Nemanja Bjelica

[Klomp]

Using Bjelica just as a stretch 4 would be such a waste, the guy is so skilled with the ball and can do so much more.

I think you're misinterpeting how some of us are using the term "stretch 4". We're not calling for him to be used like Kevin Love is being used in Cleveland. You're right, that would be a waste. But at PF, Bjelica has so many more advantages than he would at SF.

[phonzadellika]

Bjelica is not purely a stretch four, sure he can hit the jumper, but he is not a pure shooter, his strength is his face-up game with dribbling skills.
He and Towns together will be a sick combo.
Plus Payne, Garnett, Dieng, Pekovic, from the bench I guess.
I think Bennett is in his way out.

You just need to find a SG, I guess Martin will start next season though

Rubio
Martin-LaVine
Wiggins-Muhammad-Budinger
Bjelica-Payne-Garnett
Towns-Dieng-Pekovic

Plus whoever you draft at 32 and 36, at least a back-up guard should come from those picks, and whoever you sign o re-sign to complete the backcourt.

I guess you might be able to get a 2nd round pick for Bennett on draft night, or even go up with 32, 36 and Bennett and get a late first.

I really like this line-up, provided Towns turns out like he's supposed to. My guess is LoBrow will be the second PG for that team.

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

MVP for March
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zchznNLzh0A[/youtube]

[wildvikeswolves]

Man he's really breaking out this year it seems like. I haven't seen much of him besides the highlights posted here, but i have hard time believing he wouldn't be worth a Mirotic contract.

[minimus]

If we sum up Bennet's BBIQ, Dieng's BBIQ and Payne's BBIQ it will be equal to 0.25 of Bjelica's IQ or 0.05 of KG's

[MinneOOPalis]

I can never tell if a Euro is good or not.

[Grits n Gravy]

I can never tell if a Euro is good or not.

Stats are not really a good way to judge a player or say how they will fare in the NBA but just for a FYI

Nikola Mirotic averaged in Euroleague last year
12.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steal, 0.8 blocks - 53.4 2fg%, 46 3fg%, 81.1 ft% -23.5 minutes per

Nemanja Euroleage this year
12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.7 blocks - 61.4 2fg%, 29 3fg%, 71 ft% - 27.4 minutes per

Bjelica is obviously older than Mirotic and Mirotics' Real Madrid lost in the final last year.

[urinesane]

If we sum up Bennet's BBIQ, Dieng's BBIQ and Payne's BBIQ it will be equal to 0.25 of Bjelica's IQ or 0.05 of KG's

MMMMMMMMMM BBIQ

[minimus]

^^ Oops, I forget this abbreviation in Russian we say shashlyk instead of BBIQ

[rednal]

Nowadays Bjelica is the best player in Europe, that's my opinion,winning games, rebounding scoring... He is ready to play in the NBA and play so well.

Is playing much better than mirotic did last year, because Nemanja is the leader of his team sth that mirotic never was the past year. His team is first from his group and they are playing such a great basketball. One of the favourites to go to the F4 of the Euroleague and maybe to win it.

[UcanUwill]

http://www.euroleague.net/features/interviews/euroleague-2014-15/i/5uuaa3qfrsstqeeg

[Klomp]

I don't think it's a surprise that he's had his best season after moving from SF to PF.

[AttackTheRack]

Looks good to me. Good size. Decent athlete. Skills. Sign him and put him on the court. One more legit dude for Andrew Wiggins to dunk hard on in practice!! Never a bad thing. Welcome to the NBA, Nemanja.

[FinnTheHuman]

If you want to play Bjelica to his strengths, you want him to play the point forward position. That is why I feel he should be our 6th man rather than a starter.

You don't want to have Rubio and Bjelica on the court together all the time, you want them to share like 15 minutes together on the floor where Rubio creates while Bjelica moves off ball (he is an exceptional cutter, when I see him cutting it reminds me of what AK was doing for us a couple of years ago).

