i think it is a bit unfair to compare boki to lewis because lewis is blessed with a tremendous amount of physical ability. boki averaged 3.7 rebounds/game, 0.2blks, in the euroleague. lewis averaged 7.0 rebs/game, 0.5blks in the NBA. and i think lewis can shoot as well as boki. but has lewis said the right things to Rocket fans, like Boki? has lewis shown the uncanny ability to slice through the opposing team to spectacular jams, like boki? if boki is considered the most NBA-ready player to come out of Europe, i think we can expect great things from him... in the end, it also comes down to how much a guy wants to play here and how welcome he'd make himself when he comes here, as much as natural ability... boki seems like a natural charmer, and lewis sounds like a whiny b*tch... that said, i still think the rockets would be absolute idiots to pass up Lewis again. it would be the SECOND time we pass him up for an unproven foreign player. let's get them both and run our opponents into the ground! we'd be the deadliest transition team in the NBA. probably only the clippers can run with us. just my 2cents.
When you say that Lewis has a tremendous amount of physical ability is that to say that Boki does not? Also remember that Boki was not the first option on his team and had to split minutes with Tsita. Shard is a whiny B!tch. And Nachbar will not light it up immediately but I think that given his shot when he learns to shoot under pressure he will put up Lewis numbers. I am not however sure about the boards, but have you seen his clips? Boki is as much of a freak as anyone in the NBA. I mean come on people don't knock him he will be nice Shard or no Shard? It matters not to thee.
I think people blow his workout performance out of proportion. Don't expect Nachbar to hit 3pt shots at a ridiculously high percentage. In Euroleague he hit like 34%. Also, the 10 dunks was in practice, not in a game. Still, like Rudy said, not even Dream, Glyde, or Barkley would dunk 10 times in practice.
Hello rocket fans, I'm from Ljubljana - Slovenia. If you have any questions regarding Nachbar, I'll do my best to answer. I have been on vacation last two weeks, that’s why I don't have much info... Still you should know that Nachbar went to Italy very early, and didn't play much in Slovenia. But form what I have seen him do in Italy, I am almost sure that he will do fine in the NBA. He is an aggressive player, full of enthusiasm and emotion ( the frase " I love this game" will get a new meaning in Houston) You have already written a lot about his qualities and weak points and I mostly agree with all of them. There is only one thing that I would like to add. Courage, balls or whatever you call it. That's the thing I liked the most about him. When he started in Italy as a rookie (an a teenager), he played as he had 10 years of professional basketball after him. Never afraid to go all the way, to make decisive shots... That’s all for now. I'll try to find something on Nachbar on our and Italian pages and translate it to English. Go Rocktes!!!
You know, it funny. Back when we drafted Turkan we actually got a couple guys posting here from his country immediately. With Boki, nada. Bad signs man. Bad signs. Trade nachbar.
These are old news (26.3.02), but anyways Fan Mail answers: Bostjan Nachbar >Hello Bostjan! Now that you have starred in many Euroleague regular season games for Benetton, how is to be one of the important players on the team? Adam Wolff, Israel Of course, it's really good to be a bigger part of the team and to play a lot. To be able to contribute and give something every night has also been a great experience for me. It's the first year that I have really played at this level. It was new to me, but so far everything is going fine, so yes, I am kind of satisfied. >Are you surely going to make a try for the NBA this year? Nikos, Greece Yeah, of course. It's my age for this year, so I don't have anything to lose. I will try the draft and see what happens, but for now I am thinking about this season here and I don't think too much about the NBA. I will wait until end of the season to think about what might happen after. >How do you think your body will hold up under the physical demands of the NBA's 82-game schedule? Bob Joseph, USA I don't think that would be a problem. Already, this season is hard. We have almost an NBA rhythm of games, and I have had no problems yet. The big thing for me is I have to get bigger and faster, but I don't think it will be problem handling 82 games. >What kind of player is Nickoloz Tskitshvili? Arnaud, France "I think he's a young, very talented player. With lots of work he can develop into an excellent player. He just needs to get stronger and get some experience, because he is pretty inexperienced. I think if he stays in Benetton and plays two or three more years here, he has a very bright future." >Does the success of Pau Gasol and others help convince you that you are ready for the NBA? Gregor, Slovenia "Yeah, of course. You know, Gasol and Tony Parker and Turkoglu are more or less my age. We kind of grew and started playing together. Of course, you get confidence seeing they can actually play in NBA, and play well. You know that Gasol is very talented, an excellent player, the kind you don't find often. I kind of look up to him and hopefully I will be one day where he is now." >Do you and Nickoloz Tskitshvili talk about playing in the NBA in the future? Paolo, Italy "Yeah, we kind of talk about it, but nothing serious. He's still young and has a few years in front of him to think about it. I am older and try to help him out here, because he is new, to get into this professional life. He's like my younger brother on the team." >What do you learn from a player like Riccardo Pittis? Roberto Melon, Spain "A lot of things. He's an incredible player with lots of experience. It's hard to say what in particular I have learned, because there have been so many things. Mostly, I try to learn from his experience, to see how he handles situations on the floor. I think I have gotten better the last couple years just from being guarded by him in practice. He is one of the best defensive players in Europe and I have gone against him every day. So it is mostly his defense that I try to learn because he is excellent at that."
When Boki shows the world how magnificient he will be, love will surely come his way, indeed! Just watch, and wipe the drool off your chin.
Thank you Saphan you were exactly what I was talking about in my original post. But do newspapers in Slovenia not talk about basketball at all?
when i goto a rockets game this season ill make a sign with nachbar's name on it, cause... im a nice girl.
Nachbar will be fine, even if he doesn't develop into an all-star. We don't need an all-star at the SF position, assuming Eddie and Ming will live up to their potential. All we need is a guy contributing 10p & 3r a game. If he can do other little things, it'll be a plus. Plus, Nachbar is both an long ball shooter and a dunker. That will give Rudy more options for his inside-outside game and backdoor plays.
yao Ming will become the starter of the Rockets. He was the #1 draft picked. he will make a big impact in Rockets.
You can't compare the Euroleague to NBA basketball stats. Look at what Gasol did in his last year in the Euro league and look at what he did in the first year of the NBA. Gasol: Europe 11 pts 5.1 rbs .7 asts NBA 17.6 pts 8.9 rbs 2.7 asts When I saw some of Nachbar's highlights he looked to be more athelitic than Lewis by the way he ran the floor and his slashing ability. Lewis plays to upright without a lot of latteral quickness.
Thank you, Saphan, and welcome to the Board! We really appreciate any and all information you can give us on Bostjan. From the interview quotes, it sounds like he thought Tskitshvili would be an excellent player, but needed more seasoning. It'll be interesting to see how they both play this year, and see if Bostjan was on the mark. He's saying all the right things and, by all reports here, had an amazing workout for the Rockets before the draft. I can't wait to see him play (was REALLY disappointed that he missed the summer league), and expect great things from him by the end of this season. I've heard Slovenia is a beautiful country. Hope you all become Rocket fans!
