How good can Pekovic be?

Narf · Post #1 » by **Narf** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:44 pm

Per 36 numbers:
14.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.1 assists, .573 TS%, .763 FT% ..... 7.3 fouls

Pekovic's big downfall last year was, in my opinion, a very poor adjustment to the NBA's rules (far less physical stuff allowed, and moving picks are legal in Euroleague) compounded by terrible coaching. If he adjusts better to the NBA this year, he could become a good post scoring starting center/enforcer that sets menacing picks with average (or better) defense. I'm just curious how many people still consider him a good prospect at center, or if I'm being homertastic to think he has a good chance of panning out still.

Post #2 » by **Basti** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:49 pm

Offensively he had gotten better the longer the season went on, which is a promising sign BUT, unfortunately for him and us, it's not the offense I'm concerned about. He's not a defensive presence, let alone anchor. And that is something we desperately need from our center(s).

A combination of his mean streak and offense paired with Darko's defense, above average athleticism (for a center at least) and passing skills would be really awesome to have.

AQuintus · Post #3 » by **AQuintus** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:55 pm

A less athletic Al Jefferson with shorter arms.

Narf · Post #4 » by **Narf** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:08 pm

AQuintus wrote:A less athletic Al Jefferson with shorter arms.

A bigger, stronger, taller, less athletic Al Jefferson with shorter arms.
Which is actually what I was hoping he was when we drafted him, although I have hopes that his D will improve. Hopes mind you, not expectations.

Still, considering how bad most centers in the league actually are that's pretty good for the 4th best player on the team.

LordBaldric · Post #5 » by **LordBaldric** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:09 pm

He's worth having on the team just for the tatoo.

Dewey · Post #6 » by **Dewey** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:28 pm

Got some work to do on defense, but he's not far on offense - if you get him a consistent role. He don't need a ton of minutes to be happy and Rambis did a horrible job with even that ... just gotta give hime a bone once in a while. Glad the entire staff is out of here.

Adelman/staff, the Rube, and DW will add alot to this club. If Beasley would shut his yap about wanting to be the leader that would be better yet ... learn to play both ends of the floor and stop the big talk and perform. leadership is a result not a request or entitlment he thinks it is. Lastly, the worst defender in the NBA is no longer here on the team ... SWEET!!

Narf · Post #7 » by **Narf** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 12:53 am

Dewey wrote:Lastly, the worst defender in the NBA is no longer here on the team ... SWEET!!

We traded Love?

I kid, I kid

shangrila · Post #8 » by **shangrila** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:22 am

I think he would be a good option off the bench, kind of like a bigger Glen Davis

cpfsf · Post #9 » by **cpfsf** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 7:46 am

LordBaldric wrote:He's worth having on the team just for the tatoo.

Nah man, it's the muscle that we need. Milicic and Pekovic can teach teams a lesson in sportsmanship. They can do this by beating the tar out of any team who has a 20 point advantage.

The pain train is coming.

Biff Cooper · Post #10 » by **Biff Cooper** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:22 pm

basti wrote: He's not a defensive presence, let alone anchor. And that is something we desperately need from our center(s).

Is it realistic that we expect our center(s) to be the anchor to cover for any defensive breakdowns on the floor?

I expect that Pek's strength and motor on the court will make him a very good NBA 1-on-1 defender of the center position. He should be able to wear the heck out of his man and get some high efficiency baskets at the offensive end. The only thing else that we should expect out of him is adequate PnR defensive ability which I think should develop with experience and decent coaching.

Foye · Post #11 » by **Foye** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:39 pm

Biff Cooper wrote:
basti wrote: He's not a defensive presence, let alone anchor. And that is something we desperately need from our center(s).

Is it realistic that we expect our center(s) to be the anchor to cover for any defensive breakdowns on the floor?

I expect that Pek's strength and motor on the court will make him a very good NBA 1-on-1 defender of the center position. He should be able to wear the heck out of his man and get some high efficiency baskets at the offensive end. The only thing else that we should expect out of him is adequate PnR defensive ability which I think should develop with experience and decent coaching.

No. Pekovic was mainly only an offensive player in Europe. He won't ever become a good 1-on-1 defender on NBA level. He might become average but not much more.
Pekovic's skill is scoring points in the low post. That's why I have been critizising Rambis a lot for not running any plays for him. A low post scorer is useless without the ball in his hands. We might as well play Tolliver at Center if we don't give Pekovic the ball inside when he's on court.

Pekovic is one of these players that will look great if you adjust the system for him and will look poor if you don't. Hence he sucked under Rambis.
I still have a very high opinion of him. Under the right circumstances I think he can destroy most backup Centers in the league.

