Props to Peja

[mr. moustache]

I'm somewhat of a Peja basher. I was drooling at the opportunity of trading him for Artest before Artest's meltdown. Now both of them have lost some trade value, so I may still be for it.

Anyway, I just wanted to give Peja some playoff credit. He showed up offensively for 4 of the 5 games. He was downright scary dominant for a few quarters. Unfortunately, those quarters weren't in the same game.

Peja: I'm glad you shot the lights out. Good job. If you're on the Kings next year, I would like Miller running the offense, and I NEED a Ben Wallace type guy playing PF. A Maurice Evans type guy is fine for SG.

If we keep Brad, Miller, Peja, we need NO more offense in the starting lineup.

Anyway, getting off track. Good job peja

 

[SacTownKid]

I'm somewhat of a Peja basher. I was drooling at the opportunity of trading him for Artest before Artest's meltdown. Now both of them have lost some trade value, so I may still be for it.

Anyway, I just wanted to give Peja some playoff credit. He showed up offensively for 4 of the 5 games. He was downright scary dominant for a few quarters. Unfortunately, those quarters weren't in the same game.

Peja: I'm glad you shot the lights out. Good job. If you're on the Kings next year, I would like Miller running the offense, and I NEED a Ben Wallace type guy playing PF. A Maurice Evans type guy is fine for SG.

If we keep Brad, Miller, Peja, we need NO more offense in the starting lineup.

Anyway, getting off track. Good job peja

Wrong in one respect. We NEED scoring from the lowpost!!! But I know what you mean.

 

[AleksandarN]

Here is Pedja's reply to all of the Pedja bashers on the forum

 

[AriesMar27]

peja made a clutch shot..... if allen hadnt made that last bucket peja would be a hero had the kings won the game..... he is finally headed in the right direction.....

 

[Crvena Zvezda]

Here is Pedja's reply to all of the Pedja bashers on the forum

HAHAHAHHAHA NAPOLEON DYNAMITE HHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA.

Anyway. Yes he was unreal tonight and did pretty much all he could.

 

[Bricklayer]

he is finally headed in the right direction.....

Oh good lord. He finally hit A shot. Emphasis on "A". He's hit one or two before as well. But he never sustains. I was generally happy with his game tonight, but please, missing all of your 4th quarter shots until hitting a single one at the 30 second mark isn't exactly the basis for spinning around anybody's rep.

 

[LPKingsFan]

I'm somewhat of a Peja basher. I was drooling at the opportunity of trading him for Artest before Artest's meltdown. Now both of them have lost some trade value, so I may still be for it.

Anyway, I just wanted to give Peja some playoff credit. He showed up offensively for 4 of the 5 games. He was downright scary dominant for a few quarters. Unfortunately, those quarters weren't in the same game.

Peja: I'm glad you shot the lights out. Good job. If you're on the Kings next year, I would like Miller running the offense, and I NEED a Ben Wallace type guy playing PF. A Maurice Evans type guy is fine for SG.

If we keep Brad, Miller, Peja, we need NO more offense in the starting lineup.

Anyway, getting off track. Good job peja

I think you meant Bibby, Miller, Peja but you have the right idea. If our core remains intact we do NEED defenders at the 2 and 4 spots. Big Ben and Artest would be ideal, and we probably will not even be able to pull off a Stromile Swift. Nevertheless, it will be an interesting summer.

And to answer the topic, I think Peja at least showed up a little bit, more than I expected.

 

[punisher]

Kings entire offence is built in a very specific manner, it relies heavily on few key things already mentioned, off-the-ball movement, passing the ball...entire team is built that way, it's not just the case with Stojakovic...it is that offence that enables them to compete at the highest level...

Peja Stojakovic, like 99,99& of all NBA players, has some limitations in his game. His are pretty obvious, him not being athletic tops everthing else, the way I see it that is..I was "concerned" about that lack of interest of his that did appear from time to time but I think a paralel with the lack of discipline on offence in general could be drawn here...

As for this final game, I think he was pretty tired in the 4th, but still showed the will and hung in there with the others...we should remember he was hurt on April 15th, at Lakers game just 20 days ago but was able to come back and stage a season-high in the final game of the season...

 

[Peja]

I really hope that Peja will extend his contract with the Kings.That is my first wish for this year's offseason.
Peja and Mike scored 73 points together today.Brad was pretty good in offence also,but we didn't have man for D and that is the main problem for a long time ago.While I was watching the game,I was thinking about Doug a lot...
Anyway,I believe that Petrie will make good team for the next season and that we(the greatest fans on the world) will have chance to see Kings as a champions!

 

[Vlad]

I'm very happy to see Peja play his heart out for the final game of the season. That's the kind of attitude and desire I'm sure most Kings fans would love to see from him on a more consistent basis.

Now, if he can only spend the summer learning to create his own shot, developing a better post game, developing better ball-handling skills... we just might have ourselves a special player. One can only dream.

