Peja The Invisible

[iheartBrad]

^i agree VF

I want him to square up and hit his shots...im all for trying to draw the foul when you are deep under the basket in traffic...but him trying to draw the foul on every single shot he attempts (on the perimeter) is getting a little out of hand...i think its getting to the point where he isn't even trying to make the shot AND get fouled...he's just trying to get fouled and who cares about the shot....

He's needs to FOCUS...he's one of the best players in the league if he just focuses on being Peja Stojakovic the basketball player

and again with all that being said

GO PEJA!! TOURCH THE ROCKETS ON SUNDAY!! woohoo!

 

[love_them_kings]

wow!! what a thread...

I was at the game last night & I couldn't believe the way Peja played. There were multiple times on offense where he was standing still with his arms by his sides... very frustrating!! My concern is two fold - 1) when Peja was wanting to leave I worried that his lack of effort was because his heart wasn't in it, but I haven't noticed an improvement since he changed his mind. What is it going to take?? 2) on 1140 they had an interview with one of the Clippers who was going to be guarding Peja, and asked him about guarding Peja, he said (paraphrasing ) Peja is a wonderful shooter, but very streaky, and if you can keep him from getting hot you are in good shape, that Peja is not going to "create" his own shot, so if you take his shot away you can stop him. This is true, and it worries me. For whatever reason, it seems like tougher defenders can just shut Peja down in a way that most of guys just don't get shut down. Everyone has bad games, but the total disappearing for 4 quarters is something that seems to be unique to Peja.

So, I guess in this situation there are 2 things that are bothering me, Peja's apparent lack of effort, and the question of even if his effort is 100%, is he going to be able to find a way to play well consistently against top defenders?

 

[Padrino]

^i agree VF

I want him to square up and hit his shots...im all for trying to draw the foul when you are deep under the basket in traffic...but him trying to draw the foul on every single shot he attempts (on the perimeter) is getting a little out of hand...i think its getting to the point where he isn't even trying to make the shot AND get fouled...he's just trying to get fouled and who cares about the shot....

He's needs to FOCUS...he's one of the best players in the league if he just focuses on being Peja Stojakovic the basketball player

and again with all that being said

GO PEJA!! TOURCH THE ROCKETS ON SUNDAY!! woohoo!

this is a good point. but i think the problem is bigger than that. who in the hell is bobby simmons? why does a guy like that miss, what, 7 shots in a game for 24 points. and peja, who is supposedly the greatest shooter in the nba today, cant hit WIDE OPEN buckets. he catches a pass in the corner for a 3, pump fakes his man into the air, steps forward a few feet, and takes a wide-open baseline jumper, and misses. i dont understand what his problem is. he's such a one-dimensional player. he's a good at one thing: shooting the ball, and he's shooting 43% on the season. if peja is such an efficient player, then why is he missing shots he's supposed to make? people always talk about how webber was not an efficient player. well....(when he was with the kings), he was shooting 45% from the field. its gone down a bit since being traded to philly, and we all know he takes a whole helluva lot of shots, but ya know what? he's hit a higher percentage on the season than peja. there's no point to this argument other than i dont want to hear the peja-fans rail on webber ANY MORE until their boy starts playing like the all-star he's supposed to be. peja needs to pull his head out of his ***, and quickly. if he wants to be traded still, well fine by me. but he's not doing much for his value by playing like ****.

 

[shaka zulu]

wow!! what a thread...

I was at the game last night & I couldn't believe the way Peja played. There were multiple times on offense where he was standing still with his arms by his sides... very frustrating!! My concern is two fold - 1) when Peja was wanting to leave I worried that his lack of effort was because his heart wasn't in it, but I haven't noticed an improvement since he changed his mind. What is it going to take?? 2) on 1140 they had an interview with one of the Clippers who was going to be guarding Peja, and asked him about guarding Peja, he said (paraphrasing ) Peja is a wonderful shooter, but very streaky, and if you can keep him from getting hot you are in good shape, that Peja is not going to "create" his own shot, so if you take his shot away you can stop him. This is true, and it worries me. For whatever reason, it seems like tougher defenders can just shut Peja down in a way that most of guys just don't get shut down. Everyone has bad games, but the total disappearing for 4 quarters is something that seems to be unique to Peja.

