Is nikola pekovic really the long term starter at C?

NikolaPekovic · Post #1 » by **NikolaPekovic** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 12:29 pm

dunno about u guys but i think we need a defensive minded big man to pair up with klove.

your thoughts?

NewWolvesOrder · Post #2 » by **NewWolvesOrder** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 12:36 pm

Your defensive minded center must also have good offensive game if he wants Adelman to play him.

NewWolvesOrder · Post #3 » by **NewWolvesOrder** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 12:37 pm

NikolaPekovic wrote:dunno about u guys but i think we need a defensive minded big man to pair up with klove.

your thoughts?

BTW, you look like a troll rgm account.

[RCG] · Post #4 » by **[RCG]** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 1:21 pm

Like Darko? :roll:

Pekovic is an above average starting center. One of the best offensively and I'm going to say slightly below average defensively but not for lack of effort. He's a solid starter.

Sundog · Post #5 » by **Sundog** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 1:25 pm

Post #6 » by **Basti** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 2:53 pm

In a perfect world, no, since we need a defensive big who also isn't a complete liability offensively to pair up with Love. But, as last season had proven until Rubio went down, we were surprisingly good defensively with Love and Pek playing major minutes. Of course, it should be mandatory to further improve defensively and I don't think either of Love and Pek can really do that besides getting more accustomed to Adelman's defensive systems. So, it would be great if we got a 3rd big to do an excellent job defensively. Not sure if he needs to be a starter because Pek was doing rather well until he was hit by the injury bug.

Esohny · Post #7 » by **Esohny** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 3:38 pm

He should be, since realistically, the Wolves have no chance to add a starting center who is better.

If they trade for Pau, he would be the starter for the next year or two, but unless Kahn is stupid, he keeps Pek for the long term.

theGreatRC · Post #8 » by **theGreatRC** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 3:59 pm

Pek and love are a monster rebounding combo that we should be salivating over.

Our problem on defense wasn't the post, it was guarding the wings.

Swish4 · Post #9 » by **Swish4** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 6:29 pm

I think he's absolutely the long term starter at C. My worry is that the bone spur problem would become a chronic condition. I've seen it end some guy's careers, though usually it's treatable.

bwright213 · Post #10 » by **bwright213** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 6:59 pm

I absolutely think he is the long term answer, that is what is puzzling me about Gasol. I would love to get Gasol, but he is hardly our biggest need considering how solid Pek is. Thankfully we aren't as desperate to get Gasol like it originally sounded like. Someone said it earlier, great offensive talent and mediocre to below average defense, overall a very good player to man the center position.

Chocobanana · Post #11 » by **Chocobanana** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 7:06 pm

he can be. if you get enough good defensive perimeter players, then his help/p-n-r defense wont be a liability.

Foye · Post #12 » by **Foye** » Mon Jul 2, 2012 8:54 pm

Yes he is.

Busch Legion · Post #13 » by **Busch Legion** » Tue Jul 3, 2012 1:22 am

I think Pek can be better yet, after learning more of the NBA game. He's been improving every year, and I like what we get out of him. Nice low post banger. His rebounding was even better than I thought it would be.

I think Jordan Hill will make the nice big off the bench.

eroomlladnar · Post #14 » by **eroomlladnar** » Tue Jul 3, 2012 2:42 am

Busch Legion wrote:I think Pek can be better yet, after learning more of the NBA game. He's been improving every year, and I like what we get out of him. Nice low post banger. His rebounding was even better than I thought it would be.

I think Jordan Hill will make the nice big off the bench.

Yep. A lot of guys commented about how hard he is to guard because he's just a tree down low.

I love the guy

Tirion · Post #15 » by **Tirion** » Tue Jul 3, 2012 5:06 am

theGreatRC wrote:Pek and love are a monster rebounding combo that we should be salivating over.

Only on offense. Pek is a weak defensive rebounder.

prefuse73 · Post #16 » by **prefuse73** » Tue Jul 3, 2012 6:16 am

He is a weak defensive rebounder statistically...but it may have something to do with a certain player on the wolves.

He absolutely a long term starter. We need a 3rd big who can rotate in at the 4 or 5 and block some shots. Ibaka of course would be perfect..

Saltine · Post #17 » by **Saltine** » Tue Jul 3, 2012 6:34 am

Pek is the best Center we've ever had. This is a silly question, short of acquiring the idiot in Orlando, he's the guy.

Gideon · Post #18 » by **Gideon** » Tue Jul 3, 2012 6:38 am

I don't buy that Pek is a weak rebounder in any practical sense... he's a wide-body player who boxes out really well. IMO just watching games, you can tell his rebounding fundamentals are solid + he obv has awesome strength & size. Sometimes fundamentally sound bigs get less rebounds than players who are more mobile and "grabby" ... in other words, Pek does the boxing out on D and somebody else grabs the board that they wouldn't have got if Pek hadn't cleared out a bunch of space and blocked his man off.

Carlos Boozer is the ultimate example of a poor rebounder with good rebound stats IMO... if you ever really watch him, he hardly boxes out at all, but he's a strong, quick guy with good hands and he grabs a lot of boards by running for the ball and grabbing it up while his teammates are busy boxing out like they're supposed to. Pek could almost surely average more rebounds (but hurt the team) if he was stat-focused like I believe Boozer and some other bigs are when it comes to boards... I like how Pek plays, and actually think he's a very good rebounder on both ends of the court... and, yes, I think he's our long-term answer at center! :-)

Narf · Post #19 » by **Narf** » Tue Jul 3, 2012 1:38 pm

Pek is a team rebounder on defense not a weak one. He grabs the biggest guy on the other team and boxes them out, which means pushing them out of the paint. That's why he gets fewer rebounds on defense, and why the Wolves get a higher percentage of defensive rebounds when he's on the floor.

....he boxes out on the offensive end too, which is why he leads the league in ORB%

cpfsf · Post #20 » by **cpfsf** » Tue Jul 3, 2012 3:45 pm

prefuse73 wrote:He is a weak defensive rebounder statistically...but it may have something to do with a certain player on the wolves.

He absolutely a long term starter. We need a 3rd big who can rotate in at the 4 or 5 and block some shots. Ibaka of course would be perfect..

The team’s rebounding is pretty overrated. The team averaged 43.7 rebounds while our opponents averaged 43.4. That's a +.3 differential which is 15th overall.

The team really needs to add another big, but we don’t need to overpay a guy who will spend most of his time sitting on the bench (like . I generally prefer avoiding shortcuts, but Gasol is really making me question that outlook.