Post#1031 » by skones » Thu Jul 11, 2013 3:34 am
It astounds me that this has not been brought up.
Interbasket continually harps on "being used correctly." From that, I'm assuming he means, put in a role to succeed. I don't think that's necessary for a guy to become a REALLY GOOD NBA player as opposed to a guy who is absolutely terrible. Take Jasikevicius for example. He wasn't exactly a guy who wasn't given an opportunity. He was given nearly 21 minutes a night in the NBA and simply wasn't able to produce.
European Basketball and NBA Basketball are two completely different games, which is why, USA Basketball was forced to reevaluate themselves after the 2004 Olympic failure. The European game is much more methodical and team oriented, which is why many of the top players in Europe come no where near the minutes of the top players in the NBA. I'd liken a European team to a bit of a swiss army knife. Players of different skill sets are used accordingly for specific situations, whereas NBA players log heavy minutes because there is so much isolation drawn up in the league.
This brings us back to Jasikevicius. In a league where Jasikevicius is expected to create his own shot, and create for others, while having shortcomings athletically for the shooting guard position, he's going to have a lot of issues. That's not simply because he's "being used incorrectly," it's because what works for him in Europe will not work in the NBA given the style of play. Is that to say he's a bad basketball player? Absolutely not. Is he a bad NBA player? Yes. Being used "correctly or incorrectly" in this case did not cause Jasikevicius to be a bad NBA player. His athletic limitations and style of play pigeon hole him into more of a spot up shooter role than a primary player on a team. When you go into a new work place, do you expect the new work place to adapt around you? That's basically what interbasket is calling for the NBA to do here. Fact of the matter is, when you go into a new work place, you adapt to the situation around you and adjust accordingly. If you don't, you're fired. So Jasikevicius left the NBA.
Jasikevicius was a career 39.7% shooter in the NBA. His three point percentage sat at a very respectable 35.5% which is somewhat hindered by his last 26 games in the league with Golden State. As i said, he was better suited to be a sharp shooter in the NBA. In Europe, AS SOON AS HE RETURNED, his FG% shot up 48.5% in Euroleague and 52.5% in the Greek league, which obviously shows, he was able to create better shots for himself.
Saying he was used incorrectly and because of it he was not able to become a REALLY GREAT NBA PLAYER, is awfully shortsighted IMO.
