By Panos Katsiroumpas/ info@eurohoops.net
The acquisition of Nenad Krstic by Galatasaray was from the start a risky choice, since the Serbian center was coming from a year he essentially missed due to injury. Krstic wasn’t able to come back and is now even thinking of retiring from action.
Despite this, Galatasaray moved swiftly and acquired one of the best big men in the Euroleague in the 2013-2014 season, the German center Tibor Pleiss. A player who, every year he played in Europe made steps forward and improved his game considerably in most areas. Especially in Baskonia he had an excellent partnership with Thomas Heurtel and greatly improved his offensive game.
Who he is
The German center is 27 years old, 2.21 tall and has a huge wingspan. He launched his career as an adolescent in Cologne and subsequently got a transfer to Bamberg, a team that essentially introduced him to the European audience. After three seasons of continuous improvement he got a transfer to Baskonia.
After his first year of getting adjusted, he skyrocketed his performance levels. He finished the second season at Vitoria with more than 13 points and 6 rebounds on average and significantly improved his game in the post as well as his performance in the pick-and-roll offense.
After that excellent year, as Baskonia usually does, he was sold to Barcelona. In Barcelona though, he wasn’t able to get the time on the court or find the playing rhythm that he had in Baskonia. Maybe because he resembled Tomic a lot in terms of their playing style, and as a result there wasn’t a lot of playing time left for the German. Last year he decided to try his luck in the NBA without, however, being vindicated for his choice. He played in just twelve games with the Utah Jazz and after this brief spell he decided to return to Europe for Galatasaray.
What he can offer
The truth is that the image we have of the German center is limited to the years he spent in Europe, since last year he hardly played at all. He has a big body but one he was able to control better and better the more he played. He had showed up at Bamberg with several weaknesses, but within a few years he improved greatly.
He managed to control his body and improve his finishes. Also, especially with Heurtel, the two formed a formidable pick-and-roll duo in Baskonia, with the German moving very fast and with excellent timing in his cuts inside the key.
He can finish plays just as easily with both hands, and from both sides of the key. In addition, it’s worth mentioning that his mid-range shot is also pretty decent and is one more weapon in his arsenal.
The truth is though, that he produced many of these characteristics on the floor when he had one of the best creators of European courts on his side, none other than Thomas Heurtel. So an initial conclusion is that the better use the creators of his team make of him, the more he’s going to contribute.
In defense he has some excellent elements. He’s a great rim protector and the more he’s able to stay in the paint the more he’s going to deflect or block his opponents’ attacks. Through the years he also improved his defense in the post, while he strengthened his body so his opponents can’t take him inside the key too easily. With his long arms he can produce many deflections and fend off attacks and passes. Despite his size he’s very fast and contributes in transition both in defense as well as in offense. His weak spot in defense is when he has to come out and mark his opponents along the perimeter. It’s not easy for him to play switching defenses, while sometimes he’s slow in returning from the hedge out, in terms of dealing with the pick-and-roll defensively. Generally, the farther he goes outside the paint, the less comfortable he feels.
Overall, he’s an excellent addition for Galatasaray, especially when we consider that we’re less than a month away from the official launch of the tournaments. If the team manages to take advantage of his strong points then we will be talking about a real steal.