Sixers' Jahlil Okafor has a 'Boogie' night

BOOGIE DROPPED 28 on the Sixers and his Kings won by four Wednesday night.

Boogie Jr. dropped 26 on the Kings and gave Sixers fans a glimpse of the future.

For better, or for worse.

It was a thrilling exchange of time-warp basketball, balletic behemoths in elegant battle.

The problem is, most behemoths are extinct.

When the Sixers drafted Jahlil Okafor last summer they got the best post player since the Kings drafted DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins six years ago.

Wednesday night, Boogie left Philadelphia impressed with his on-court doppelgänger.

"Jahlil is going to be a problem, man," Cousins said, smiling.

Actually, Okafor's game might be more refined than Cousins' was when he was a rookie, for better or worse.

Why?

Well, the league these days places more and more value on rim-protecting gazelles; less and less value on on big, silky centers. Karl-Anthony Towns, a 7-foot gazelle who is an offensive project, was the first overall pick and is the rookie of the year favorite, not Okafor. Anthony Davis, the Pelicans' fourth-year centerpiece, has developed enough offense so that he is the big man most GM's would build around, not Boogie.

Regardless, Boogie Sr. and Boogie Jr. danced hard all night.

"I think that's a good comparison," said Kings coach George Karl, who, in his 38th year of coaching, has worked long enough to remember when a 7-foot scorer was NBA gold. "I think Okafor has very good footwork, has small-man skills in a big man's body. Obviously, statistically, is having a very strong season. Every 10 games, it seems like he is becoming more influential and more responsible."

So did Cousins. After three solid seasons to start his career Cousins, 25, is in the middle of a third straight season of incredible play. He has averaged 24.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals - numbers which, if sustained, will make him a Hall of Fame candidate.

Cousins, at 6-11 and 270 pounds, averaged 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds as a rookie on a bad Kings team, but Okafor, 6-11 and 275, entered Wednesday night at 17.0 points and 7.3 rebounds on one of the worst teams ever assembled.

"There are some similarities," Sixers coach Brett Brown acknowledged.

There are a lot. Sixers forward Carl Landry played with the Kings when Cousins was a rookie.

"Every time I look at Jahlil, I see DeMarcus," Landry said. "Nowadays, you don't get too many bigs who can score on the block. They're almost extinct. Those two guys can put it on the floor, shoot it, score on the block. They're very alike."

"The sky's the limit for that kid," Boogie said. "He's full of talent. I'm excited to see him grow as a player. I'm always a fan of a big man who can score."

But is a big man who can score necessarily a boon in today's NBA?

Cousins entered Wednesday's game averaging 26.8 points and 11.1 rebounds, each fourth in the league. He leads big men in scoring and is the only non-specialist among the top-five rebounders. He has scored 56 points in a single game, a league best this season, and scored 48 in another; he and Steph Curry are the only players in the top seven twice. He will attend his second consecutive All-Star Game this weekend.

Yet, the Kings are 22-31. The Kings have had just two winning months since Cousins was drafted.

Is there a better argument than Cousins against building a franchise around a slow-it-down big man?

Granted, the Sixers are not exactly what the Kings are. Nerlens Noel, Okafor's tandem big man, is one of those hyper-athletes. The Kings don't have a player like Joel Embiid stashed on their roster. If Embiid returns from missing two seasons with a foot injury, and if Embiid blossoms, then Okafor will become a trade chit.

The Sixers aren't betting on Embiid. They are hedging, with Okafor; for better, or worse.

The Sixers certainly hope that Okafor will never approach Cousins' level of dismissive surliness; his defensive indifference; his coach-killing petulance. Perhaps, like Cousins, Okafor will develop a level of conditioning that allows him to race up and down the floor at will.

Cousins beat Okafor downcourt three times in the first half. He ripped the ball from Okafor's hands twice in the third quarter. He added 12 rebounds to his 28 points . . . and was not particularly effective.

With Noel sidelined with knee tendinitis, Okafor played his heart out. He scored his 26 on 11-for-18 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds, the most impressive an offensive board midway through the fourth quarter that led to a crucial three-pointer.

This, against the man Okafor believes is the cream of the crop.

"When I was in high school I thought he was the (best) big man in the NBA. He is the best big man in the NBA," Okafor said. "Maybe that's something I can develop into."

"I do think he can grow into some of the things we're seeing with DeMarcus," Brown said. "More importantly, he does, too."

For better. Or worse.

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