Pekovic Update (11/19)
by wyn on Nov 19, 2008 12:00 AM CST
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PrintWolves 2nd Round draft pick Nikola Pekovic seems to be fitting in well with his new club, 2007 Euroleague champs Panathinaikos, after signing a three-year, $5 - 5.7 million deal.
Panathinaikos is 3-1 in Euroleague action with six more games to go. Pekovic has only had one start:
| MPG | FG% | FT% | PPG | OREB | DREB | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FPG |
| 18.7 | 56.3% | 65.4% | 13.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
After six Greek A-1 League games the squad is in (tied for?) 4th place with 5 wins (the season is 26 games long and goes until April 09). Pekovic is 10th in scoring and doing just as well from the field as he is from the line:
| MPG | FG% | FT% | PPG | OREB | DREB | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FPG |
| 16.2 | 74.2% | 75.0% | 13.7 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
Pekovic's teammates include former NBAers Sarunas Jasikevicius, Vassilis Spanoulis, Antonis Fotsis, and Mike Batiste and former Maryland Terp Drew-Lawrence Nichols.
Lastly, he his MP3 player is apparently full of "Serbian municipal songs." It annoys the locker room, but not so much that they don't miss him at Partizan.
Pekovic Euroleague highlights vs. Montepaschi Siena 11/13/08 | Box Score | Recap
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Pekovic
So the Wolves will either try to buy out his Euro contract at some point, or wait until his contract is over? He’s what, 22 or 23 now?
Man that guy loves to dribble and back down into the lane – that won’t work too well at the NBA level. Can he shoot at all from outside? Can he pass? Am I crazy to assume all Euro big men can do these things?
Is it wrong for me...
….to imagine he speaks like a basketball caveman? Pekovic mad. Pekovic back up opponent. Pekovic shoot. Arrgggghhh!!!
He just looks like a bruiser.
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DraftExpress feels Pekovic’s upside comparison is none other than our own Al Jefferson. Here is their quick lists of strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths:
• Productivity at highest level outside NBA
• Top center in the Euroleague
• Strength
• Frame
• Wingspan
• Hands
• Ability to establish position inside
• Back to the basket scoring
• Finishing with either hand
• Supreme toughness
• Throws body around in paint
• Offensive rebounding
• Defensive rebounding
• Setting screens
• Rarely misses from close range
• Extremely efficient
• Mid-range jumper
• Doesn’t make mistakes
• Late bloomer
• Very little downside
Weaknesses:
• Big enough to play center?
• Average athleticism
• Fundamentals
• Range on shot
• Lateral quickness
• Defensive potential
• Average basketball IQ
• Half-court player
• Ball-handling skills
• Passing ability
• Will he ever come over?
If these are accurate, I’m not sure of Pekovic is the type of center a lot of people are hoping for.
Here’s his full profile:
draft express profile for Pekovic
“his instincts make him chase the basket immediately after receiving the ball, like a shark goes after blood”
Why did I immediately think of Rashad McCants after reading this?
Do you like Serbian municipal music?
I like Serbian municipal music.
Don’t you like Serbian municipal music, baaaaby…
I think...
…Canis may have a new catch phrase: Your Serbian municipal music leader. Wyn, can we get that on the header?
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I can't imagine..
…hearing an American guy just out of college saying that his favorite music was public domain.
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What...
…that he likes Serbian municipal music? :)
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not Mad Dog
…you might be thinking of Stojko Vrankovic, who could have been awesome if he’d only have laid off the heaters…
(before I get a bunch of angry responses from Croats out there I know Stojko wasn’t a Serbian)
He really does...
seem to have a game similar in spirit to Al Jefferson’s (same height even). Good touch around the basket, complete with legs that look heavy. I don’t get the impression he’ll have the athletic ability to be a defensive force.
His rebounding numbers are suspect at best… I’m not sure how well those translate given the difference in playing style.
ummm… not meaning to be a negative nancy, but aren’t the two most valuable players on this team already PF’s?
you're not seeing the big picture...
This is all part of Wittman/McHale’s master plan to field an unconventional, Nellie-Ball style lineup
PG Craig Smith
SG Kevin Love
SF Mark Madsen
PF Al Jefferson
C Nikola Pekovic
Question: how do you defend that?
Answer: you can’t
I've always thought...
….McHale was going after the elusive NBA white out.
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Q: How do you defend that?
A: You steal the ball before they cross mid court…. 40 times in a row.
I’m just sayin’… (and I don’t even need a G in that fragment because that consonant is dead).
Sarah Palin...
….killed the letter G.
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When I youtubed...
…“serbian municipal music” this is what came up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lxrZ5ey9h8
very cool. not serbian or municipal, but very cool.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
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Here we go!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2EzJMPy-hc
Serbian national music.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
My big concern with Pekovic...
… is how he’ll fit in to the changing NBA. He seems to be able to get up and down the court alright in a Euroleague game, but what about the NBA? Is he too much of a plodding center?
Our biggest need in a new big man is defense, can Pekovic guard guys like Amare and give Al some rest on the defensive end (not like Al wouldn’t take it otherwise).
I eventually think...
…they’ll use him as trade bait. Although, the Wolves do appear to be collecting wide bodies. Maybe they’re going to switch leagues and go up against the New Zealand All Blacks.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
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I agree on the traid bait thing.
I didn’t really have him on my board (to prove it to you, I’ll post my draft thingy document thing when I get back home shortly) exactly because of that draftexpress profife above.
Somehow I trapped myself into believing the bruiser kind of thing and thinking he might fit. After seeing those numbers and seeing that draftexpress profile again I’m turning with the wind again (before you ask, that’s “draaien met de wind” in dutch :p, lots of sayings with wind in it here in Belgium) and back to where I started out. He’s not the center we need. He’s a good one, just not the one we need.
I’m gonna go ahead and take a big leap of faith here and start the “We need Thabeet” chants early on. By the end of next season I’m gonna look either extremely smart or absolutely stupid ^^.
Bring in Thabeet for 20 mins of the bench!
by Wim (Belgium) on Nov 19, 2008 10:01 AM CST up reply actions
Haha, actually … both. Though “flemish” doesn’t exist I do speak a little local dialect here. No 80 yr wars anymore, I’m pretty into the dutch way of thinking ;).
Seems I didn’t really update my draft board until the end, stopped somewhere midway the season with Koufos at nr3 and right after that DeAndre Jordan … awtch
by Wim (Belgium) on Nov 19, 2008 10:45 AM CST up reply actions
I agree...
I don’t recall most of the mocks picking up on it beforehand, but after the draft supposedly many “insiders” felt it was a no-doubter Pekovic would/should be the first pick of 2nd round, in which case the Wolves were simply doing their job.
So I think the Wolves essentially have a trading chit for a few years. How strong? Who knows.
that’s exactly what they did before trading, Mayo was the nr3, Peko was 31 and Chalmers was can’t miss talent at 36.. off course some trading happened, but when I went to bed it seemed they picked who most ppl who have
by Wim (Belgium) on Nov 19, 2008 10:40 AM CST up reply actions
Did Drew Nichols...
hyphenate his first name since he left for Europe? Now that is progressive. ( Drew-Lawrence Nichols)
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