[2014-15] Kostas Papanikolaou as a Rocket

Ridiculous. I think he recovered the ball on half of those blocks, even some of the vicious ones. His timing on those chase downs looked perfect. Such a solid player.

 

The thing I really love about Pap is that he really shows his emotion when he has a bad game or makes a bad play. It's like he wants to succeed so bad so when he turns the ball over or bricks a few threes, he's just visually pissed at himself.

Those type of players don't need significant lecturing, players like that correct their mistakes eventually because they really hate to lose or play bad.

Love Pap from what i've seen & I honestly think he's going to get much better.

 

Yeah the guy is like 23 or 24 and will get better in no time. Quick learner and ultimate competitor

 

Hello from Greece.
I am a newcomer in your forum, and i am here because of Kostas. I am not an Oly fan; my team is not at that top level anymore although it was one of the prominent bb teams in Greece and in Europe in the 90s. Despite that i am a bb fan overall and i, myself had played bb for some years in a local level. I've been watching Kostas since his participation in U19 national team and ever after. Of course i have watched every Houston game this season. Kostas, as you've already noticed, is a very team orientated player. Although his skill set is more than enough (in europe -of course) for him to be the (or one of the) "prima donna" in his teams, he never was one. His mentality is for the team. You can see that in some very little but so important things, like helping teammates get off the floor after a fall, giving them a credit after every assist he gets, or encouraging them in the success and in the fail. He just cares sincerely for the jersey. Not being a "prima donna" does not mean that he is "hiding" in difficult situations or when a game is on the edge. He steps forward, with a pass, a decisive defense or a crucial shot, with an active participation in general. There is not a better example for that than the 2012 euroleague F4 (22years old then), and especially the final game (a true basketball miracle for the underdog team) . He was the true MVP of that F4 for me (the title went to Spanoulis -a true euro prima-donna... and we all know how showbiz supports its stars). "Making teammates better", although true, is not a precise description for Kostas, in my opinion; "making anything in the most effective way for the team to win", is; he is a winner. He understands the game well and he has leadership capacity. You can tell, when you watch him "instructing" his teammates (even the stars of the team, in rockets too) for positioning and movement in both offense and defense. He may be a rookie, but definitely not a fish (freshie). I am not sure if he finally makes it in the NBA. Maybe the game will prove to be too fast or too physical for him. But he is smart, humble and does not afraid to work hard neither to put himself in the test. I certainly wish him the very best, cause that kind of guys deserve success, in sports and in life.
Well that was long. May the Rox be the champs!

 

bullseye

 

The carriage return is your friend. That being said, good post and everything we are seeing from him supports that. He just needs to get comfortable with the NBA 3 pt line and he should be good to go for a long NBA career. He can become a better Shane Battier.

 

I agree, Kostas is not a fish.

 

He is adjusting to the 3pt line faster than I thought he would. Which is pretty monstrous for his and our game.

 

He might even make the rookie team.

I love players like him that just understand the game.

 

He will make it in the NBA. To be getting this much playing time so early in his rookie year? And to do so on a team that considers itself a title contender? That says a lot. He probably won't ever be a big-time player and he might not even be a starter, but he has a place in this league for quite a few years.

 

Not only that; he's getting play time under a coach who doesn't like to play rookies at all. Parsons was an exception, but I remember well all the rookies that didn't get one minute during their first year here, from TJones, DMo, Canaan etc.

 

Welcome to Clutchfans.

As you can see, the posters here love to joke. But we are all fans of Kostas because he is becoming an important piece of the team. Pleasantly surprised because his Euro highlights don't show the full range of his game that we are beginning to see.

So yes, we want to follow his journey to see just how good he can be in the NBA.

 

Welcome and hope you can actually warm up enough to call yourself a Rockets fan in due time.

Kostas will make it in the NBA if he hasn't already proven himself enough. The reason is every Joe Schmo that comes into the league as a rookie thinks of themselves as the next Michael Jordan, and has been treated that way by those around them since they were playing ball as a kid. Kostas came into the league with the understanding that few guys have in team play, and making other people better. That's an undervalued skill in the league, and will be considered a valuable asset moving forward.

The main skill that is either going to make or break Kostas' game taking the next level is being able to consistently his the NBA 3 point shot. Hitting that shot opens up his game, and his ability to drive and kick which has been amazing for this team especially with the departure of Chandler Parsons who was probably the #2 facilitator last year from the perimeter.

Anways, welcome again to the forum, and don't let this be the last check in from Greece.

 

Welcome to the board! Thanks for the insight on Kostas, I've been very impressed with him so far. He is already one of my favorite players on the team.

 

I think it is ridiculous how good K-Pap has been, I said it another thread but having him on the team is like having Parsons come off the bench while playing defense seriously. He reminds me a lot of Scola, a very "Spurs-like" player, not very athletic but has extremely high bball IQ, solid all around skills and a no-nonsense attitude.

I like the make up of the current Rox, between K-Pap, Jet and Ariza it's no wonder Harden is taking defense seriously this year lol.

 

Consistency on the three point shot would help, but I think getting more efficient inside the line will help him more in the long run and will help his three point shot as well. He needs to find a way to either make more shots inside the arc or get to the line.

 

Welcome to Clutchfans! Great post!

 

As I watched him the thought came, "wow exactly what I've wanted, someone who could step into a Spurs uniform and not miss a beat." Thank goodness he's in Rockets Red !

 

It's amazing how a player with a PER of 8.8 and a TS% of 44.8% can leave such a good impression on a fanbase. It speaks well of his intangibles because those are horrible numbers.