Nikola Pekovic: What’s Expected Of His Return?
What can be expected of Minnesota Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic as he returns to the court after suffering an Achilles injury last season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves welcomed back Nikola Pekovic to the hardwood after he missed 54 games. That span includes the last 19 games of the 2014-15 season and the first 36 games of this season. He’s had a history of injury problems, having only played in 259 of a possible 394 games (65.7 percent) in his five-year career.
The Timberwolves have needed his return to provide depth in the front court. What can the Timberwolves expect from Pekovic’s return?
Pekovic, 30, turned in a 12-point performance on Wednesday and shot the ball efficiently. He was 3-for-4 from the field and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. As a career 52.1 percent shooter from the field and 75.9 percent shooter from the free-throw line, his increased shooting efficiencies are a great sign for the Wolves.
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This was in the midst of a 38.4 percent shooting night as a team where the Wolves only scored 74 points, including an abysmal nine-point performance in the fourth quarter.
Coming back from an Achilles injury after missing a large amount of time usually leads to an adjustment period; just ask Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings. It took him three games before showing a flash of what he will bring off the bench. However, Pekovic’s performance suggests that he’s already up to speed, but perhaps that’s because the Timberwolves had a horrible showing.
Pekovic only played 16 minutes in his season debut. That should be expected due to a variety of reasons. He should probably only be expected to play around 15 to 20 minutes a night. First of all, rushing someone back to 20-plus minutes a night off of a serious injury is not a good idea. Minnesota doesn’t need Pekovic to play a large number of minutes anymore.
With first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns having a Rookie of the Year-esque season, it makes no sense to have Pekovic playing a large portion of minutes. With both Towns and Gorgui Dieng playing well, it allows head coach Sam Mitchell to go deeper into the bench in the front court and play with bigger lineups. With Pekovic’s return, Dieng can now play the power forward position.
The downside is that young players Nemanja Bjelica and Adreian Payne will see less playing time. Neither player played in Wednesday night’s contest with the return of Pekovic.
Pekovic’s return will also provide the Timberwolves with a reliable post option on offense. He has a career true shooting percentage of 57.2 percent and a career usage percentage of 22.2 percent. In the 163 games he played from 2011 to 2014, Pekovic had 12.5 of his 13.6 career offensive win shares. His offense will be most notable when the Timberwolves use him most effectively.
While offense will be the focus of Pekovic’s return, his defense will also be valued. He is a below-average defender, with a career minus-1.0 Defensive Box Plus or Minus (DBPM). Where his defense will factor in is the fact that he is a large body standing 6-foot-11 and weighing 307 pounds.
It was evident in the Timberwolves’ loss to the Pistons that they lacked physicality in the front court.
Pekovic will be highly valued on the offensive end of the floor. But in his 15 to 20 minutes per game, his physical presence will also be needed on the defensive end.
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Mitchell now has a great opportunity to move Dieng to the power forward position and play Pekovic at center. He can also mix-and-match lineup with Towns, Kevin Garnett and Pekovic.