 

[starks]

"....on our team everybody want to score...we need some role players..." Mike Biby on press conference after game 5

 

[Zyphen]

Let's not get crazy here. Peja is far from a 4th quarter player. He finally showed some life, a spark at the end of the playoffs. Was really aggressive though he had lost his shot. It's really not enough considered objectively.

I'm willing to let him have the offseason to work on his game, though. Let him run with next year's squad till the all-star break, and evaluate his fit then. Of course, if Petrie can get a Paul Pierce or a Magette, then sorry Peja...

 

[Vlad]

Peja finally outperformed his regular season self in the playoffs (not saying his regular season was anything to gush about)

But it is nice to seem him do better in the playoffs for once:

PO stats/Regular season

22 ppg/20 ppg

5.2 rpg/ 4.4 rpg

47 FG%/ 44.4 FG%

And over the last two games, he averaged 32.5 ppg on 56% FG

Still, we could have used more from him.

 

[KingCookie]

Please. He still bricked the majority of his fourth quarter shots to pull yet another disappearing act out of his hat. I liked the aggressive attacks to the basket when the shot wasn't falling, but he hardly made up for his failings of the past with one 3-pointer that didn't even win the game for us.

 

[Ryle]

I'm somewhat of a Peja basher. I was drooling at the opportunity of trading him for Artest before Artest's meltdown. Now both of them have lost some trade value, so I may still be for it.

Anyway, I just wanted to give Peja some playoff credit. He showed up offensively for 4 of the 5 games. He was downright scary dominant for a few quarters. Unfortunately, those quarters weren't in the same game.

Peja: I'm glad you shot the lights out. Good job. If you're on the Kings next year, I would like Miller running the offense, and I NEED a Ben Wallace type guy playing PF. A Maurice Evans type guy is fine for SG.

If we keep Brad, Miller, Peja, we need NO more offense in the starting lineup.

Anyway, getting off track. Good job peja

I'll give some props. During the 4th quarter I thought we were seeing another Peja meltdown but then he did hit a big three that kept the Kings close.

 

[sloter]

He did not disappear. He looked for the ball, he took the shots, and he missed them in the 4th. Him and Bibby were the only reason the Kings were within the striking distance anyway, since they were all yelling OLE on the other end of the floor. If the Sonics did miss an occasional shot, they'd just get a rebound and score again ...
The game was lost on the defensive end ...

 

[Ryle]

He did not disappear. He looked for the ball, he took the shots, and he missed them in the 4th. Him and Bibby were the only reason the Kings were within the striking distance anyway, since they were all yelling OLE on the other end of the floor. If the Sonics did miss an occasional shot, they'd just get a rebound and score again ...
The game was lost on the defensive end ...

I think if we would have seen the Peja that we saw last night in the first 4 games it would have been a different series.

 

[NewMonkey]

Peja was 1 for 8 in the fourth quarter last night. He scored 11 total points on a combined 2 for 16 shooting in the fourth quarters of all five games. Props for quarters one through three. Unfortunately, it's a four quarter game.

 

[sloter]

Wow, that's pathetic.

 

[KingCookie]

He did not disappear. He looked for the ball, he took the shots, and he missed them in the 4th. Him and Bibby were the only reason the Kings were within the striking distance anyway, since they were all yelling OLE on the other end of the floor. If the Sonics did miss an occasional shot, they'd just get a rebound and score again ...
The game was lost on the defensive end ...

OK, let me rephrase: his SHOT disappeared, because his CONFIDENCE disappeared, just like it always does come Quarter #4 of a meaningful game. He showed a minor improvement by at least getting to the line when the shot wasn't dropping, but where was the smooth silky Peja that could've made a 3 with his eyes closed that we were seeing in the first 3 quarters? He got nervous.

I don't give props to losing efforts, especially when it's the same thing year after year. Enough is enough, get rid of him now because he will never get any better than he is right now. The trial period is OVER.

 

[KingCookie]

Peja was 1 for 8 in the fourth quarter last night. He scored 11 total points on a combined 2 for 16 shooting in the fourth quarters of all five games. Props for quarters one through three. Unfortunately, it's a four quarter game.

Which means that in the previous FOUR GAMES, he was 1 for 8 combined, an average of 2 shots per 4th quarter. That's what I'm talking about. No cojones.

 

[gat]

Peja attacking the rim is a good sign. He needs to do that more. I wonder if his 4th quarter play will carry over into next season.

Get that fool to the line!!

 

[bozzwell]

Peja attacking the rim is a good sign. He needs to do that more. I wonder if his 4th quarter play will carry over into next season.

Get that fool to the line!!

Ain't that the truth. With him getting to the line and Bibby and Brad's two man game 4th quarters would be something to look forward to and not something to dread.

 

[Bricklayer]

I just feel like we've been here before. Every year we grab onto something, anything, the littlest thing, and add in the phrase "let's hope he" or "with any luck he" or "wouldn't it be great if he", and of course he never does and there's another season down the drain waiting...for what purpose I do not know.

