Kings at the 7th spot....

[VF21]

Do you have a crystal ball in front of you or something? Though the chances of him going back to his 03-04 form are slim he will probably do better than he did last season.

Well, let's see. Crystal ball? No.

Awareness of the inevitable passage of time and declination of skills? Yep.

Peja's threes are no longer money in the bank. I used to KNOW as soon as he let go that it was 3 points on the board. Slowly but surely that changed. Towards the end of his time in Sacramento, I would hold my breath. There was nothing automatic about his shot any longer.

In Indiana, he didn't do much better.

You asked why people are questioning Peja's ability to hit threes. I think my answer and some of the others, above, are pretty clear.

Peja peaked. I don't think he's hungry any longer. He never did live and breathe basketball. His peak came when he won the title with Vlade and the three-point shootout. He's been in a mild decline since then. And we all know he isn't working on shooting over the summer. He made it clear the off-season was going to be for his family, which is fine, but isn't going to help his game.

Peja is Peja. If you expect too much of him, he'll break your heart.

 

[Sac.Kings]

I agree with you VF, but its not like his abilities decreased due to age, he is still under 30 and has plenty of game left in him. Its just that he never fully reached his potential and 03-04 was what people truly considered just the beginning for Peja. And a player just doesn't lose his ability to hit threes, they just have to be regained and not to mention his confidence in 03-04 was at an all time since Webb was injured and him and Bibby were crazy together. All i ever expected of Peja was to hit threes and be the 1 or 2nd option on offense. He never fully utilized his skills and didn't improve all that much. If he did breathe and play basketball, we wouldn't be having this conversation and we wouldnt have Artest on our team either, but thats just my opinion. Its Peja's fault for never reaching anyones expectations because he had the talent, just the time and effort were missing, but as you said, Peja is Peja.

 

[VF21]

Peja has been playing PROFESSIONAL basketball since he was 15. I honestly think he's suffering from career burnout. He has a loving family now, and he doesn't have to worry about putting food on his table. His biggest goal was to win the World title for his country. He and Vlade did that.

He'll be somewhat adequate. As Bricklayer said, he'll just go out there and shoot. With little to no pressure, he should do fine.

But, as I've always maintained, he doesn't have the hunger. And without the hunger, you will never be great.

 

[Sac.Kings]

you sure don't accomplish much if you don't have the hunger thats for sure. It's basically what i said about him not putting in the time and effort. He could have gone a long way if he really worked.

 

[VF21]

He could have gone a long way if he really worked.

You know the old saying... If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

I like Peja. I absolutely loved watching him when it was Bibby, Doug, Chris and Vlade on the court with him. His shooting took my breath away.

Peja broke my heart because he didn't live up to my expectations. That's my fault, not his. Peja isn't a leader; he isn't assertive; he isn't going to play through pain. Peja is a shooter; Peja is a good teammate; Peja is a great guy to do PR work. It's all good. The problem comes when people try to force Peja into being one of things he just isn't.

 

[Sac.Kings]

^Agreed. Those were the days. To be honest, watching him play was what got me into playing basketball in the first place.

 

[nbrans]

Peja never was, at any point, a franchise type player. He has no heart.

And that matters not at all in New Orleans, and I'm calling right now that he's going to have a big scoring year (provided no major injuries of course). In New Orleans you know what his job is going to be? Just shoot. Just score. he can be as big a wuss as he's ever been, but he's playing alongside a budding star in Paul who is going to drive and dish, dirve and dish all ngiht long. And in that situation, Peja has value. Not as a leader, nto as some great superstud, but as the leading scorer for a team that doesn't need him to do much else. Chandler is there to rebound and block shots, Paul is there to lead and dish, Peja is there to score. Perfect fit.

You are too new around here to remember that once long ago back in the day, before the screeching of the Peja lovers got too loud, I was generally fine with him as a limited second scorer in our prime years. We had everything else covered, we had the bigger star out in front of him, asked to just score while others passed, rebounded, led, Peja was a solid #2...until you hit the playoffs. It wasn't until the shallow insanity of Peja replacing Webb as superstar and elader, and until we started loading up with Peja Jrs at PG (Bibby), C (Brad), PF (SAR), OG (Mobley) that he became superflorous and his lack of heart a truly titanic issue.

Now he goes to New Orleans. He'll be their #1 scorer. He'll get a ton of good looks. And he won't be needed to do much more. He'll be able to get maximum value out of being a glorified roleplayer. Just score baby.

End result is that New Orelans has the goods...to make the playoffs. Maybe high end...6th seed? Maybe. But they've got the talent now. The starting 5 is solid and balanced. Not perfect, but everything is there. With health, they'll be a team to contend with this year, and given their youth, for a lot of years to come. Certianly no title anytime soon, but they are yet another young team just gunnign to make the playoffs, and with the goods to do it if it all breaks right.

The thing is, if Peja is just going to be a jump shooter he's not going to have a good year, and he's certainly not going to be a #1 scorer. The years when Peja was most effective was when he was a more dynamic scorer -- someone who could score off the dribble as well as shooting. What you're saying is contradictory, in my opinion. Peja cannot be both a leading scorer and just a jump shooter. If he's just spotting up he's very easy to take away and he's not going to get that many good looks.

And the thing is, the Hornets really need him to be a leading scorer. I just don't know if Peja can be that guy anymore. Meanwhile, the same old Peja problems are still there -- too slow to guard the new generation of small forwards, lack of crunch time scoring, etc. Maybe the old Peja will come back, but it would be quite a comback.

I agree that they look promising on paper, but even if they squeak into the playoffs they're going to be disastrous. Who in that lineup is going to score when it matters? West is a small jump shooting power forward, Peja can't get his shot, Paul can't shoot very well, Mason gets all his points in transition. They're pretty bad defensively other than Chandler. They may improve a bit, I just don't think they're very dangerous.

 

[Sac.Kings]

Paul is a good defender also.

 

[nbrans]

Paul is a good defender also.

Unless his opponent is Greek.

 

[SacTownKid]

1) That same young franchise was even younger last year, and yet was playing us for the right to go to the playoffs 3 games before the end of the season last year.

2) Chandler is only a "bust" if you care about draft position, which I do not. If he's "only" as good as he's been, he's a major interior presence which the ghost of PJ Brown (I think all of 9 and 7 or some such last year) could no longer provide. With a half step up in minutes, he's 8 and 10, which is all he needs to be. Top interior roleplayer.

3) Peja is soft. But he actually played somewhat better in Indy than he did for us. And now in New Orleans he walks into a featured offensive role, on a team with a PG who can flat out get him the ball. My overwhelming impression of Peja is of somebody who pouts when he does not get his shots. Well he's going to get them.

That's kinda how a "bust" is defined in most cases - isn't it?

 

[Bricklayer]

That's kinda how a "bust" is defined in most cases - isn't it?

In this case the original poster seemed to be equating "bust" with either "not good" or "can't help" neither of which is true. He's a better than average starting center, and one of the best at what he does (rebound/defend). Where he was drafted really doesn't matter that much, especially not to his second team, because he can play.

 

[SacTownKid]

In this case the original poster seemed to be equating "bust" with either "not good" or "can't help" neither of which is true. He's a better than average starting center, and one of the best at what he does (rebound/defend). Where he was drafted really doesn't matter that much, especially not to his second team, because he can play.

oh, Ok. I do agree with you there.

 

[Gargamel]

Peja peaked. I don't think he's hungry any longer.