Okafor shows glimpses; Sixers routed in preseason opener

WASHINGTON - The 76ers believe Jahlil Okafor is just scratching the surface.

The 6-foot-11 and slimmed down 268-pound rookie center is blessed with an NBA body, a refined offensive repertoire and good footwork. However, the Sixers believe his footwork can improve to great. They also want the often-too-unselfish player to develop a disposition in which he demands the ball.

"It's not on a coach to feel like you have to call his play a lot," coach Brett Brown said. "But I feel like he's been born with that body and those hands. Now I have to coach his mind, it's a disposition. When he gets that, then his skill package is good enough to be elite in the NBA."

He may be well on his way if the preseason-opening 129-95 loss to the Washington Wizards is any indication.

The third overall pick in the NBA draft out of Duke had a dominating performance against center Marcin Gortat and power forward Nene, two veteran post players.

He made his first five baskets en route to finishing with 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Okafor also finished with two rebounds, two blocked shots, a steal, three turnovers, and four fouls in 17 minutes, 2 seconds. Eight of his points came on 11-, 12- and 16-foot jump shots and a 16-foot turnaround fadeaway jumper against Gortat.

Okafor scored his fifth basket on a running layup over Nene.

"I just got in a good flow," Okafor said. "I wasn't coming out thinking I'm just going to destroy or anything like that. But I was definitely trying to get comfortable right away in the offense and show that I could do what I'm capable of doing."

The Chicago native missed his only two shots in the third quarter and sat out the fourth. The Sixers want to limit his minutes until the regular season. So he played in a stretch of 4:54 in the first quarter. Then he logged a straight 7:03 in the second and 5:05 in the third.

"I think that he had good numbers against playoff bigs," Brown said. "That team lost in a tough [Eastern Conference semifinal] series with Atlanta. With limited minutes, you could see he's got the ability to score."

Isaiah Canaan and Nerlens Noel led the Sixers with 13 points apiece. Wizards swingman Otto Porter finished with a game-high 22 points.

But Gortat and Nene were supposed to provide a resistance that Okafor never felt as an all-American in high school and college.

Heading into this matchup, his only goal was to get acclimated to the NBA pace. But he admitted it was special to play against Nene and Gortat, guys he grew up watching.

"I had confidence going out to the floor," Okafor said. "I thought I was going to be nervous. I actually wasn't. My teammates, Isaiah and [Robert Covington], being in the locker room with those guys really relaxed me. We were listing to music."

Of course, there may be nights when Okafor experiences growing pains. That's why Brown wants people to remain patient and let his standout rookie develop.

"We all learned that it's not wise to think anything is going to happen quickly. I don't care how good players are," Brown said. "Pick them off. Look at their path. It takes time. He's no different.

"Then you add his birth certificate into the mix and really look at his age [19], it's going to take time. That's that patience that everybody talks about with us all over the place."

Pierre Jackson will visit his doctor Wednesday to get his lingering groin injury checked out.

The Sixers reserve point guard has participated in only one scrimmage since the preseason began because of soreness. Brown said he doesn't know when Jackson will return. The coach sounded as if it could take a while, saying that Jackson and Tony Wroten (out until at least late October with a knee injury) will be the last two point guards to return.

Kendall Marshall (knee) and T.J. McConnell (left foot) are also out.

kpompey@phillynews.com

@PompeyOnSixers

www.philly.com/deepsixer