable on offense.  Both have a ton of work to do to get better.

I think Yabu has a higher ceiling. Semi is pretty much what he is. I agree that he needs to make himself available on offense , and that cutting and driving are his best options. Sometimes its like we are playing 4 against 5 when he is in and we  are running plays.He is a good, versatile defender though , which is where Yabu allegedly struggles. Both of them are fringe players, who have to play because the roster is decimated. Maybe one of them can develop into a steady contributor.