FIBA Tournament Play

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Unless I'm not understanding Brooklyn Wolves' points (welcome to the board by the way!) I think he may have misunderstood my point. I agree that the shorter 3-point arc and lack of defensive 3-second calls would tend to clog the lane and make it more difficult to operate in there, but how do you then explain the way Raduljica was able to dominate inside most of the tournament? He's a guy who was a laughing stock with the Wolves this year, but until today's game, he looked like Shaquille O'Neal during the FIBA tournament. I don't believe Raduljica suddenly learned to play basketball, so I attribute his success in the previous games to the relative lack of inside defensive presence in the European game.

I don't remember many 4 points on 2/9 shooting with 3 turnovers or 7 points on 3/8 shooting games from Shaq. Those were Raduljica's numbers in games against Spain and Germany. So Raduljica was hardly putting Shaq like performances in Eurobasket even before Lithuania game. He had one really good game against small front line of Finland and quite lot of success in finishing pick and roll plays against Turkey, Czechs and Italy. But his performance in those games was quite well in line with his best NBA games with Milwaukee. (Raduljica has had some 12 pts with 6/8 FG like games also in NBA)

Generally Raduljica won't have problem with physicality but like Pek he really struggles finishing against length in post. Actually I think Raduljica is clearly worse against length than Pek. Gasol, Valensiunas and that big German center made Raduljica's post scoring attempts look miserable. I recall each of them blocking several of his shots. Still Raduljica can score even against teams with length in center position but his scoring have to come mainly as a roll man in pick and roll plays. If opponent defends those plays well or they help more by allowing some corner threes, Raduljica's offense is pretty much non existing.

The Lithuanian team is not as physical as any NBA team, but they seemed much longer and more physical than any FIBA team I had seen previously. And lo and behold, Raduljica was ineffective and Bjelica stayed out around the arc and didn't rebound. I admit I'm making an assertion based on one game, or more accurately based on the difference between today's game and all the previous FIBA games I watched. But Bjelica's inability to be effective inside today either scoring or rebounding made me believe that he will struggle inside in the NBA. Where is my analysis off base here?

I agree that Lithuania game was more physical than other games what I have seen in tournament. That was basically first game that was same level in terms of physicality than typical Euroleague games are and since he has had a lot of success in Euroleague, I don't think that physical play would be problem for him.

I did see only first half of Lithuania game but I remember seeing Bjelica driving several times to hoop and his drives resulted at least one field goal from him and two beautiful assists to his team members. I think Bjelica's main problem was lack of touches in 1st half since Teodosic was once again dominating the ball. (Bjelica had 4 FGA in 1st half while Teodosic had 8.)

Q, my hope is that Bjelica proves to be a rich man's Hummel also...something about him reminds me of Robbie, although more skilled with the ball. But I don't think we should expect him to rebound as effectively as Hummel did, or to be as physical on defense (Robbie was in the upper quartile in the league in taking charges after all).

LST, I hope you are joking in your last paragraph. Bjelica has been superior rebounder compared to Hummel in Europe so far. So I have really big problem to see that he would fail to grab rebounds at least same rate in NBA than Robbie. Below are their ACB pace adjusted per 40 minutes rebounding numbers:

Bjelica:
2010/11: 7.1
2011/12: 8.3
2012/13: 9.4

Hummel:
2012/13: 7.7

Remember also that Bjelica got his numbers in much better Euroleague team when Hummel got his in some middle of the pack team where he had less competition about defensive boards. Based on his Euroleague numbers Bjelica's rebounding has even further improved in last two seasons, so I would be really disappointed if he wouldn't be at least same level rebounder in NBA than Robbie.

Not joking at all, mikkeman...I see Bjelica and Hummel as very different rebounders. Robbie was very technically sound as a rebounder, and made a solid effort to block his man out on the defensive boards. I don't see the same rebounding effort or good technique with Bjelica, although I will admit that I have only watched him in a handful of games. He is longer and bigger than Robbie, so he should be a much better rebounder, but I don't see the effort on the defensive glass that we consistently got from Robbie. I hope I am wrong, because as I have said before, I am very high on what I have seen from Bjelica from an offensive standpoint...miles ahead of Hummel, obviously. But I will be pleasantly surprised if he ends up being an average rebounder for an NBA PF. Even if he is subpar as a rebounder, though, his playmaking, shooting and general feel for the game will make him a good addition to the roster.

[Carlos Danger]

It looks like Hummel and Bjelica both played in the same league (Spanish ACB) in 2012-2013 season. Here's what I found for their stat lines (Per 36):

Hummel - 17.9 pts, 6.8 Rebounds, 17.3 PER
Bjelica - 14.6 pts, 8.5 Rebounds, 14.1 PER

Hummel is/was a year younger than Bjelica and also coming off some serous knee problems that year.

[MikkeMan]

It looks like Hummel and Bjelica both played in the same league (Spanish ACB) in 2012-2013 season. Here's what I found for their stat lines (Per 36):

Hummel - 17.9 pts, 6.8 Rebounds, 17.3 PER
Bjelica - 14.6 pts, 8.5 Rebounds, 14.1 PER

Hummel is/was a year younger than Bjelica and also coming off some serous knee problems that year.

