By my count, there are eight players coming to the NBA after spending at least a year playing overseas.  Throughout the week we are going to look at each player’s individual game one by one, to see what we can expect from them this year in the NBA.

Nikola Pekovic is a 24 year old 6′11″ center who was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the first pick in the second round in 2008.  After playing two seasons for the Greek club Panathinaikos Pekovic signed a 3 year deal with the Timberwolves, guaranteeing that he will be taking his talents to the NBA.

Quick Note:  In the following clips, Nikola Pekovic is #14 playing for Panathinaikos, who are wearing green.

Strengths:

Work In The Post

The first thing that you notice when watching Nikola Pekovic play is that he absolutely loves throwing his body around when working in the post:

Pekovic is willing to bang bodies with his defender whenever he thinks he can improve his position by doing so. Pekovic has good but not great post moves and a good but not great ability to dribble in the post, but what makes him so good is that he gets such good position that all he needs to do is take one dribble or make one move to get a shot off:

In the above clip, the basketball gets swung to the wing, and as it does Pekovic absolutely drills his defender with his body.  This allows himself to get such good position in the post that he doesn’t even need to take a dribble after making the catch, he simply turns and hits the soft baby hook.

Besides getting good position, Pekovic’s next best skill in the post is his composure:

In both of the above clips, Pekovic’s composure is what allows him to get his points in the post.  In the first clip, Pekovic makes the catch and then pauses, allowing enough space to be created so he can make his move and score.  If he goes right away he spins right into a crowded area, instead, Pekovic waits for a second and he is able to make a move uncontested.

In the second clip, Peckovic’s initial move is half of a spin move.  Instead of forcing up a shot, Pekovic stays composed and continues to pivot.  The result is that he finds himself right at the rim totally uncontested.

Making Himself Available To Teammates

Besides scoring in the post, Pekovic seems to get the rest of his points playing off of his teammates.  He has an ability to create passing lanes for his teammates and staying available for them when they drive the basketball.  This is a lot harder than it sounds, and Pekovic makes it look easy, especially in the post:

In both of the clips above, Pekovic seems to be thinking one step ahead.  In both of the clips, his defender is working hard, trying to front him when he posts.  Instead of fighting through the front, he knows that his teammate will be kicking the ball around the perimeter if he can’t get it in the post right away.  So what Pekovic does so well is that he creates a passing lane before the passer even gets the ball.  The result is an easy dunk in clip one and a foul on the defense in clip two.

It’s not just in the post either.  Pekovic is very good at playing off of his teammate when his teammate drives the lane.  What I mean by that is he always seems to be available and in position to catch a pass:

Here, Pekovic’s teammate turns down his screen and drives baseline.  Pekovic’s teammate helps on the baseline driving, opening up the lane.  Pekovic cuts right into that open spot on the court with his hands ready.  He makes the catch and finishes at the rim.

Even in transition, Pekovic seemed to make himself available for teammates:

Here, Pekovic is trailing the play as his point guard is bringing the ball up in transition.  Instead of assuming that his teammate will take the shot or get an easy lay-up, Pekovic continues to trail his teammate all the way to the rim.  So when his teammate gets caught in the air Pekovic serves as the life raft, there ready to catch the ball and finish at the rim.

When his teammates drove, Pekovic wasn’t always looking to find an open area for himself.  Pekovic’s movements were all about trying to get a basket for his team (no matter who scores it):

In the above clip, the ball gets swung around and Pekovic’s teammate drives baseline towards him.  Instead of looking for an open spot for himself, he seals off his man and clears the lane.  This allows his teammate to get an easy lay-up.

Pick And Roll Defense

The final thing that really impressed me about Pekovic’s game was his pick and roll defense.  With the increased use of the pick and roll by teams in the NBA (whether it is the main offense or not, every team runs the pick and roll multiple times a game), this could be the most important skill Pekovic brings to the Timberwolves.  What makes Pekovic so good when the pick and roll is his ability to show strong and still get back to his man:

When most big men show on the pick and roll, they just sort of get in the way, not really being effective on defense. When Pekovic shows, his first goal is to force the ballhandler to pick up his dribble then he returns to his man:

Weaknesses

Help Defense

It’s funny, Pekovic is so good when defending the pick and roll that you would think he’d be a solid help defender.  This is far from the case.  Pekovic’s problem seems to be he tends to lock on his man and not worry about what is going on with everyone else:

On this play, Pekovic is watching his man walk up the court, and he stays with him.  The problem is that he isn’t the man with the basketball.  The man with the ball attacks the basket and Pekovic sees everything too late, resulting in Pekovic’s inability to challenge the shot.

It happens here again. Pekovic is so worried about his man as the ball is brought up the court that he isn’t in correct help position. By the time he tries to recover, it is too late and he ends up fouling Ricky Rubio.

Pekovic’s failures when helping also results in an inability to do a good job covering his man. On this play, he seems to overcompensate when playing help defense, allowing for his man to cut on him and get in position to score.

Setting Picks

Another skill that Nikola Pekovic struggles with is setting screens.  Just about every screen I saw him set in four games was a moving one.  Pekovic’s biggest problem is that he turns the wrong way when rolling off of the screen and this results in his butt getting in his way and hitting the defender trying to fight through the screen:

The reason you open up towards the basketball on the roll is so you are always looking at the basketball so you recieve a pass.  Another result of opening towards the basketball on the roll is that it keeps your butt away from the man fighting through the screen, minimizing the contact and minimizing the chance at getting a foul called.  When Pekovic sets screens, he turns the wrong way.  The result is that he gets his hips in the way of the defender, creating contact.  Now in the Greek League, this doesn’t seem to be a foul, but in the NBA that will get called every single time (also, in the last video on the second screen, Pekovic basically tackles Childress with a screen.  Really funny).

Rebounding

Pekovic’s final weakness is his rebounding.  Again, it is strange to see someone who is so good at throwing his body around (and is so big) being bad at rebounding, but that’s the case with Pekovic.  In Euroleague competition, Pekovic only averaged 3.8 rebounds per game in 21.5 minutes over the course of 12 games.  In Greek League play, Pekovic’s numbers were even worse, only grabbing 3.7 rebounds in 16.6 minutes over the course of 35 games.  This is troubling because Pekovic will be facing strong, bigger, and more athletic big men in the NBA.  To me, it seems like Pekovic gives up his position too early when going for a rebound:

Here, Pekovic has Josh Childress on his back. He has pretty good position, but instead of holding his position and waiting for the basketball to land towards him he goes after the ball, only to see it bouncing over his head.

Conclusion

In my opinion, I think Nikola Pekovic is going to have a very strong rookie season.  To me, his weaknesses seem to be correctable, (staying more focused on defense, roll the correct when when setting screen, and holding box outs longer) and watching him work so hard during games, I don’t think working hard to correct his flaws will be a problem.

I also like Pekovic’s versatility and it should (and I say should because who knows what is going on with the Timberwolves right now) get enough minutes to be an impact.  He is mobile enough to play the four alongside Darko and he is big and strong enough to play the five with Kevin Love.  I personally believe that the Timberwolves would be smart to play him at center alongside Love.  Pekovic doesn’t have much of an outside shot beyond the top of the key, and he is much more comfortable in the post whereas Love can work the outside.  Also, if you put a strong pass first point guard, he will be that PG’s dream.  If Ricky Rubio ever ends up in a Timberwolves’ jersey, this will be a fun combo to watch.