Page 3 of 14
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 1:44 pm
by longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]
60WinTim wrote:Q having to pump up LST on a Wolves' player. Go figure! ;-)
It's a world gone mad!
For the record, though, I'm actually more pumped about Bjelica after watching him this morning...he's really skilled. He just that he seems more comfortable, and effective, playing away from the basket, and that is likely to limit his rebounding success. Make it a 4-day weekend and check him out on ESPN3 Tuesday morning!
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 2:59 pm
by Q12543 [enjin:6621299]
60WinTim wrote:Q having to pump up LST on a Wolves' player. Go figure! ;-)
Oh, I have my favorites Tim. You know I have gone toe to toe with many here on the huge value of Ricky Rubio, despite his flaws (that's one player LST and I vigorously agree on).
I personally think LST's vested bias toward AB somewhat clouded his views on Bjelica, who plays the same position and therefore poses a threat to AB's playing time. But now that he's seeing Bjelica in action against top international competition, he's starting to see the light!
I actually think there will be decent playing time to be had for our 3rd string PF because of a combination of KG's part-time status and injuries that are certain to occur. One of the interesting sub-plots of camp and preseason will be the competition between AB and Payne (assuming we can't unload AB before then) for that 3rd spot behind KG and Bjelica.
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 3:05 pm
by Q12543 [enjin:6621299]
longstrangetrip wrote:60WinTim wrote:Q having to pump up LST on a Wolves' player. Go figure! ;-)
It's a world gone mad!
For the record, though, I'm actually more pumped about Bjelica after watching him this morning...he's really skilled. He just that he seems more comfortable, and effective, playing away from the basket, and that is likely to limit his rebounding success. Make it a 4-day weekend and check him out on ESPN3 Tuesday morning!
He's not going to get a ton of offensive rebounds for the reasons you mentioned, but he has been a very strong defensive rebounder in Euroleague play. We got beat up badly last season on the defensive glass, ranking dead last in Defensive Rebounding percentage. Bjelica can help in this area.
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 4:17 pm
by longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]
Q12543 wrote:60WinTim wrote:Q having to pump up LST on a Wolves' player. Go figure! ;-)
I personally think LST's vested bias toward AB somewhat clouded his views on Bjelica, who plays the same position and therefore poses a threat to AB's playing time. But now that he's seeing Bjelica in action against top international competition, he's starting to see the light!
Ha, you probably have me on that one, Q! I'm guessing I watched more AB on TV when he was at UNLV than anyone here, and when I see glimpses of the guy he was that 2012-3 season, I get excited. But the deck does look stacked against him right now...the Wolves brass has been awfully quiet about him this offseason, which means he's not likely in their plans. So it's nice to have a new PF to throw my allegiance behind.
I'm still not convinced that Bjelica will be an average defensive rebounder in the NBA though. His rebounding stats last year were very good, but they are way out of line with his meagre rebounding stats his previous years. Our hope is that the light bulb went on last year at age 27, and he learned how to become a good rebounder...but the jury is still out with me. I'm looking forward to watching some of the remaining FIBA games to see which of his first two games is more indicative of his rebounding skills. If he really is a solid defensive rebounder, he might be a nice forward pairing with Shabazz, who loves to hit the offensive glass but doesn't put up very good numbers on the defensive boards.
Having watched Okafor a couple times live in Vegas this summer, I have to say that the Bjelica I watched today (along with highlights of yesterday), is far ahead of Okafor for possible ROY honors. I know he's not likely to start, but neither did Mirotic, and Mirotic was in the running for ROY last year with a few sportswriters. It's kind of unfair comparing a 28 year old rookie with several years of pro and international experience to a 19 year old kid, but those are the rules, and we'll take any advantage we can take. How great would it be to have back-to-back ROY winners?
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 10:25 pm
by Monster
LST you should check out Bjelica against Spain who is a pretty deep and talented team and let us know what you think.
Also I am glad you mentioned Teodostic because he annoys me. He seems like a classic guy that scores because he is decently talented but get points because he doesn't give a shit he will just jack up shots whine about everything imaginable and sees the floor pretty poorly. There are so many times where a guy would have an easy scoring opportunity but he is dribbling to the wrong spot on the floor or something stupid. I've seen him play here and there over the years he can play but I am not a fan. Annoys me every time I watch him play. Sorry rant over.
http://youtu.be/X-UFQ9OqV9Q
Spoiler Alert:
It looks like he crashes the glass good enough for me against legit NBA and top Euro league players.
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 11:15 pm
by Monster
I finished watching the Serbia vs Spain game and here are a couple thoughts.
Ok I need to get this out of the way. I was to harsh on Teodosic in my previous post but I overall don't like his game.
Bjelica will be a better team defender next year than Bennett. I won't be shocked if he is a better individual defender either. I have watched plenty of Bennett this summer. I'll watch at least another game of Bjelica but this game's talent was far superior to anything Bennett has faced this summer and Bjelica was a lot better than decent in both individual and team defense.
There was some good and bad from Bjelica but the skill is there and he has plenty of length. He seems like a smart basketball player that may actually be better blending in than being a main guy. He is far from selfish that's for sure. He moves the ball. If you want to run a Spurs share the ball type team he would fit right in. I think he can contribute this year and I don't think the transition period is gonna be too rough or take too long for him to be a solid contributor. Part of that is because he may be likely to get opportunities because of who is ahead of him on the roster. He can play.
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:38 am
by Lipoli390
I watched the Spain game and every Bjelica highlight video I could find. Here are the things I really like about him and that make be believe he'll be a really good NBA player:
1. He has excellent ball-handling skills even without considering his height/length. And he uses very good speed with the ball along with excellent change of speed and direction to get to the basket.
2. He finishes well inside when he gets to the bucket, and even more importantly, he dunks with authority rather that routinely settling for layups like so many Euro players.
3. He's an NBA caliber athlete and not just a typical Euro skill layer.
4. He appears to have a great motor, playing consistently in top gear and chasing down opponents full court for blocks.
5. Most important of all, he never smiles. He's the anti-Wes Johnson. That alone gives me hope that the Bjelica signing this summer may be one of the best player personnel moves in Wolves history. :)
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:40 am
by Lipoli390
I watched the Spain game and every Bjelica highlight video I could find. Here are the things I really like about him and that make be believe he'll be a really good NBA player:
1. He has excellent ball-handling skills even without considering his height/length. And he uses very good speed with the ball along with excellent change of speed and direction to get to the basket.
2. He finishes well inside when he gets to the bucket, and even more importantly, he dunks with authority rather that routinely settling for layups like so many Euro players.
3. He's an NBA caliber athlete and not just a typical Euro skill layer.
4. He appears to have a great motor, playing consistently in top gear and chasing down opponents full court for blocks.
5. Most important of all, he never smiles. He's the anti-Wes Johnson. That alone gives me hope that the Bjelica signing this summer may be one of the best player personnel moves in Wolves history. :)
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 2:30 am
by Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]
There's about to be a new sheriff in town, and his name is Professor Big Shots.
Re: FIBA Tournament Play
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2015 7:11 am
by 60WinTim
Gee, even Mr opTIMistic thinks the Bjelica hype is running out of control! :)