Peja can stay, Peja can go, but you'd be crazy to seize upon the "1" in a "1 of 7" 4th or whatever and depend on him being anything more than he's been as part of your grand rebuilding plan. If Peja's here, it has to be as gravy if he chooses to show up. If he's the mashed potatoes you're severely and unnecessarily risking the family starving to death.

 

[bozzwell]

I just feel like we've been here before. Every year we grab onto something, anything, the littlest thing, and add in the phrase "let's hope he" or "with any luck he" or "wouldn't it be great if he", and of course he never does and there's another season down the drain waiting...for what purpose I do not know.

Peja can stay, Peja can go, but you'd be crazy to seize upon the "1" in a "1 of 7" 4th or whatever and depend on him being anything more than he's been as part of your grand rebuilding plan. If Peja's here, it has to be as gravy if he chooses to show up. If he's the mashed potatoes you're severely and unnecessarily risking the family starving to death.

True. And yet, the risks are mitigated by the relatively small contract and efficient 20ppg even on his down year. If we can parlay that into a trade that would make us an instant contender without giving up another "old" guy (Mike or Brad) that would be sweet. I just don't see that happening. I don't see a single trade scenario that ends up with us returning to 2002 level next season.

So, retooling inevitably will turn to rebuilding and drafting and developing young players will not be an afterthought. Bringing on young players who failed elsewhere but who have potential is another route (I am not talking just about Kwame). In the meantime, Kings will still remain small market team in an outdated arena that needs to play to much wider audience then it's immediate surroundings. I see Kings as Green Bay Packers of basketball. Always competitive, always in the playoff picture, sometimes within shot of the big prize. Keeping Bibby, Brad and Pedja together under Adelman ensures that for one more year and gives us continuity and buys us time and ironically sticking with "old" gives us a better chance for a fresh start.

My prediction for next year is pretty much what Kriedler wrote in his article today. We will make some changes, but nothing Earth shattering. We will play good Kings basketball, sometime excellent Kings basketball, end up with 50+ wins and 2nd round exit at best. Since noone will give us Lebron, KG, Wade or similar player in exchange for Pedja + bad contract, we will have to discover one from the scrap heap, some other GM's dog house or draft. When we speak of GP doing his magic it is with the benefit of hindsight. I don't believe anyone who claims that they new that Webber and Bibby trades would work out as well as they did or that they even new who Stojakovic was when he was drafted. Next time GP does his magic it won't be earth shattering at the first sight. It will "grow" on us.

In the meantime Mike, Brad and Pedja will have to do as meat-and-two-veg.

 

[AleksandarN]

OK, let me rephrase: his SHOT disappeared, because his CONFIDENCE disappeared, just like it always does come Quarter #4 of a meaningful game. He showed a minor improvement by at least getting to the line when the shot wasn't dropping, but where was the smooth silky Peja that could've made a 3 with his eyes closed that we were seeing in the first 3 quarters? He got nervous.

I don't give props to losing efforts, especially when it's the same thing year after year. Enough is enough, get rid of him now because he will never get any better than he is right now. The trial period is OVER.

The thing is though he was tired and it effected his shot along with Bibby. But I am proud of them both for showing heart in the game.

 

[Raci]

Oh good lord. He finally hit A shot. Emphasis on "A". He's hit one or two before as well. But he never sustains. I was generally happy with his game tonight, but please, missing all of your 4th quarter shots until hitting a single one at the 30 second mark isn't exactly the basis for spinning around anybody's rep.

And hiting all shots in a first half,wel simply matematics (+ tiredness) you cant hit all the shots.56% is nice.

 

[fakie]

i was just happy he actually showed interest in winning the game. at least he fought, and that was a peja we all missed and love.

personally i just want to say thanks to our players. we can leave the nit-picking and bashing for later.

 

[Bartking]

I don't remember ever seeing Peja have a fourth quarter like last night in an important game. Yeah, he only hit one FG, but he got to the line for 4 FTs, plus he got robbed on the layup. And he was involved on almost every possession. Was it the beginning of a new era, or just a brief detour?

The defense always has to honor his fakes, so then he goes by his guy and we're playing 5 on 4. A bit better passing, a bit better dribbling, he could be great.

 

[sloter]

Don't forget that he was matched up against one of the best SF's in the league...

Allow me to present the stats to you:

Pedja 40 mins 22 ppg, 47% FG, 5.2 rebs, .8 stls, 1.4 ast
Rashard 39 mins 16.4 ppg 40% FG 4.4 rebs .2 stls, 2.2 ast

Pedja wins the matchup, Kings lose the battle ...

Here are some important stats of the two other Kings playoff heroes:

Bibby FG% 32.6 Bobby FG% 27... sad.

I mean you can talk about 4th quarter as much as you want, but if those other lads showed up in any of the quarters we wouldn't be talking about 4th quarters performances at all...