Can Peja play Shooting Guard?

K

kingsofnba

G-League
#1
#1
just a thought... with mobley opting out...do you think peja can slide over to the shooting guard position, so that kenny thomas can start at small forward... i know there has been times when peja plays the big guard in certain situations during games... and often times peja will defend the other teams best player in the swing position (guard or forward)... since peja plays an awful lot like a shooting guard, i.e. best shooter on the team, defends other teams 2 guard, and sadly enough rebounds like a guard... maybe peja can move full time to the shooting guard position and allow the better rebounder and physical player at the small forward, kenny thomas...

my biggest concern would be his ball handling and passing at the 2 guard... but he will have a big height and size advantage over virtually all shooting guards... the kings can go much bigger with this lineup and maybe sign a free agent big man (Kwame Brown or Stromile Swift) or start defensive minded brian skinner at power forward....

the kings would have one of the biggest starting lineups in the league...and i think that would help us in our most glaring needs area of rebounding and defense....

PF Kwame Brown (or Swift)/ Skinner/ Songaila
SF Kenny Thomas/ Williamson
C Brad Miller/ Ostertag
SG Peja Stojakovic/ Evans/ Martin
PG Mike Bibby/ Jackson
 
Packt

Packt

Starter
#2
#2
kingsofnba said:
just a thought... with mobley opting out...do you think peja can slide over to the shooting guard position, so that kenny thomas can start at small forward... i know there has been times when peja plays the big guard in certain situations during games... and often times peja will defend the other teams best player in the swing position (guard or forward)... since peja plays an awful lot like a shooting guard, i.e. best shooter on the team, defends other teams 2 guard, and sadly enough rebounds like a guard... maybe peja can move full time to the shooting guard position and allow the better rebounder and physical player at the small forward, kenny thomas...

my biggest concern would be his ball handling and passing at the 2 guard... but he will have a big height and size advantage over virtually all shooting guards... the kings can go much bigger with this lineup and maybe sign a free agent big man (Kwame Brown or Stromile Swift) or start defensive minded brian skinner at power forward....

the kings would have one of the biggest starting lineups in the league...and i think that would help us in our most glaring needs area of rebounding and defense....

PF Kwame Brown (or Swift)/ Skinner/ Songaila
SF Kenny Thomas/ Williamson
C Brad Miller/ Ostertag
SG Peja Stojakovic/ Evans/ Martin
PG Mike Bibby/ Jackson
Click to expand...
When has Peja ever guarded a SG? I’ve never seen such a thing besides the occasionally switch.
 
Yoda

Yoda

Bench
#3
#3
I would like this. It hides his biggest weaknesses, being rebounding and toughness. It allows us to have a 3 that can fill that type of rule. I would love to see this tried if Peja is in the mix next year.
 
P

patrick204

Prospect
#4
#4
Peja at SG

When Peja plays on the Yugoslav team he plays gurad at least some of the time. His size offers some advantages, but will also make him a little slower than smaller players.

It is a plausible matchup idea against some teams, but might be a serious problem at times.

In the Seattle Series, I often wished we had played Ostertag on James (that alone might have won us the series), Brad on Evans, Kenny on Lewis, Peja on Allen.

Since nothing else stopped Allen, that might have helped. But then Peja completely shut down Lewis, so it is hard to know that things would have been better. One thing is for sure. We need more defence in the backcourt. Remember what it was like when Doug and Bobby guarded?
 
K

King4Life

G-League
#6
#6
Peja was guarding Lebron in one of the regular season games and did a good job of containing him. I think having Peja as a shooting guard is worth a try if he never improves his game in the low post and since he's not good at rebounding.
 
Packt

Packt

Starter
#7
#7
King4Life said:
Peja was guarding Lebron in one of the regular season games and did a good job of containing him. I think having Peja as a shooting guard is worth a try if he never improves his game in the low post and since he's not good at rebounding.
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Lebron is a SF.
 
SacTownKid

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#8
#8
Who cares if someone is a PG, or a SG, or a SF. I don't think positions in this league are all that well defined anymore. You put what ever lineup on the floor that gives you the best opprotunity to win.

Although I do agree that there are some SG that Peja couldn't defend against. Like Wade, Bryant, Allen, Francis, and any other super athletic players he would have to defend.
 
Kings-Lakers-Fan

Kings-Lakers-Fan

G-League
#9
#9
Hedo is playing a little bit of SG over in Orlando, and it looks like its working for him. He and Pedja are very similar players and now I'm starting to wonder if Pedja can play SG. Its an interesting option that I think should be explored next season (if there is a season).
 