So, I guess in this situation there are 2 things that are bothering me, Peja's apparent lack of effort, and the question of even if his effort is 100%, is he going to be able to find a way to play well consistently against top defenders?

He can create his own shot and he did lat season but what the defender must overtsand is that the kings are not a ONE ON ONE isolation Basketball TEAM, THE KINGS PASS THE BASKETBALL AND SHARE IT'S WEALTH it's called motion offense.The dudes are scrubs we need to be patient and let him start lightning it up in the playoffs rather than the bunl little regular season games.But he will create offense for himself and get offense from the motion sets what the scrubs say doesn't really matter.

 

[VF21]

He can create his own shot and he did lat season but what the defender must overtsand is that the kings are not a ONE ON ONE isolation Basketball TEAM, THE KINGS PASS THE BASKETBALL AND SHARE IT'S WEALTH it's called motion offense.The dudes are scrubs we need to be patient and let him start lightning it up in the playoffs rather than the bunl little regular season games.But he will create offense for himself and get offense from the motion sets what the scrubs say doesn't really matter.

Peja has NEVER lit it up in the playoffs. Why would you presume it's going to start now, like some miracle from beyond?

Peja has not had a good year. To say he's going to all of a sudden become the SUPERSTAR in May that he hasn't been November through March is just naive. Quite frankly, it reminds me of the old Laker saw, "they'll flip the switch when it matters."

The only difference is the Lakers had past performance to go on with those comments.

At this point, if a Kings fan ISN'T worried about Peja's lack of productive effort, he or she simply hasn't been paying attention.

 

[shaka zulu]

Peja has NEVER lit it up in the playoffs. Why would you presume it's going to start now, like some miracle from beyond?

Peja has not had a good year. To say he's going to all of a sudden become the SUPERSTAR in May that he hasn't been November through March is just naive. Quite frankly, it reminds me of the old Laker saw, "they'll flip the switch when it matters."

The only difference is the Lakers had past performance to go on with those comments.

At this point, if a Kings fan ISN'T worried about Peja's lack of productive effort, he or she simply hasn't been paying attention.

whatever you say you can't base opinion's on the past present or future but rather now.Everyone struggles from time to time and right now peja is struggling but there have been spurts where he has played well and then other times real Bad.I think he will strat playing better becuase the TEAM needs him right now esoecially with Brad miller out.I think it's naive to say he won't play better when he has the potentional to do whatever he wants to do when he wants to do it regardless of what the pessimist say.

 

[shaka zulu]

Peja has NEVER lit it up in the playoffs. Why would you presume it's going to start now, like some miracle from beyond?

Peja has not had a good year. To say he's going to all of a sudden become the SUPERSTAR in May that he hasn't been November through March is just naive. Quite frankly, it reminds me of the old Laker saw, "they'll flip the switch when it matters."

The only difference is the Lakers had past performance to go on with those comments.

At this point, if a Kings fan ISN'T worried about Peja's lack of productive effort, he or she simply hasn't been paying attention.

I believe in miracles from beyond and they do happen with a little faith and positive actions.

 

[AleksandarN]

Well, hello? Webber is GOING to be brought up. Why on God's green earth wouldn't he be after everything that went on? I'm sorry, AleksandarN, but I didn't see you here saying it all should stop BEFORE the Webber trade so doing it now just looks a little hollow to me.

!

The reason why I did not get involved in either side is I hate the stupid debate anyways that has not changed since the first time Webber vs. started. The only reason I said stop it now is because Webber is no longer on the team so what is point of bring him up when it was Pedja who was struggling and Webber's name had no relevence to topic at hand. I mean no offense and you yourself have said many of times to stop it the stupid debate.

 

[KP]

Dam this thread was so close to dying...

 

[Bricklayer]

The reason why I did not get involved in either side is I hate the stupid debate anyways that has not changed since the first time Webber vs. started. The only reason I said stop it now is because Webber is no longer on the team so what is point of bring him up when it was Pedja who was struggling and Webber's name had no relevence to topic at hand. I mean no offense and you yourself have said many of times to stop it the stupid debate.

It rekmains relevant to the degree that we are now getting our answer, and the answer is raising a number of troubling questions for the Kings franchise. If canning Webber as a scapegoat doesn't solve the problem, in the words of the great philosopher Keanu "what do you do? What DO you do?"

