Peja Missing Layups

Burrito06

Bench
Is it me or does Peja miss at least 50 % of his layups. I'm not knocking the guy but I would much rather see him pull up from 15 feet then taking a shot close to the basket.
 
I noticed that too. Peja misses alot of lay-ups and always has. I have tried to figure out why and the only thing I have come up with is it looks like he puts alot of english on his shot which in turn alot of times makes the ball roll off the rim. That is just my observation. I think he rushes alot of them too. Maybe someone else has another reason.
 
Groan, I hate watching Peja go up for a layup, he almost always misses em. Its soo frustrating. Wish he would just throw it down.
 
One time someone here said he's always looking over his shoulder looking for a blocker who isn't there so he puts it in awkwardly to avoid being blocked
 
I mean this guy is 6'10" and can't make a layup I would much rather see him throw it down but it seems like he doesn't have the lift for a 6'10" guy to dunk from a stop.
 
One time someone here said he's always looking over his shoulder looking for a blocker who isn't there so he puts it in awkwardly to avoid being blocked

Yep, he is scared of getting rejected. He simply doesn't have the hops to go up strong for a layup....i won't even talk about going up for a dunk.

Darius has a similar problem...and Mobley too. Mo had a couple of dunks from right under the basket today, if it was Darius or Peja it would end up either as a miss or it would get swatted out of there. I love Mo athleticism, we need to re-sign him this summer.
 
Mental thing -- he blocks far more of his own shots with those softee flips than any other player could possibly do if Peja was just putting them up solidly and in rhtyhm. Let alone if he actually gathered himself and tried to dunk or something wacky like that.
 
Let alone if he actually gathered himself and tried to dunk or something wacky like that.

I don't think it has anything to do with Peja gathering himself...its strictly about athleticism....or actually lack thereof in this case. Peja is simply not athletic enough. Anybody who isn't very athletic and plays basketball will be able to relate to it (like me :) ).
 
Pedja's got work cut out for him. There was a time when Pedja was much better scorer around the basket. Those passes from Webber, Vlade and DC were so timely and precise that Pedja on the cutter move _would_ simply finish off the move. Right now, he really needs to relax down there and maybe go off the board if he is concerned about blocks.

He also needs to start, or at least try, incorporating turn-around jumper in the low post. Not against Marion or Prince as they will block the snot out of him, but in those situations when he is guarded by "cheap suits" such as Bowen or Hassel. Ask for the ball down low (or in that general area) take couple of lazy bounces (a la Vlade) to set your feet and back up the defender and launch. I cannot imagine that he would be bad at it in the long run.

With cutters and a turn around jumper he would always have an additional option on offense. Passing to an open man when doubled up like today will also go a long way to help Pedja meet expectations.
 
it is a euro thing.

for some reason most euros don't dunk as much.

I remember reading somewhere where their is some reason they don't dunk because of showing someone up or something like that. I cannot remember exactly.

For a while earlier this year I thought it was because of his back, but that is not an excuse.

I don't know how many of you remember corliss's first run with the kings but he had the exact same problem he could never make a lay up!
 
Diehard Jim said:
it is a euro thing.

for some reason most euros don't dunk as much.

I remember reading somewhere where their is some reason they don't dunk because of showing someone up or something like that. I cannot remember exactly.

For a while earlier this year I thought it was because of his back, but that is not an excuse.

I don't know how many of you remember corliss's first run with the kings but he had the exact same problem he could never make a lay up!

What you've read was correct. There was a time when dunking was simply not a part of the game in Europe. But this should not affect Pedja's decision making as he was too young to remember it and by the time he was a pro players like Pecarski (another Serbian player) made dunking into an art form. Actually other then for his dunks Pecarski had no game whatsoever.

Pedja's problem with dunks seems to do with explosiveness. He lacks it I believe that he cannot dunk it without run up. Whether that is to do with his bad leg or simply he never was able to do it, I don't know. The only times I saw him dunk as a King he took at least two steps or was at full-speed.
 
yeah i agree that it has to be somewhat of a mental thing

but i do find myself litterally holding my breath when he takes the ball to the rim for a layup
 
IF at 6'10" Pedja is so earthbound that he jsut can't get up that high fine, then you learn to make guick lay up off glass in orter to avoid blocks, maybe evne a had switch or pump fake to draw... but tosing up littlesofites taht lack accuracy is just not cutting it.
 
Pedja's problem with dunks seems to do with explosiveness. He lacks it I believe that he cannot dunk it without run up

Thank you!

that's what i've been trying to say in my earlier posts. Peja simply doesn't have the leaping ability to dunk from a stands still. It's not a Euro thing...it all relates to the theory of "white men can't jump" :D
That's why Mo is very important to this team he brings the much needed athleticism to this team. He has crazy hops
 
bozzwell said:
What you've read was correct. There was a time when dunking was simply not a part of the game in Europe. But this should not affect Pedja's decision making as he was too young to remember it and by the time he was a pro players like Pecarski (another Serbian player) made dunking into an art form. Actually other then for his dunks Pecarski had no game whatsoever.

Pedja's problem with dunks seems to do with explosiveness. He lacks it I believe that he cannot dunk it without run up. Whether that is to do with his bad leg or simply he never was able to do it, I don't know. The only times I saw him dunk as a King he took at least two steps or was at full-speed.

He lost the explosiveness when he broke his leg in Europe. He use to be able to dunk with ease before the broken leg.
 
Maybe its a mental thing????

Frustrates me! It seems like he's pretty decent defensively and doesn't mind getting knocked around on the defensive end.

Somehow, he seems to freak out at the notion of getting knocked around on the offensive end. Examples I can think of are the layups we're talking about here where there are a few players taking swipes at him and the other example that seems to get him every time is a player running up on him when he is doing a 3 point jumper. It seems like he can make that shot if his blocker is immeadiately in front of him with some space or when he is open of course. Notice that if a blocker rushes him, he really rushes the shot and it doesn't go in.

Am I psycho analyzing the guy too much???? :) Seems like he needs to just shake off the notion of getting nailed, not mind the defender, and focus on the shot.
 
AleksandarN said:
He lost the explosiveness when he broke his leg in Europe. He use to be able to dunk with ease before the broken leg.

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure. I never saw him play in Greece and by the time he came to US his leg was already mush.
 
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What Peja needs is this right here and he will dunk, not those funky shoes that he endorsed. The one with the cheesey commercial
 
I don't think it's a european thing. I'm 6'1", european and can dunk with one hand. AK47 is also a pretty good leaper. I don't know why he never dunks, he use to dunk a bit more in his rookie-soph years. He also use to dunk in PAOK, I have a picture of him doing a reverse slam, I wish he could do that now.
 
bozzwell said:
That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure. I never saw him play in Greece and by the time he came to US his leg was already mush.

Yeah in the 1996 tryouts him and Zydrunas Ilgauskas were trying out together and Pedja would abuse him and Dunk on Ilgauskas several times.
 
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