Drazen Petrovic appreciation thread!

[QUOTE=andgar923]Drazen was a hard cover because he was always moving (like Reggie and Hornaceck) and like them was very elusive and smart. You had to respect his shot, and he knew that. He used every inch to get an open look and could hit shots off balance, on the run, floaters, you name it. But he was just deceiving with his quickness. Even when you watch footage of him playing, he doesn't look quick per se, yet he got the step on people once they closed on him. It's the type of player you hate to guard because he's efficient in his play. To me he reminded me of that guy that shows up half drunk, smoking a cigarette while playing, looks out of shape, is strong as an ox, can't jump, can't move, but yet manages to drop 30 points with ease with everybody screaming "switch switch!!!" with every touch.[/QUOTE]

Unlike Reggie and such Drazen had also fantastic handles/ballcontrol and was a very flashy passer, he was used as a point-guard alot back in Europe and Olympics (even against the dream team if you noticed). In his prime / at his best i like to compare his game/style to Jerry West.

I'm from Kosovo. My dad still talks about Petrovic all the time. It's a bit hard to take him seriously at times because he refuses to admit Drazen's faults. Any takers? What were the deficiencies in his game?

Edit: I never saw him play, so everything I know about him is from YouTube and stories. From watching videos, I've seen that: A. he's obviously a ridiculously good shooter and B. he had good, but unspectacular handles.

His last season he was playing 38 mpg and still only got 2.7 boards (3.1 being his career high). I realize he was out on the perimeter a lot (because he was damn good: 45% on 3 attempts from the arc over his last two years), but this is just horrendous rebounding any way you cut it. His playmaking was alright for a SG. I'm not sure if his role allowed him to assist much. He looked like he could run the break well in the Olympics games I've watched of him, so I'll assume he could average 5 assists if he had to, but the turnovers worry me; he had almost a 1:1 ratio for his career and you can see the turnovers trending upward as his assists did at almost an identical rate.

Again, I can't really make any claims for sure because I'm not qualified, having not watched him play, but I can't see him being a 30-5-5 player in the NBA. Not unless he played the whole 48 minutes. And even then.

[QUOTE=Djahjaga]I'm from Kosovo. My dad still talks about Petrovic all the time. It's a bit hard to take him seriously at times because he refuses to admit Drazen's faults. Any takers? What were the deficiencies in his game?.[/QUOTE]

He was an amazingly efficient scorer (60.5 TS% in his last season), but he got rather few rebounds, not that many assists and comparatively many turnovers.

And for my taste he took too few 3 pointers for the kind of accuracy he had. His two last seasons were 3.4 and 2.4 3pa, shooting 44% of them.
Ray Allen for example has 5.9 3pa as his career average.

On top of that, his efficiency dropped badly in the playoffs and his last playoff run was really horrible.

[QUOTE=brain drain]He was an amazingly efficient scorer (60.5 TS% in his last season), but he got rather few rebounds, not that many assists and comparatively many turnovers.

And for my taste he took too few 3 pointers for the kind of accuracy he had. His two last seasons were 3.4 and 2.4 3pa, shooting 44% of them.
Ray Allen for example has 5.9 3pa as his career average.[/QUOTE]

All things considered, the three wasn't considered a huge weapon until the line was shortened in '95, after which the NBA fell in love with it, even when the line was unshortened.

Europe discovered the use of the three before teams in the States, though. But overall, players took fewer threes then. Today, he would almost definitely take closer to 5 threes a game.

Edit: And if he played for the Nets today? Can you imagine having him in one corner and Joe Johnson on the wing (or vice versa) while D-will runs a PnR with Brook? Who do you help off of? :bowdown:

[QUOTE=Djahjaga]All things considered, the three wasn't considered a huge weapon until the line was shortened in '95, after which the NBA fell in love with it, even when the line was unshortened.

Europe discovered the use of the three before teams in the States, though. But overall, players took fewer threes then. Today, he would almost definitely take closer to 5 threes a game.[/Quote]

True to a degree, but Reggie Miller for instance was already averaging around 4.5 3pa between 89/90 and 92/93, while never making 44% of them.

[url]http://www.euroleague.net/features/voices/2012-2013/vladimir-stankovic/i/107623/7781/drazen-petrovic-an-unfinished-symphony[/url]

Better player than Manu Ginobili. Manu Had better success in the NBA.