 

[Crvena Zvezda]

OK I fully agree that he had an absolute ****house game. And really, you wouldn't expect it from him. When I checked the stats on nba.com I refreshed the browser several times because I was sure there was a mistake. But anyway.

1. Why do people keep saying? "Oh now that Petrie shipped Webber of and Pedja is still playing poor obviously he was the problem" How do you know that Petrie shipped Webber of because of Pedja. I am so sick to death of people saying this. Really, you need to open your eyes and realise that Chris Webber was getting payed 60mil over the next what 3 years? To play on one leg. Who knows how long that would have lasted. But anyway thats not hte point.

2. Sure he had a bad game, but it happens sometimes. (Ok maybe not THAT bad -lol).
But some people wanting 35+pts and 9-10rebounds a night. Is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. He's not bloody Michael Jordan. You have to realise rebounding isn't peja's game. He doesn't know how to use his body, or read the boards. And theres nothing you can really do about it. You can't just expect a player to suddenly change his game around. It will take time for him to adjust his game. Because his whole life he hasn't played like that. It's not like he's gonna wake up in the morning and be like "I'm gonna grab 20 boards". It takes time people.

And please, I do realise that he had a shockingly below par game and probably more than half this forum could get better numbers than he posted tonight. But off nights DO happen. He is a human. Sure this season has been below his best but he still has been servicable. IF he continues posting such low low numbers for the rest of the season THEN be worried. But one game with 6 and 1 board shouldn't loose you any sleep.

 

[andjel]

Simple...

It rekmains relevant to the degree that we are now getting our answer, and the answer is raising a number of troubling questions for the Kings franchise. If canning Webber as a scapegoat doesn't solve the problem, in the words of the great philosopher Keanu "what do you do? What DO you do?"

Sign and trade Pedja. He will not be underpaid after this season, so Kings can get something more fitting in return.

 

[6th]

OK I fully agree that he had an absolute ****house game. And really, you wouldn't expect it from him. When I checked the stats on nba.com I refreshed the browser several times because I was sure there was a mistake. But anyway.

1. Why do people keep saying? "Oh now that Petrie shipped Webber of and Pedja is still playing poor obviously he was the problem" How do you know that Petrie shipped Webber of because of Pedja. I am so sick to death of people saying this. Really, you need to open your eyes and realise that Chris Webber was getting payed 60mil over the next what 3 years? To play on one leg. Who knows how long that would have lasted. But anyway thats not hte point.

2. Sure he had a bad game, but it happens sometimes. (Ok maybe not THAT bad -lol).
But some people wanting 35+pts and 9-10rebounds a night. Is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. He's not bloody Michael Jordan. You have to realise rebounding isn't peja's game. He doesn't know how to use his body, or read the boards. And theres nothing you can really do about it. You can't just expect a player to suddenly change his game around. It will take time for him to adjust his game. Because his whole life he hasn't played like that. It's not like he's gonna wake up in the morning and be like "I'm gonna grab 20 boards". It takes time people.

And please, I do realise that he had a shockingly below par game and probably more than half this forum could get better numbers than he posted tonight. But off nights DO happen. He is a human. Sure this season has been below his best but he still has been servicable. IF he continues posting such low low numbers for the rest of the season THEN be worried. But one game with 6 and 1 board shouldn't loose you any sleep.

To answer your points:
1. People are not necessarily saying that Webber was shipped because of Peja. What they are responding to, however, are those who insisted that Webber was the reason for Peja's poor (below his standard) play this year (and the last part of last year). Well, Webber is gone and Peja has not "picked it up." That pretty much proves that Webber had nothing to do with Peja's play. Peja alone is reponsible for that.

2. No one is expecting 35 and 10 from Peja. However, his career #'s are better than what we are seeing this year. And, it is not about 1 lousy game...and yes, it was a lousy game from him. It is about EFFORT and that is what we are not seeing near enough of from Peja. Oh, and speaking of rebounding....again, it is about EFFORT. That is something he just isn't giving. I don't expect him to suddenly pull down 10 boards per game. But, he is below last year, and the year before that. If we are to "give him time" then we should at least be seeing some improvement. But, no, he is going in the opposite direction. As a 6'10' SF, that should not be happening.

