Koufos vs Pekovic

[Dan's with the Wolves]

Koufos has gotten a chance to play more with Pek and Darko having sprained ankles. 10 rebounds 3 blocks 5 fouls and only 4 points in 20 minutes last night. I certainly like his defensive presence better than Pek's. They both commit to many fouls. It would seem he might earn some minutes in the rotation when they need a more defensive presence to spell Darko. What do you think?

[Tha Juice]

Koufos clearly seems to be the better rebounder between the two. I think Pek has a better post up game then Koufos though. Both have shown some good and bad things on the defensive end, and they can come up with blocks when given the minutes. I still think you bring in Pek off the bench though. He is still learning/getting used to the NBA and has shown some promising things as of late up until the ankle injury. We have a lot more invested in Pek then we do in Koufos and I for one would like to see Pek develop his game.

[shrink]

I was a little surprised when Mr. Kahn picked up Koufos option for 2011-12. He was foisted into the Al Jefferson deal by Utah, that wanted to save double his salary, since they are over the lux, so it was difficult to know if the front office liked him at the time of the trade. I'm glad he's been signed. He's only $2.2 mil next season, and while he will probably only be a back-up center at best, that's a very reasonable price for a kid with size. He occasionally shows flashes, but I see him more as insurance against injuries, and imagine we will pump more minutes into trying to develop Pekovic, who we signed with $4.5 mil/year for three years. Koufos has been a nice little surprise though, and I hope he continues to do well.

[Devilzsidewalk]

Koufos tries hard, he's just a little stiff. He looks like he's packed on a good big of size since college, and I don't know if it's helped his game much, if at all. Pekovic is way more talented than Koufos, but he's not the monster he looks like; he's a big daffy mother **** and his play reflects that.

[Greco21]

Hi guys. My name is George and I am from Greece. This year i am a Minesota fan and the main reason is Kostas Koufos (no hard feelings i hope). I have also watch Nikola Pekovic play in the Greek league the past 2 years. Overall i am a huge NBA fan since the early 90s'

On the debate now...

It depends.

Nikola Pekovic is a very good player. He struggled defensively in Europe too and often had foul troubles. But in offence he was the story. When he isolates in the post he is unique. His arsenal includes plenty of moves. In his early games with Minesota he really struggled in defence and had foul trouble along with picking screens on the high post.

I have also watched Kosta Koufos from his early days in the Under 19 Greek National Team. He was the MVP. In his college days he started well but then he forced his option to go for the draft. Jerry Sloan saw great potential. I still remember a game against the Mavericks when he scored 18 points. Jerry then made the decision to change the way he worked out and make him a post player. That changed his game and i believe puzzled him a lot. This year i have watched every single minute he played.

So watch the case?

What does Kurt Rumbis want? Does he want a big body in the middle stopping the oponents and focusing on rebounds or he wants another option in the offence. If the latter is what he wants he should go for Pekovic. In any other case Koufos could be a good backup. The reason is that Koufos hasn't got enough playing time and his teamates do not trust him to make plays. His confidence seems pretty low and his shooting percentage is really low for a 7 footer. He hesitates when he goes to the basket. There are several times when he should dunk and he makes an ugly shot.

In any case Rumbis and his coaching staff have done a really good job with Darko. What they have not managed well is to find a rythm in rotations. Minesota overall should capitilize over their strength on rebounds. They should feel more confortable shooting the ball.

Finally i believe they should make a clear plan of what they want and either play their big men or set one of them free.

[shangrila]

What does Kurt Rumbis want? Does he want a big body in the middle stopping the oponents and focusing on rebounds or he wants another option in the offence. If the latter is what he wants he should go for Pekovic. In any other case Koufos could be a good backup. The reason is that Koufos hasn't got enough playing time and his teamates do not trust him to make plays. His confidence seems pretty low and his shooting percentage is really low for a 7 footer. He hesitates when he goes to the basket. There are several times when he should dunk and he makes an ugly shot.

I think this is the question.