R

Rain man

Starter
#10
#10
We need a real SG. No complaints about Peja or Bjax as players, but Peja is too slow and BJax is too small. There are certain nights when Peja could play SG and certain nights when Bjax's size wouldn't kill him, but the vast majority of SGs could not be guarded by either (Kobe, Allen, TMac, Wade, Johnson, Wells, Finley, etc...). All of these guys are WAY to big for BJax, and WAY too fast for Peja.

Plus, the real problem is that you can afford to give up something on defense if you can get it back on the other end. But, all of these guys are quick enough to stay with Bobby, and while Peja would have a major size advantage it is hard to take advantage of it because he has no low post game.

I maintain that we need to sign a MLE type SG who has good size, decent quickness, can rebound, doesn't demand the ball (can work well with Bibby) and can hit the open shots that come with our motion offense. I am thinking of someone who will average 12-14 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, shoot 37-40% 3Pt, and guard the main backcourt scorer on the other team. Plus, he has got to be coming off a mediocre season(s) to only be able to command the MLE despite being worth somewhat more if healthy. Kerry Kittles anyone...
 
SacTownKid

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#11
#11
Kings-Lakers-Fan said:
Hedo is playing a little bit of SG over in Orlando, and it looks like its working for him. He and Pedja are very similar players and now I'm starting to wonder if Pedja can play SG. Its an interesting option that I think should be explored next season (if there is a season).
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Yeah they played him a little bit, and he soon fell out of favor. They wanted to play Jameer Nelson and Francis instead.

I wouldn't mind experimenting with Peja at the 2.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#12
#12
King4Life said:
Peja was guarding Lebron in one of the regular season games and did a good job of containing him. I think having Peja as a shooting guard is worth a try if he never improves his game in the low post and since he's not good at rebounding.
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LeBron ANNIHILATED Peja up in Cleveland. Actually one of Peja's worst defensive performances of the year. But fortunately Bron is a SF now I guess (they keep on moving him around, so who knows).

Anyway, we've talked about this in the distant past, and I always liked the idea in theory -- seemed such an obvious idea to cover for the rebounding/toughness issues and give us a BIG lineup, and because I think Peja actually does a respectable job defensively against OGs. The problems would be a) ballhandling, we'd only have one handler on the court with Peja at OG and Kenny at SF, more pressure still on Mike, and b) on the other end of the court the guys who bother Peja the most are usually smaller players who use their quickness to get up inside his shirt and harass him to death. Moving him to OG would seem to put him in jeopardy offensively due to his quickness limitations and the stubborn refusal to develop a post game.
 
Alacron

Alacron

Bench
#13
#13
To everyone who's saying Peja can't guard guards...

That's fine, but you have to realize a couple things. First, there are few players in the NBA who can effectively guard every other player who plays their position. Second, a mismatch at one end may be a reversed mismatch at the other end.

Peja can in fact do a good job on guards who don't like to put the ball on the floor. If you've noticed, Peja is an excellent defender against jumpshooters. Peja also does a respectable job against similar-sized players even when they drive (Finley, LeBron, Dirk). The real mismatch comes if Peja gets on a true non-swingman guard like Mobley. Although Mobley likes to post and that wouldn't work against Peja so maybe that's not a good example.

The point is there are a lot of off guards Peja could do a good job against defensively.

In my opinion, the bigger problem would be the speedy and active guards disrupting Peja on offense. He thrives when slower, bigger forwards guard him and struggles against aggressive quick guys (Fox, Hassell, Patterson).

Then there's the issue that Adelman loves small ball. What are the chances of Rick starting him at guard?

Personally, I'd like to see a lineup that features Peja at the two, but I'd try it for a few minute stretches here and there before making that the starting lineup.
~~
 
Alacron

Alacron

Bench
#14
#14
Bricklayer said:
LeBron ANNIHILATED Peja up in Cleveland. Actually one of Peja's worst defensive performances of the year.
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But then, LeBron annihilates everyone, so I think it's unfair to read to much into that.
~~
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#15
#15
Alacron said:
But then, LeBron annihilates everyone, so I think it's unfair to read to much into that.
~~
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Reading nothing more into it than that using Peja's performance agianst Bron as an example of his ability to guard OGs wasn't encouraging.

But in any case what Bron really did there was post Peja up and slash to the rim and just use his size/strength/toughness edge to beat him up inside, so its not really something many OGs can do.
 
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Kings-Lakers-Fan

Kings-Lakers-Fan

G-League
#17
#17
It would create match-up problems, but both on offence and on defence. I don't think that Pedja could handle some of the small, speedy little SG in the league. This could only be done with a team that has excellent defence..and afterall this is the Kings we are talking about. On offence Pedja would have his way, but on defence, against the quick guys, he would really need the help of "help defence.
 
