I really wanted to enjoy these Jahlil Okafor highlights. I really, honestly, truly did. But I can’t.
It’s not Okafor’s fault in any way. He played the same way that he did in Philadelphia, a style which was somehow aesthetic, clumsy, powerful, skilled, plodding, and polished, all combined into one unholy morass. The basketball part of the highlights is exactly to my liking.
But, man. The camera angle. It’s way too zoomed out. I can’t SEE anything! When Okafor is doing his intricate moves down low, I want to see what he’s doing with the ball, I want to see how he’s using his feet, I want to see the defender get abused up-close…but I can’t see any of that. It’s just this disorienting zoomed-out shot that gives me a headache. I’d rather watch footage from an iPhone in the sixth row.
This game was played in Memphis. The cameramen in the arena know how to film an NBA game. They’ve done it hundreds of times. Did TNT tell them to film it this way? Or did nobody ever realize that the zoom level was all wrong? So many questions, so few answers. The only thing I know for sure: Jahlil Okafor made Marc Gasol into his bitch on multiple occasions. Even with the wonky camerawork, I can tell you that much.