Honestly, I think the real answer is neither. Neither provides the same defensive presence as Darko and it's a quality the team needs to have on the floor at all times with defensive wonders like Ridnour and Beasley. Koufos is better at this then Pekovic right now, but long term he's still too soft. I wouldn't be surprised if the team went shopping for an upgrade here sooner rather then later.

[Greco21]

What does Kurt Rumbis want? Does he want a big body in the middle stopping the oponents and focusing on rebounds or he wants another option in the offence. If the latter is what he wants he should go for Pekovic. In any other case Koufos could be a good backup. The reason is that Koufos hasn't got enough playing time and his teamates do not trust him to make plays. His confidence seems pretty low and his shooting percentage is really low for a 7 footer. He hesitates when he goes to the basket. There are several times when he should dunk and he makes an ugly shot.

I think this is the question.

Honestly, I think the real answer is neither. Neither provides the same defensive presence as Darko and it's a quality the team needs to have on the floor at all times with defensive wonders like Ridnour and Beasley. Koufos is better at this then Pekovic right now, but long term he's still too soft. I wouldn't be surprised if the team went shopping for an upgrade here sooner rather then later.

Remember... Darko. Its the same man that everybody considered that his career was over. Rambis and Lambeer did a terrific job making him a solid defensive presence and trust his offensive skills when in his first games his shot percentage was terrific. I believe that coaching staff can do the same with both of these guys whose career i have been watching since their very early days.

Well Darko was coached by the best coach in Europe. Obradovic. He is something like Phil Jackson in Europe. He never got better in defence.

[UK-Wolf]

Offensively it's an absolute no brainer for me, Pek has shown already he's has the potential to score inside and be a post threat. Koufos hasn't. Rebounding wise Koufos definitely has the edge so far, he's shown he's a very good offensive rebounder and an allround rebounder so far. Blocking wise Koufos probably has the edge too but Pek has shown he can block too. Both turn the ball over far, far too much though, Koufos' turnovers are the most stupid though, BB IQ wise I think Pekovic is more intelligent.

I'd definitely have Pek as you're benefiting offensively and not really loosing much defensively either.

[Greco21]

Both turn the ball over far, far too much though, Koufos' turnovers are the most stupid though, BB IQ wise I think Pekovic is more intelligent.

On Friday against the Blazers Koufos committed 0 turnovers and against the Nuggets he commited 1. And that was an offensive foul on a pick and roll that Flynn did not move on time. Against the Bulls Peko committed something like 6 turnovers.

Anyway its true that both commit turnovers because they are inexperienced. They need their time. Just remember Darko in the beginning.

[UK-Wolf]

On Friday against the Blazers Koufos committed 0 turnovers and against the Nuggets he commited 1. And that was an offensive foul on a pick and roll that Flynn did not move on time. Against the Bulls Peko committed something like 6 turnovers.

Anyway its true that both commit turnovers because they are inexperienced. They need their time. Just remember Darko in the beginning.

Fair play. I haven't been checking the box scores thoroughly enough recently! I'm just going from what I've seen watching Koufos the odd T'Wolves games I've seen so far. So that's about at max about 10.

[re49gb_2gho32fp]

What does Kurt Rumbis want? Does he want a big body in the middle stopping the oponents and focusing on rebounds or he wants another option in the offence. If the latter is what he wants he should go for Pekovic. In any other case Koufos could be a good backup. The reason is that Koufos hasn't got enough playing time and his teamates do not trust him to make plays. His confidence seems pretty low and his shooting percentage is really low for a 7 footer. He hesitates when he goes to the basket. There are several times when he should dunk and he makes an ugly shot.

I think this is the question.

Honestly, I think the real answer is neither. Neither provides the same defensive presence as Darko and it's a quality the team needs to have on the floor at all times with defensive wonders like Ridnour and Beasley. Koufos is better at this then Pekovic right now, but long term he's still too soft. I wouldn't be surprised if the team went shopping for an upgrade here sooner rather then later.

Remember... Darko. Its the same man that most considered that his NBA career was over. Rambis and Lambeer did a terrific job trust his offensive skills when in his first games his shot percentage was terrific. I believe that coaching staff can do the same with both of these guys whose career i have been watching since their very early days.

