By Panos Katsiroubas/ info@eurohoops.net
When all is said and done, Panathinaikos made some strong moves in the transfer market, getting greatly enhanced. The roster has been largely rounded off with someone we know from his term in CSKA Moscow for the last couple of years, Demetris Nichols (32 years old, 2,03m.). A player who had a very important role in the rotation of Itoudis’s team, in his first year in Moscow, but who saw his playing time getting gradually reduced in a large degree last year. He plays mainly in the ‘4’ position, while at times he plays in the ‘3’ as well. His biggest… weapon is his good – for his size – shot from the perimeter and this element is definitely something that Panathinaikos is looking for from the power forward position.
Let’s get to know him a bit better by outlining the player’s features.
Who he is
The American forward played college basketball under the directions of Jim Boeheim in the orange colors of Syracuse. His presence there, but also the way that particular college team defends, helped him to get better at reading plays, in defense as well as in offense. His fourth and last year was his biggest, ending the year with almost 18 points on average, while he also made the All-Big East First Team.
He was selected by Portland with the number 53 in the 2007 draft, but after some vicissitudes he ended up with the Cavaliers. He struggled to find a role in the NBA, but he never managed to get any real playing time, mostly because of his playing style, which is clearly more European.
He crossed the Atlantic and from then on he became a wanderer who played for three teams in France, two in Mexico, and in the NBDL. In 2013 he signed with Krasnye Krylia Samara in Russia and from there he was acquired by CSKA. The latter became the team where he spent the last two years of his career, managing to win the Euroleague title four months ago in the Final Four in Berlin.
What he can offer
Nichols is a player who, as we mentioned above, can contribute in both forward positions. In my opinion, the ‘4’ position suits him best thanks to his fairly limited ability with the ball on the floor. In CSKA he played in both positions, but his role was clearly that of a perimeter sniper. Most of the time he would plant himself in the corners and wait to receive the ball from the very talented guards of the Russian team, providing an additional option when the system didn’t… come off. His shooting ability is excellent and he can execute from the corners as well as the wings, positions in which he was placed most of the time in order to receive the ball. In the 2014-2015 year he was the best shooter in the Euroleague from the 6.75 line, with 57.5%. This figure dropped close to 36% last season, which is still quite decent for a forward.
In Moscow, his offensive game was rather restricted since most of the time he served as a receiver of the ball in order to shoot. Nevertheless, we often saw him move very well without the ball and score mostly through baseline cuts on the back of the defense. In general, he works on his movement without the ball and he has excellent positioning.
A drawback that he has is that he doesn’t put the ball on the floor very easily. He attempts this mostly when he finds the defense out of balance, in situations where he can either attack deep inside the paint, or pass the ball well as soon as help arrives. Generally speaking, he can read and pass pretty well, especially when he’s facing a defense with rifts. Furthermore, he rarely – if ever – posts, since he likes to attack facing the basket.
He doesn’t go after personal plays and we’ve rarely seen him go to clear isolation plays. He’s quite athletic, has a flair for rebounding, while he seeks many plays on the open court as well.
In defense he can do an excellent job in covers and turns, as he understands what areas he has to move in and which pass lanes he has to block off. As a ‘3’, perhaps he has a few issues keeping up with the explosiveness and speed, especially when facing rival ‘3’s in small and light line-ups, as he doesn’t have the explosiveness that he had in college. Despite all this, he has a strong frame and he doesn’t allow opponents to post him, whether playing in the ‘3’ or the ‘4’ position.
Overall, we could say that he’s a role player who can contribute in all parts of the game. He’s an excellent shooter (mostly spot up) with a good shooting rhythm, but in this area he depends on the game of the guards to a large extent. He has good perception in moving and passing in offense, while he knows how to block off areas in defenses that require good covering and right turns. He will be able to contribute to Panathinaikos if he forms a good partnership with the guards. The ability of the guards in reading the game is what will allow him to catapult his own contribution to the team.