Overlook: A young big man who had his breakthrough season in 07/08 for Partizan. Some thought the move to Panathinaikos came too early, but Pekovic had a blistering 08/09 campaign, rewarded by a European triple crown of Euroleague, Greek league and cup title. Draft rights belong to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are planning to bring him over in 2010. Panathinaikos will disagree. Marginally escaped the rookie scale by being drafted with the first pick in the second round in 2008. Solid character. Quiet, not a troublemaker.
Strengths: Strong as a bull. No matter if NBA or Europe, nobody is pushing Pekovic around. Makes use of his strength to gain deep position inside. The key to his lowpost efficiency basically, as he does not possess a whole lot of moves, but they’re all effective when close to the basket. Baby hook with his right hand is his biggest weapon. Likes to spin over his right shoulder for the layup as a counter move. Does possess a solid midrange jumpshot from free throw line distance, but it is hardly utilised at Panathinaikos. Learns to play the pick and roll under Obradovic. Very efficient here, as he catches passes surprisignly well and can finish despite the contact. Defensively, shows surprising ability to defend smaller and quicker players when isolated after the defensive switch.
Weaknesses: Clumsy at times, like an elephant in the porcelain store. Must work on his coordination. Extremely physical, but not a leaper. Hands aren’t particularly soft. While showing signs of dominance already, could become a machine by adding to his lowpost arsenal. Not a particularly good positional defender, and lacks athleticism to block and alter shots. Average on the offensive boards, below average on the defensive boards.
12 Dec 2008; Notes
Pekovic had an interview with David Hein, speaking about Panathinaikos, Zeljko Obradovic, and the NBA. Read more on Ballineurope.com.
24 Nov 2008; Full article Nikola Pekovic continuing to deliver
A lot the talking in the last few years has been about how the pure, one-dimensional center was disappearing from the European basketball scene. Well, here’s Nikola Pekovic, the most dominant one-man-force in European club basketball right now. The young Montenegrin center possesses a huge frame, keeps outmuscling opponents for the best positions close to the hoop, and relies on his good hands, which seem to be getting softer and softer every time we see him, to score inside. Add to that very good movement on pick and roll play, and you have an extremely dangerous offensive player. He was nothing short of sensational on Sunday, connecting on all of his nine shot attempts from the field and finishing with 21 points and 3 rebounds. We had already adressed his improved passing game, and it showed again yesterday, when he found either the cutter or the open shooter off the double team on several occasions, while finishing the game without a single turnover. Matched up with the huge Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Panathaikos successfully utilised Pekovic on the pick and roll, Schortsanitis’ big defensive weakness early on, and primarily went into the lowpost, when the physically weaker Nikola Vujcic was adjusted to the Montenegrin big man. Pekovic was not to be denied in both areas, playing with aggressiveness, but also with a lot of poise and maturity in what was his first Panathinaikos – Olympiacos derby.
15 Nov 2008; Full article Nikola Pekovic working the post
One the big changes from last season on Panathinaikos is how much more they use the lowpost these days. That development can easily be connected to one man, last season’s Partizan center sensation Nikola Pekovic.
With many young big men getting absorbed by the NBA early in their career, quality – potentially dominant – big men are rare in European club basketball. Pekovic is one of those. Panathinaikos meanwhile had been a team dominated by the play of the highly talented point guard trio of Dimitris Diamantidis, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Vassilis Spanoulis so far. However, after the heavy defeat in Barcelona on Euroleague Gameday 3, headcoach Zeljko Obradovic decided to start using the two bigs, Mike Batiste and Pekovic, more so than before. An adjustment which certainly came to fruition on Thursday against the Italian champion, when Pekovic was never to be denied by both Benjamin Eze and Ksystof Lavrinovic.
He was particularly impressive in the first half, making his mark on the game quickly after his inclusion. He started with an easy slam off a nicely angled pass by Spanoulis on the postup, and continued with several very aggressive moves inside, one of those off the offensive rebound. His team looked less for him in the second half, partly due to the fact that his first half play had openend up space for the perimeter players. Pekovic finished with 14 points on 6/10 shooting in 24:32.
The 22-year-old does not possess a whole lot of lowpost-moves, but his strength allows him to find positions deep inside, where he is able to score layups and short hookshots, that make a larg part of his offensive game, on very high percentages. His passing game ouf the double team is something that will be important throughout his career, and while he is still struggling from time to time in this area, he has already progressed a lot. On Thursday, he had a nice kickout to Spanoulis for the open three.
Defensively, the Montenegrin big man does a surprisingly good job staying in front of smaller players once isolated after switching the screen and roll, something you would not a expect from a player his stature. Inside, he is still gaining experienced defending against skilled offensive players, but he definitely has the tools to be a decent on-the-ball defender. However, he will never be an outstanding shot blocker, lacking athleticism to be outstanding in this department.
Pekovic is with Panathinaikos on a three year contract including an NBA opt out after the first season. While his intentions are unknown, it has to be mentioned that Pekovic was drafted in the 2nd round and hence will not be affected by the rookie scale, which has prevented several players, e.g. Tiago Splitter, going overseas. A move to the States in summer 2009 is definitely on the table, and – needless to say – would hurt Panathinaikos big time.
Below: Pekovic vs. Montepaschi on Youtube
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