Well Pekovic was coached by one of the best coach in Europe. Obradovic. He is something like Phil Jackson in Europe. He never got better in defence.

Fixed.

Welcome.

[shangrila]

Darko was always a good defender, it wasn't anything Rambis did.

[Greco21]

Darko was always a good defender, it wasn't anything Rambis did.

Yes he was good indeed but I cannot recall Darko leading the league in blocks during the past years. You may spot the difference.

P.S. Shaolin thank you for your welcome post. Do you debate that Obradovic is the best coach in Europe?

[shangrila]

He's also getting more minutes and freedom

[Grits n Gravy]

Darko was always a good defender, it wasn't anything Rambis did.

Yes he was good indeed but I cannot recall Darko leading the league in blocks during the past years. You may spot the difference.

P.S. Shaolin thank you for your welcome post. Do you debate that Obradovic is the best coach in Europe?

darko has always been a very good shotblocker, he lead the summer league when he was about 19 or 20 years old and has always been around 2 blocks per 20 minutes or so.

i think we need to keep feeding pek the minutes...you can tell he is not yet comfortable in the nba game and needs more time to adjust. from what i have seen of him, he seems pretty clueless on where to be in the offense at times and obviously commits to many fouls. those two problems, imo, are a direct result of njot being comfortable or understanding the nba game well enough and will be solved simply with time.

time will also bring confidence for pek and with that confidence i believe we will start seeing some of the dominating post presence that he was in europe. i think pek will be a key player for us in the years to come. either way, it is great having 3 compotent, young 7 footers who are all on pretty dam good contracts beyond this season.

[Greco21]

I initially posted that Rambis and Bill trusted Darko when his shooting percentage was really low in the beginning of the season. I did not post the word defense. He was a good defense presence but i do not remember blocking Gasol 5 times for example. Even in defense he is the story this year. He is much improved.


I am anxious but excited to see how Koufos will match up guys like D Jordan and Blake Griffin. They are very athletic and they really attack the rim. He needs to protect Kevin Love from wearing out.

[younggunsmn]

Pek has been terrible. Terrible defense, tons of turnovers, and tons of fouls. Earthbound is also an understatement. Also doesn't appear to have much length either. The only thing he really has over Kosta is nice touch around the basket and the ability to get to the line and convert.

Kosta has a definite advantage in length and quickness right now, but a lot to learn bball IQ wise. I don't think he's soft, I just think his positioning has a long long ways to go. A good example is that he sometimes jumps early towards rebounds instead of digging in and holding his man off. He also fades too much on his offensive moves. Pek's strength is that he can play through contact, something Koufos must learn. Once he learns to use his size, and improve his positioning I think he can be a decent backup C.

Koufos has had nice back-to-back games of 10+ rebounds in 20 minutes or so while not costing the team on the offensive end with bad shots or turnovers.

I pick Koufos at this point because I think defense and rebounding are more important than offense for a center, especially a center on a defense-allergic team like the wolves.

[Klomp]

I like Koufus. He seems to replicate some of what Darko brings to the table. I like Pek too, but I'm not quite sure his game is suited for the NBA today.

[Greco21]

He also fades too much on his offensive moves. Pek's strength is that he can play through contact, something Koufos must learn. Once he learns to use his size, and improve his positioning I think he can be a decent backup C.

I agree with you all the way. On the spot now. He fades because he lacks confidence for sure. He does not want to receive a huge block. He also tries to just lay the ball instead of dunking it. He also has to get over that he is not a peripheral big like he used to be on the National Greek Youth Team and in Ohio

I would say he is 100% Greek and European (with all the fake shots) but he has been brought up in the states

Anyway...

Go Kostas, GO!

[Greco21]

I am disapointed at my man Kostas Koufos. Especially with the mask. I know he got the moves but especially yesterday he sucked when he threw a brick scared by Shaq. Come on Kostas. You can do better than that.

Pekovic sucks even worst. 1/6 with little contribution.

Minnesota bigs struggle on defense. They have to deal with cutting guards that pass by Minni shirts too easy. Especially Koufos looked frustrated after he had to deal with a cutting Ray ALlen and free to pass anytime Rondo (on the same play...)