But you definitely want to give Bjelica point forward minutes without Rubio, at least 10 to 15 minutes where he has the ball, as he really makes plays happen in that role. He can take 4's of the dribble, he can shoot over them, he can draw help and then pass, he's like a (very) poor man's Lebron in that sense.

I really love Bjelica's game and I am afraid we might limit his potential by not playing him to his strengths which is definitely a possibility given the limits of Flip as a coach.

We really need to make Bjelica work for us, he is one of the biggest reasons why I am optimistic about our future.

[minimus]

If you want to play Bjelica to his strengths, you want him to play the point forward position. That is why I feel he should be our 6th man rather than a starter.
You don't want to have Rubio and Bjelica on the court together all the time, you want them to share like 15 minutes together on the floor where Rubio creates while Bjelica moves off ball (he is an exceptional cutter, when I see him cutting it reminds me of what AK was doing for us a couple of years ago).
But you definitely want to give Bjelica point forward minutes without Rubio, at least 10 to 15 minutes where he has the ball, as he really makes plays happen in that role. He can take 4's of the dribble, he can shoot over them, he can draw help and then pass, he's like a (very) poor man's Lebron in that sense.
I really love Bjelica's game and I am afraid we might limit his potential by not playing him to his strengths which is definitely a possibility given the limits of Flip as a coach.
We really need to make Bjelica work for us, he is one of the biggest reasons why I am optimistic about our future.

I'm concerned about Flip coaching as well. But I would expect slightly different scenario for Bjelica. I don't like LeBron comparision. I believe that Bjelica should play same role as he plays for SRB national: PnR guy, who should not be primary ballhndler. Willing passer, who can make simple extra pass to wide open teammate, start fastbreak, disciplined defender, aggressive rebounder. He shouldnt be 1st option in offense, but he should be heavily involved in PnR attack. Just like he plays with Teodosic he should play with Rubio. I like idea of versatile starting unit with 5 willing, capable passers and scorers, without one true big time scorer. So we need to trade Martin, preach constant movement in offense a-la SAS/ATL.
If we fall out of TOP3 something like Dieng-Bjelica-Winslow-Wigging-Rubio or Dieng-Bjelica-Wigging-Russel-Rubio will be perfect.

[Macho]

Another double double today(17 and 10), it's really rare to see a guy in the Euro League that's not a center consistently getting double doubles.

[minimus]

I remember first games of this season, when Rubio played. Thad Young got plenty of open looks, after pick and pop with spaniard. I am eager to see how Nemanya can benefit from playing with Ricky. He moves well without the ball, he is active and he willing passer. He can be our missing piece to more efficient, more balanced offense. Because our current offensive flow is primitive, ball stops because players don't know how to execute, how to keep defense honest. Just imagine Rubio initiating offense with one good pass, then Nemanya making an extra pass after putting defense on stress, then another pass etc. It should be big step forward to us.

[Grits n Gravy]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agf2-ZuNzaQ[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNJbSCau16A[/youtube]

Vs Dario Saric and Anadolu Efes

Spoiler:

Nemanja had a somewhat quiet game, didn't do too much - at least offensively. Hit a buzzer beating 3 at the end of the first half and had a nice exchange at the end of the 3rd quarter, got dunked on by Milko Bjelica then came down and iso'd and hit a nice size up 3 off the dribble. Again, I'm very concerned about his defense in many aspects his body in the lower body is weak, he has bad technique and rarely gets in a good defensive stance and he plays with a pretty poor motor on that end and just looks too casual. He did actually contest shots well and grabbed some nice, contested rebounds and I love what he projects to bring offensively.

Saric was man handled by Luka Zoric early and got in foul trouble. Had a really bad game, missed all his jumpers and 4 of 5 free throws(airballed one) and was benched for a large part of the game including basically the entire 2nd half.

[UcanUwill]

This guy is a beast. 12 points, 9 rebounds at halftime, in Euroleague play offs game one. Jan Vesely also playing well, so theres that.

[Note30]

If Bjelica was getting drafted this year, where do you think he'd land?