 

[AleksandarN]

It rekmains relevant to the degree that we are now getting our answer, and the answer is raising a number of troubling questions for the Kings franchise. If canning Webber as a scapegoat doesn't solve the problem, in the words of the great philosopher Keanu "what do you do? What DO you do?"

But the thing is that was not the main reason why Webber was traded. I believed that Petrie wanted to go in another direction with this team. I also would not be suprised to see Pedja traded aswell in the offseason.

 

[VF21]

And please, I do realise that he had a shockingly below par game and probably more than half this forum could get better numbers than he posted tonight. But off nights DO happen. He is a human. Sure this season has been below his best but he still has been servicable. IF he continues posting such low low numbers for the rest of the season THEN be worried. But one game with 6 and 1 board shouldn't loose you any sleep.

I have been to several games and watched him up close and personal so to speak. He is NOT playing at a level one would expect from him. And it's not getting better, it's getting worse.

Sorry, but I'm going to be concerned right now. The rest of the season? We only have 19 games left. Our team has been blown up and the remaining parts HAVE to step up and get the job done. Not criticize Peja? He's lucky people haven't called for his head on a stake. I absolutely love watching him play and anyone who has been on this board for any amount of time knows my comments about the heavenly precision of his corner three. BUT remembering how his shots used to look is not going to get this team into the playoffs AND it's not what he's being paid to do.

Peja has to suck it up and play. He has to find a way to put whatever is bothering him and affecting his game OUT of his mind completely. He has to BE the player he is capable of being. And if he's not, he's going to be open for a LOT of criticisms.

 

[VF21]

But the thing is that was not the main reason why Webber was traded. I believed that Petrie wanted to go in another direction with this team. I also would not be suprised to see Pedja traded aswell in the offseason aswell.

There were a lot of considerations to be factored into Webber's trade. To say that allowing Peja to flourish wasn't one of them is simply naive, IMHO, because of how many people had accused Webber of stifling Peja's production and growth.

You can be dismayed about how people continue to discuss it and try to resolve it in their own minds, but it's not going to stop now or in the foreseeable future.

Part of the problem was the "mad dog" attitude of a few Peja fans who were so loud and adamant about Webber being the WHOLE problem and how Peja would be able to lead this team if Webber wasn't here. (Let me reiterate - that came from a FEW Peja fans; most were supportive of their favorite player but not to the exclusion of the rest of the team.)

Peja has always been the golden boy. He's been, for whatever reason, immune from a lot of the criticisms virtually every other player in the history of the franchise has had to endure if their game took a nose-dive.

It may not be fair, but the microscope is now firmly aimed at Peja and his production. I suppose a lot of us want to know that he can be again what he was... if he can't, then I suspect his time in a Kings uniform is going to come to an end sooner rather than later.

I just want this team to play the best ball they possibly can, with the players wanting to be here and performing to the best of their abilities. I want to see desire, focus and heart. I honestly don't think that's too much to ask from someone who makes an obscene amount of money to play a game.

 

[Since93]

And please, I do realise that he had a shockingly below par game and probably more than half this forum could get better numbers than he posted tonight. But off nights DO happen. He is a human. Sure this season has been below his best but he still has been servicable. IF he continues posting such low low numbers for the rest of the season THEN be worried. But one game with 6 and 1 board shouldn't loose you any sleep.

I just don't understand why some people keep saying it's an 'off night' thing. If you watch enough Kings basketball this season you will know it's a year long struggle. But most importantly, Peja doesn't seem care about it.

From off-season trade demand to zero positve support to the team when he's on the bench not playing to not putting effort in ANY degree. I seriously doubt he cares: about his terrible performance, about his team. I wish I am wrong. But I really don't think he give a damn. And this is what bug me most.

 

[jon e]

he misses wide open shots. last year i remember mike and gerald wouldnt leave practice until they made 1000 shots sometimes. does peja even practice? the system slowing down and going more defense is no excuse for him not to make wide open jumpers. yeah hes got a new family to think about but hes also got a job to do. the good feet store wont but the bread on the table every night.