LPKingsFan

LPKingsFan

All-Star
#18
#18
SacTownKid said:
Who cares if someone is a PG, or a SG, or a SF. I don't think positions in this league are all that well defined anymore. You put what ever lineup on the floor that gives you the best opprotunity to win.
Click to expand...

Good point. I was going to start a thread about positions in the NBA when I was bored earlier, and never got around to it. Maybe I will later in the summer, when things get slower...
 
LPKingsFan

LPKingsFan

All-Star
#19
#19
I think this is a very interesting idea as a whole, but Adelman, as much as I love the guy, seems to have a penchant for going small, not going big. I do think if we have the right personnel (ie SF and PF) we could pull it off.

The problem, unless Peja develops a post game (which he actually hinted that he might) is that smaller players can guard him but he cant guard them. If that happens, it's not a mismatch both ways.
 
D-Mass

D-Mass

Starter
#20
#20
Kings-Lakers-Fan said:
It would create match-up problems, but both on offence and on defence. I don't think that Pedja could handle some of the small, speedy little SG in the league. This could only be done with a team that has excellent defence..and afterall this is the Kings we are talking about. On offence Pedja would have his way, but on defence, against the quick guys, he would really need the help of "help defence.
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Also, keep in mind that the 2 guard is often the first person back in transition defense. For example, Bibby penetrates and kicks to Mo in the corner... the pass gets stolen...Peja, at the 2 slot, is most likely the person forced to run back and contest the transition opportunity on the other end. This is a big reason that teams put a player with some speed in the SG position. Don't we give up enough transition baskets already?
 
Alacron

Alacron

Bench
#23
#23
Kings-Lakers-Fan said:
On offence Pedja would have his way, but on defence, against the quick guys, he would really need the help of "help defence.
Click to expand...
Peja would not have his way on offense because he doesn't know how to take advantage of the size differential. He has zero (0) post moves and can't put the ball on the floor against small quick guys. They get up in his jersey and he looks to pass (weakly, into an opponent's hands).
~~
 
S

Sparky

G-League
#24
#24
Kings-Lakers-Fan said:
Hedo is playing a little bit of SG over in Orlando, and it looks like its working for him. He and Pedja are very similar players and now I'm starting to wonder if Pedja can play SG. Its an interesting option that I think should be explored next season (if there is a season).
Click to expand...
Hedo has excellent quickness for a guy his size. Peja is slower. I did not get to see Hedo's game much last season but I hear he put in a sixth man of the year type performance. If he really has matured and improved, I would not mind seeing him again on the Kings.
 
4cwebb

4cwebb

Starter
#25
#25
It all depends on who the Kings would trot out at the SF. If it's Kenny Thomas, I don't much like the idea as that puts him guarding other SFs, and I think that's a nightmare matchup for him. He's not used to chasing guys around on the perimeter, and I think his rebounding would probably suffer for it (which is the reason fans would want to see him on the court at that position to begin with). True, it would shore up the team's rebounding woes, in theory, b/c Kenny has a much better rebounding desire/instinct than Peja, but I'm not certain the Kings wouldn't lose more in other areas than they would gain in rebounding.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#27
#27
...Peja at the 2...

...

...

...

It's only May and we're already to the point of desperation where we think our best solution is to move Peja to a guard position?

...

...

That would not IMHO do anything to make this team better.
 
Packt

Packt

Starter
#29
#29
SacTownKid said:
Who cares if someone is a PG, or a SG, or a SF. I don't think positions in this league are all that well defined anymore. You put what ever lineup on the floor that gives you the best opprotunity to win.
Click to expand...
And you think Peja as a shooting guard will bring in more wins? It's one thing to get caught on a switch, it's another thing going in knowing you can beat your man off the dribble and get two or pass it off when help comes. He could probably overwhelm guys for short stretches, but any smart player should know they can drive on him and create havok. If he can't guard SG's consistently, that means we'd have to send a starter to the bench for long stretches.

Anyhow it has little to do with Peja, since our off-guard is guarding opponents quickest, best back court player. Is Peja fit for that role?

Having a line-up that can handle scrub teams isn't going to win us anything. Positions are still very defined. You might get a rare talent every now and then, a player with versatility, but Peja isn't one of those guys.
 
Entity

Entity

Hall of Famer
#30
#30
Lets face it unless we sign and trade Mobley. Evans will be our starting 2. Baring a FA pickup less than the MLE which probably won't be any better than Evans. With Evans, Marting, and possibly Barnes coming back that is 3 ppe at the 2 position. Much of the focus will be on the PF position, for that is what hurts us the most.
 
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