Robbie played in some middle of pack team and Bjelica played in the 2nd best team in whole ACB. When you play in better team, your numbers and PER tend to be lower since you have typically lower usage. Good example is Kevin Love in Cleveland vs Kevin Love in Minnesota. Bjelica had several teammates like Nocioni, Lampe, Heurtel and San Emeterio that have been perennial Euroleague players. Only Salah Mejri from Hummel's teammates has played in Euroleague and he has been in very minor role there.

Based on numbers Bjelica has also really improved every season after that. (numbers from Euroleague since he has not played after 2012-13 in ACB)

2012-13: 19.1 PER
2013-14: 20.5 PER
2014-15: 22.8 PER

[Monster]

Hummel's rebounding rate in the NBA is below average IMO. He does play some minutes as a SF so that can be factored in. Hummel is undersized as a PF so that hurts him in that regard. I think LST points out why he isn't south a liability because he is boxing out tapping balls to keep them alive etc. Bjelica has the length of a PF he should have a better rebound rate than Hummel and I don't expect him to play like an undersized hustle dude like Hummel or Dante. That's not the reason you are putting him out there and that's basically why you emoy those types of guys.

It's going to be interesting to see how this season unfolds and how many roster spots will be available because I am sure the Wolves would have interest in a spot for Hummel depending on what spots they may have open and how the team progresses. It will be interesting to see how Robbie does in the overseas league this year hopefully being healthy.

[bleedspeed]

I just hope Bjelica is a better rebounder than Young was here.

[Coolbreeze44]

I just hope Bjelica is a better rebounder than Young was here.

I think a cardboard cutout of Gorgui Dieng would be a better rebounder than what Young was here.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I just hope Bjelica is a better rebounder than Young was here.

I think a cardboard cutout of Gorgui Dieng would be a better rebounder than what Young was here.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I just hope Bjelica is a better rebounder than Young was here.

I think he will be a better rebounder than Young based on his Euro numbers. In many ways I see parallels between Young and Bjelica...although I think Nemanja is better at most aspects of the game. Both are skilled players who are comfortable putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket (Thad mostly with his left, and Nemanja mostly with his right), and both are above average at finishing strongly at the rim. Both are decent shooters for PFs, although I would argue NB's form is better and seems more reliable beyond the arc. Both are fairly good passers. And Thad is a below average rebounding PF, and I expect that Nemanja will be too. Most of us believed Young could be an important piece on a good team, but just not in a starting role. Nemanja will have the luxury of not having to be the starting PF right away, and we will see if he can grow into being KG's heir apparent. I'm guardedly optimistic that he can.

[Monster]

I just hope Bjelica is a better rebounder than Young was here.

I think he will be a better rebounder than Young based on his Euro numbers. In many ways I see parallels between Young and Bjelica...although I think Nemanja is better at most aspects of the game. Both are skilled players who are comfortable putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket (Thad mostly with his left, and Nemanja mostly with his right), and both are above average at finishing strongly at the rim. Both are decent shooters for PFs, although I would argue NB's form is better and seems more reliable beyond the arc. Both are fairly good passers. And Thad is a below average rebounding PF, and I expect that Nemanja will be too. Most of us believed Young could be an important piece on a good team, but just not in a starting role. Nemanja will have the luxury of not having to be the starting PF right away, and we will see if he can grow into being KG's heir apparent. I'm guardedly optimistic that he can.

I think it's a reasonable comparison comparing the two. The bottom line is we will be really fortunate if Bjelica becomes a player that's as good as Thad.

One issue IMO with Thad's jumper is his release is not very compact. He has long arms and it's just a really long release. Bjelica does seem to have more repeatable shot mechanics.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I just hope Bjelica is a better rebounder than Young was here.

I think he will be a better rebounder than Young based on his Euro numbers. In many ways I see parallels between Young and Bjelica...although I think Nemanja is better at most aspects of the game. Both are skilled players who are comfortable putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket (Thad mostly with his left, and Nemanja mostly with his right), and both are above average at finishing strongly at the rim. Both are decent shooters for PFs, although I would argue NB's form is better and seems more reliable beyond the arc. Both are fairly good passers. And Thad is a below average rebounding PF, and I expect that Nemanja will be too. Most of us believed Young could be an important piece on a good team, but just not in a starting role. Nemanja will have the luxury of not having to be the starting PF right away, and we will see if he can grow into being KG's heir apparent. I'm guardedly optimistic that he can.

I think it's a reasonable comparison comparing the two. The bottom line is we will be really fortunate if Bjelica becomes a player that's as good as Thad.

One issue IMO with Thad's jumper is his release is not very compact. He has long arms and it's just a really long release. Bjelica does seem to have more repeatable shot mechanics.

That's the point I was trying to make about their respective shots, monster...you said it better.

I didn't mention one aspect of Thad's game that I think is superior to NB's. Thad is more clever around the basket and seems to have more ways to score inside than Nemanja. This is not to say the NB can't be an effective inside scorer, just that Thad seems more versatile. I also didn't compare them defensively, but here I see a distinct advantage for NB. Both have quick feet for PFs and the ability to switch effectively, but I see NB as a stronger force one-on-one inside.

Lots of similarities in their respective games...bottom line is there won't be as much pressure on NB though. I think he will be a nice bench PF for us this year.