 

[VF21]

he misses wide open shots. last year i remember mike and gerald wouldnt leave practice until they made 1000 shots sometimes. does peja even practice? the system slowing down and going more defense is no excuse for him not to make wide open jumpers. yeah hes got a new family to think about but hes also got a job to do. the good feet store wont but the bread on the table every night.

And right now, don't you think there's an executive of the Good Feet store wondering if people are wondering if their inserts are the reason Peja isn't doing well?

When you sign a pure shooter to advertise your product, you have to be hoping he'll continue to be productive.

 

[AleksandarN]

There were a lot of considerations to be factored into Webber's trade. To say that allowing Peja to flourish wasn't one of them is simply naive, IMHO, because of how many people had accused Webber of stifling Peja's production and growth.

I still do not think it was much of a factor at all. Petrie did this reguardless of Pedja or anyone(Player or coach) for that matter. Like I said before I would not be surprised if Pedja is on another team next year. I do not think, or hope, Petrie is not done shaping this "new" look Kings.

Part of the problem was the "mad dog" attitude of a few Peja fans who were so loud and adamant about Webber being the WHOLE problem and how Peja would be able to lead this team if Webber wasn't here. (Let me reiterate - that came from a FEW Peja fans; most were supportive of their favorite player but not to the exclusion of the rest of the team.)

Peja has always been the golden boy. He's been, for whatever reason, immune from a lot of the criticisms virtually every other player in the history of the franchise has had to endure if their game took a nose-dive.

It may not be fair, but the microscope is now firmly aimed at Peja and his production. I suppose a lot of us want to know that he can be again what he was... if he can't, then I suspect his time in a Kings uniform is going to come to an end sooner rather than later.

I just want this team to play the best ball they possibly can, with the players wanting to be here and performing to the best of their abilities. I want to see desire, focus and heart. I honestly don't think that's too much to ask from someone who makes an obscene amount of money to play a game.

That is also the reason why I hate when Webber is mentioned because people get into the same arguement all over. That is something we both aggree on. It is time for Pedja to step up.

 

[swisshh]

Peja wasn't invisible today, he was just so painfully one dimensional.

 

[VF21]

Peja wasn't invisible today, he was just so painfully one dimensional.

I disagree. Peja had some assists, he was able to get off some shots, and he chased Tracy McGrady around all day - which isn't an easy job to do.

 

[love_them_kings]

I disagree. Peja had some assists, he was able to get off some shots, and he chased Tracy McGrady around all day - which isn't an easy job to do.

Yeah, Peja looked better today, especially in the 1st half. I hope this is a sign of things to come! With Brad out, we really need all our healthy players to play their hearts out and play to their abilities, because this is a crucial point in the season.

 

[AleksandarN]

I think what killed us today was our pick and roll defense. It was terrible. Also our sub patterns were terrible on the defensive end. When we are getting killed on boards because of the height difference why use our only player who is the only one taller than 6'10" on our team a total of 4 minutes?

 

[Vlad]

Peja had a decent game today. One positive I saw in today's game is that he is beginning to create for other players, something he never used to do. A remaining negative is that he did not hustle and played very soft--no strong drives to the basket, no help on the boards. And while his defense was solid, in a way, it was also passive.

 

[VF21]

What killed us tonight was Deke time-warping back about 5 years and doing an adequate job out there which enabled Yao to get a LOT of rest.

 

[love_them_kings]

obviously there were a lot of problems today. We were playing a team that is playing great, we are undermanned, and obviously having Bibby and Mobley both off on the same night is never a good thing. All in all, it always hurts to lose, but I wasn't embarrassed by how we played, we really stayed with them and pulled it close every time they threatened to run away and blow us out.

 

[AleksandarN]

What killed us tonight was Deke time-warping back about 5 years and doing an adequate job out there which enabled Yao to get a LOT of rest.

He had a field day today because he was guarded by guys 6 to 7 inches shorter then him. I still say we should have had Ostertag in more even if he is a "little" out of shape at least he would body up effectly better than our undersized players. That is no knoick on them they were outsized by the opposition.

 

[swisshh]

What killed us tonight was Deke time-warping back about 5 years and doing an adequate job out there which enabled Yao to get a LOT of rest.

Well it's alot easier for Deke when he's going against 6'5 Corliss or 6'7 Thomas.