Yes

Playing injured, down on confidence and needs to drop weight.I'd start Jervis, really like his game.

He's definitely not 100%. I think that aborted jumpball to start game 1 might have been when something happened, a heel injury or something.

A litany of problems would be my guess. Seems a bit fragile mentally and reminds me of Dwight Howard - all easy when you can just coast but not so much when the right path requires out and out effort, dedication, grit. I've always wondered if this often comes with bigs who have made it in basketball because of their size rather than despite it. If you're shorter, you have to put thousands of shots up, work on your fitness, have the smarts or whatever else to beat the pack. Having serious size can get you past terrible FT shooting percentages, fitness issues and whatever else.

I watched him when he played Cairns ABA and he was a much better player back then than he is now.Athletic,chiselled and nearly unstoppable in the post.

Nate and Trevor Gleeson apparently don't get along. Jawai needs to play for a players coach like Joey Wright or someone he's familiar with like Lemanis or Fearne.

A bit butter-fingered in the paint.. coulda been Shaq but is Oliver Miller atm.

Spins himself into too much trouble and forces himself into bad shots. Should be kicking it out more when in trouble / double team to open man. He was doing that well early in the season.

Also, refs are really hard on him this year.

Can see him coming back to NBL, not sure if he can get a full time Euro gig with the season he had, but who knows, bigs are always in demand.

Hope he has a killer off season and comes back and dominates, otherwise cut him after a few games.

He's pretty clearly not healthy right now and I don't just mean the excess weight he is carrying.

It's difficult to be too harsh on the guy without knowing all the issues. We know he's had to overcome serious health issues to continue his career, but I have to assume they are behind him if he's able to play professional ball.

He's clearly a big body, but that can disguise weight issues. He's reputedly still in the 145~150kg bracket, and whichever way you look at it, that's at least 20kg heavier than when he was in his prime. Rapid weight loss isn't ideal, especially for an athlete, and I know how hard it is to lose weight. But I also don't understand how a professional athlete, who must burn a huge amount of calories, can stay overweight.
Maybe his restricted game time is mirrored by a restricted training regime???

I suppose the other question is whether he has chosen to stay at that weight because the extra 20kg makes him harder to shift?

Problem is that the "extra" weight also impacts any potential injury, to his back, ankle, etc, etc.

Would rather a more mobile Jawai than a hard to shift Jawai.

He certainly looks proppy, but for all the bagging of Jawai he grabbed twice as many boards as any teammate in G2 in less than 11 minutes on the court.

I've been surprised with Jawai this year.

I remember ages ago he had very good footwork and although he was a tad raw he looked smooth and had great hands.

This year his footwork and hands have been all over the shop. Some of his footwork and hands this year makes it look like he has only just picked up a basketball.

Presuming this is probably brought on by the added weight..maybe just not as light on his feet.

He talked about losing weight at the start of the season but that has not happened. It's no doubt the cause of the injuries.

He certainly looks proppy, but for all the bagging of Jawai he grabbed twice as many boards as any teammate in G2 in less than 11 minutes on the court.

"I've been surprised with Jawai this year.
I remember ages ago he had very good footwork and although he was a tad raw he looked smooth and had great hands.
This year his footwork and hands have been all over the shop. Some of his footwork and hands this year makes it look like he has only just picked up a basketball."

Perhaps some people missed this at the time, but this article helps explain some of Jawai's struggles:

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/basketball/luc-longley-andrej-lemanis-inspire-nate-jawais-australian-boomers-return-20150813-giytjr.html

After his serious neck injury he basically had to re-learn the game of basketball.

Injured. Out of shape. Doesnt matter.

cant see him returning to the cats based on this year (he doesnt look happy here), rumored to have a tumultuous relationship with Gleeson (who doesnt) & also based on this year - would have hurt his value & bargaining power significantly on the open market moving forward.

Who says he doesn't look happy?
His body language around the other guys is always very friendly and positive.
He doesn't look happy with some of the ref (non)calls, but thats the league not the Cats.

I don't know how much he was making in Europe, or how much the Cats are paying (rumoured to be Marquee money.) But that's going to be a consideration, along with alternatives.
If Johnson or Ogilvy decide they want to move to Perth, then Jawai will be moved on. Absent that, we'll have to wait and see.

Thanks Jez. Good article.

I think the Cats should put a giant hamburger at the end of the court. This would make Jawai run a bit more.....as long as he doesn't eat said hamburger.

Couple of reports I have read, and heard, seem to confirm that it's his back...
And that air-travel gives him problems...

Maybe PERTH isn't the right team for him?!?