Narf · Post #12 » by **Narf** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 4:47 pm

I think he'll destroy most staring centers in the league as well as backups. They're pretty piss poor on the whole. And Pek was a pretty damn efficient scorer last year. You'd be hard pressed to find 15 centers in the NBA who are as good as Pekovic in the post on offense, which suggests to me that he'll be a starter not a backup.

I think whether he starts or not has more to do with Randolph than Pekovic. If Randolph can pull it together and is solid defensively that solves most of our problems. If not, I'm hoping Pekovic starts over Darko by mid season. Of course that assumes he makes quite a few adjustments that he didn't make last year.

Foye · Post #13 » by **Foye** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 10:07 pm

Narf wrote:I think he'll destroy most staring centers in the league as well as backups. They're pretty piss poor on the whole. And Pek was a pretty damn efficient scorer last year. You'd be hard pressed to find 15 centers in the NBA who are as good as Pekovic in the post on offense, which suggests to me that he'll be a starter not a backup.

I think whether he starts or not has more to do with Randolph than Pekovic. If Randolph can pull it together and is solid defensively that solves most of our problems. If not, I'm hoping Pekovic starts over Darko by mid season. Of course that assumes he makes quite a few adjustments that he didn't make last year.

I've been thinking about that for a while now. I think Pekovic is better suited as a sub.
Mainly, because our second unit will run more plays for him than the 1st unit. IMO, when Pek is on court he needs the ball in the low post. We need to find a way to consistantly put him in position down there. There we have a lot of guys in the 1st team that always shoot a lot. In the 2nd team there'll be guys like Ridnour, Webster or Tolliver who don't shoot too much. That's why I feel Pek would fit in very well as a low post scorer with the 2nd team.
In the 1st team he'll likely not be a difference maker because he'll simply not be able to get enough shots to be effective. There's Beasley(DWill), Love, Rubio and Johnson.
Love, Beasley(DWill) will shoot a lot. Johnsons amount of shots will increase a lot this year, IMO. There are simply not enough shots available for Pek on the first team.

cpfsf · Post #14 » by **cpfsf** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:47 pm

I don't see him improving too much, he's not really thaaaaaaaaaaaat young (in NBA years anyway).

Biff Cooper · Post #15 » by **Biff Cooper** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:14 pm

Foye wrote:No. Pekovic was mainly only an offensive player in Europe. He won't ever become a good 1-on-1 defender on NBA level. He might become average but not much more.

There were quite a few Wolves games last year where all I did is watch Pek when he was on the floor. It actually made the games much more watchable and entertaining. When I was isolating on Pek, I noticed he rarely if ever got burnt on defense, the refs called a bunch of boarderline fouls on him that a more respected player would get the benefit of the doubt on - a lot of which were covering a smaller guy on a PnR where the guy would just lean into him and get a call, he plays incredibly hard when he is on the court, and the Wolves 2nd teamers wouldn't pass him the ball anywhere near often enough when he was posting up. If he can learn to avoid some of these fouls and get a little more respect from the refs, I maintain that I think he can be a solid NBA defender.

Esohny · Post #16 » by **Esohny** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:08 pm

I do know that I'd much rather replace Darko with a legit center, and keep Pekovic for the bench.

frangs · Post #17 » by **frangs** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 10:57 am

Highlights from yesterday Euroleague game vs Real Madrid. Partizan won and he was the best in his team.

http://www.acb.com/redaccion.php?id=80209

Ledeni · Post #18 » by **Ledeni** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 2:06 pm

frangs wrote:Highlights from yesterday Euroleague game vs Real Madrid. Partizan won and he was the best in his team.

http://www.acb.com/redaccion.php?id=80209

Great game... I would like to point out that Milan Macvan also had great game 16 pts 12 rebounds (Cavs drafted him, but I dont think he is going to play in NBA soon)

Krapinsky · Post #19 » by **Krapinsky** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 5:39 pm

Esohny wrote:I do know that I'd much rather replace Darko with a legit center, and keep Pekovic for the bench.

I feel like it's too soon to make that call. Know one really knows if we have anything with Pekovic.

Esohny · Post #20 » by **Esohny** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 6:21 pm

Krapinsky wrote:
Esohny wrote:I do know that I'd much rather replace Darko with a legit center, and keep Pekovic for the bench.

I feel like it's too soon to make that call. Know one really knows if we have anything with Pekovic.

Shrug. We know that Darko isn't worth much, and that the Wolves need a real center. I suppose I wouldn't hate keeping Darko as the backup instead of Pekovic, except that he would probably sulk. The important thing is getting a real player in the starting spot.