Detroit Pistons rookie Ebuka Okorie made his Summer League debut yesterday and showed exactly why the Pistons moved up to draft him.
Okorie ran the show as the starting point guard and finished the game with 20 points on efficient shooting splits. He hit 50 percent of his shots overall and 40 percent of his attempts from long range.
But we know Okorie can get buckets, as he was a prolific scorer in college, but he showed off a couple of other traits that could land him in the Pistons’ rotation sooner rather than later.
Ebuka Okorie is calm and in control
Okorie showed he can get to the rim at will and that he has lightning quickness, but I was (yes, I actually watched the game) impressed by his court control, awareness and poise. He didn’t look like a guy who was playing his first NBA game, Summer League or not.
He was strong with the ball, showed chops around the rim and the ability to finish once he uses his quickness to get by people. Okorie is very good at getting defenders to react to his first step, open up their hips and then he blows by them with a second burst.
Given his speed and the fact that they both wore #23 for the Pistons, it was hard not to compare Okorie to Jaden Ivey, but other than the speed, there wasn’t much comparison.
Ivey was always a bit of a loose cannon with the ball and had turnover issues even when he was in college. He was also a terrible finisher in the floater area and at the rim, something Okorie is already showing.
They may wear the same number, but Okorie looked more the part of what the Pistons need, which is a solid ball handler who can create his own shot.
Okorie takes care of the ball
Okorie had four assists last night to just one turnover, which has been the story of his career so far.
He didn’t have gaudy assist numbers at Stanford, largely because no one else on his team could score, so Okorie should see a boost in assist numbers with better scorers around him who can finish his set ups.
He may not have had the assist numbers, but Okorie had the ball in his hands a ton, with a usage rage of over 31 percent, yet he averaged fewer than two turnovers per game.
I don’t want to keep bringing up Ivey, but just as a point of comparison, he had a 28 percent usage rating in college and averaged 2.6 turnovers per game, and that was with far more weapons than Okorie ever had.
The Pistons have already added a glut of shooters this offseason but didn’t really address ball handling outside of Okorie. I’m sure the Pistons are not counting on him to play big minutes right away, but he’s already showing he fits the mold of what they need, which is a second creator who also takes care of the ball.
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