Minnesota Sports Forum

Pek has played very well this year. I think that he is living up to his paycheck.

Last night he had 2 shots blocked in the last 5 minutes of the game. That is ridiculous. Yet again, we have another wolf that can not be counted on to effectively close a game.

How is it that a guy as big and strong as Pek can get dominated at the end of a game?

Yes, it was Duncan, who probably plays as smart as any great player ever.

Pek also doesn't have too much ups.

I guess, my question, is......"if we played him less throughout the game, could he be one of our options in close games? or is that just not his MO right now?" He is only playing 34 minutes per game this year, which is about 2 more than last year.

I am NOT complaining about a guy that got 18 pts on 13 shots with 11 boards against one of the best teams in the NBA.

I find Pek perplexing.

Any thoughts on this will be appreciated.

not great length nor athleticism + no real go to move... and he isn't the best end-of-game option to get a bucket when absolutely necessary against a dialed in defense.

While Pek certainly isn't a great isolation post up player, he does hit his free throws, which is extremely important late in games. He's also a big body to set picks and help free up guys for shots in crunch time. Most Centers aren't great closers. And one of the best Centers in the game - Dwight Howard - can be a down right liability due to his inability to knock down free throws.

The thing I like about Pek more recently is his willingness to take the wide open mid-range jump shot. While that's not necessarily a high % shot, it does diversify the way he can score and makes him tougher to defend.

The problem with Pek is that he seems to miss way too many bunnies, and he just isn't a good help or PnR defender. All of it stems from his lack of athleticism which means it probably isn't fixable. He still posts great numbers offensively, but I wonder if that is enough to justify the defensive end. It is certainly magnified significantly because he is paired with Love, who will never be a shot blocker.

Whether Pek is worth the 12 mil is a different debate, but I don't know if the wolves can be successful defensively as currently constructed. It seems like the more successful teams spend their money on wing/perimeter scorers and interior defense.

Q12543 wrote:While Pek certainly isn't a great isolation post up player, he does hit his free throws, which is extremely important late in games. He's also a big body to set picks and help free up guys for shots in crunch time. Most Centers aren't great closers. And one of the best Centers in the game - Dwight Howard - can be a down right liability due to his inability to knock down free throws.

The thing I like about Pek more recently is his willingness to take the wide open mid-range jump shot. While that's not necessarily a high % shot, it does diversify the way he can score and makes him tougher to defend.

I agree that it's good to see him take those 15 - 17 footers. A guy who hits 74% from the stripe should be able to knock that shot down. But even Peterson on the telecasts seems surprised when he shoots/makes one.

That shot will give the team more spacing, which can only be a good thing.

Pek has been solid this year after the slow start. And at this point he's displacing K-Mart as the 2nd go-to scorer. But no doubt both Pek and Love share one severe weakness in common: they don't cover up perimeter players' defensive mistakes.

Both of them are average to above average individual defenders. I mean how often do you see Pek get beat one on one--not a lot. But as far as recovering and helping deter penetrators when they get into the paint, Pek and Love are a serious liability.

This is where the development of Dieng and the return of Turiaf is important. Take last night for example: the Wolves entered the 4th leading by 9. Defense needed to be the focus. This is where you would hope you could get 5 to 6 minutes out of Dieng and make it tough around the rim. Nothing easy. Instead Ginobili and Parker were ice skating to the rim like Tonya Harding.

Hard to hate on Pek tho--there are a lot of teams with no low post game whatsoever, and we have a guy who practically camps around the basket on offense. And he scores when he gets the ball, which maybe needs to happen even more often than it has so far this season.

Dalebert is in the doghouse in Dallas. Why not offer up Turiaf and Cunningham for him?

He would make a perfect rotation partner with Love and Pekovic. Great signing by the Mavs.