HB

Regular season gimme Peja, Playoffs gimme RJ.

RJ still has a suspect jumpshot, if he can improve on that then the sky's the limit for the kid

ian

oh, so Peja is the only player on the Kings offense? that offense is even more "pronged" than the Nets.

gian

****, I accidentaly clicked Peja, but I vote for Jefferson, so I guess it's 14-14 right now instead of 15-13, sorry bout that.

I think Peja has reached his peak and will never improve. He is a more on/off guy and I don't really want that. Some games, his jumper is on, and during some, he flat out sucks. I prefer Jefferson since he can take it to the hoop more and that means more consistency.

The FG% tells a different story, but I dunno, I just feel more comfy with Jefferson.

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Coatesvillain

Richard Jefferson.

It's hard for me to say that, but a year ago, I was saying that Desmond Mason was better than Jefferson. I was really wrong about that one, because Jefferson has stepped up his game a lot in the past season. I thought he was a one dimensional player who couldn't shoot, who couldn't drive, and could only finish.. I was wrong.

Jefferson is such a great athlete, and he brings a little everything to the game, a very heady player who seems to step his game up exactly when his team needs it the most. What he did to Detroit in the triple OT game spoke for itself, no one else played that well against that Detroit defense all post season.

Peja has the edge in shooting, and he is good at moving without the ball, but there's nothing he really stands out ahead of Jefferson at. And remember Jefferson has improved vastly every year, just imagine how he'll be next season.

I'll say, I've never been this wrong in a season's time about any player in my life.

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"Matt!"

I don't know how you can say Peja can't improve, considering how far along he came in defense this year alone?

Peja has the advantage in shooter, by far. If you think RJ is even close you're kidding yourself. Yes, I know how much RJ improved, I live in Jersey and my mom is a huge Nets fan, I watch them constantly. But his passing still isn't anything special, he's okay. I think Peja basically takes the entire offensive side of the ball, since he's gotten more versatile in the recent years. He has more of a drive/catch & shoot/pull up/move without the ball offense now, instead of just catch & shoot.

The guy shot 48/43/93 this year, that's just incredible for one of the main guys in an offense.

How RJ loses points by being in the Nets "three-pronged offense", I don't know, since plus Kittles those were the only 10ppg scorers on the Nets. Whereas the Kings only had SEVEN (six for most of the year) so I can see where RJ was more likley to get lost.

RJ is clearly better than Peja on defesne, I'm not going to argue that, but it's getting closer. Peja is starting to become a Bird defender, using craftiness to get the ball from his man, or just keep him from the basket. Peja simply knows the game, and uses that for anticipation, not relying totally on athleticism.

I'd take Peja, but I wouldn't be upset if I had to take RJ, either.

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ian

as far as i understand it, it's "who is the better player today," not who will be the better player in 5 years...i think that's led to some confusion.

Aurelino

Just throwing some numbers, for fun. Here's the FGA per game for 2003-04

RJ 13.6
Kidd 14.3
KMartin 13.8
KKittles 11.7

Peja 17.1
Bibby 14.2
BMiler 10.1
Christie 8.8
Divac 8.6
BJackson 11.9

I am not including Webber because he only played 23 games. You can see RJ isn't getting nearly as many shots as Peja because there's more even sharing of the ball between the starting 5.

The reasons for Peja's greater ppg are

1) he takes (and makes) a high % of 3pt shots. More than 1/3 of his FG made are 3 pointers. This is more due to his and Kings' style of play.

2) He is the best FT shooter in the league. RJ actually got to the line nearly 50 more times than Peja but Peja coneverted more.

Also, anyone who thinks RJ's passing ability is strictly average didn't watch him enough in the latter part of the season.

And just while we're at it, let'd throw in some playoff stats

RJ - 19.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.8 apg, shooting at .418
Peja 17.5 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.5 apg, shooting at .384


Oh, and I forgot to mention defense but I guess there's no disagreement on that aspect of the comparison.

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Tragedy

this kid basically summed it up

"Matt!"

Reasons number one and two are total BULL**** responses. Peja is a better SCORER, because he scores more points. He shoots better percentages. Your excuses are saying RJ would be a better scorer if Peja wasn't a better shooter, which is utter crap. If RJ could hit 3's as well as Peja, he'd shoot them too.

RJ's passing ability is still nothing to write home about, I don't know what Nets games you're watching. He does pass VERY well on the fast break, and has good decision making skills, but overall passing I feel Peja is superior. Partially this is height, partially experience, but I think Peja is a better swing and halfcourt passer.

The regular season numbers I'll give you without Webber, but we can't ignore his impact on the playoffs. I'm not going to come here and try to say Peja played his best, because he didn't, but Webber really ****ed the Kings continuity up at the end of the season/postseason.

The D is RJ no question, but remember, Peja is no slouch anymore. He can stop people, he's no longer a matador.

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Aurelino

The discussion here is about who is a better overall player and that's why I made those points. The essence of them is the fact that Peja is a great shooter (FG and FT) and he is miles ahead of Jefferson in that aspect of the game. Kings' system also allows Peja to take a lot of 3 pointers. It is also not just a matter of ability, its also a question of being the #1 option. Baron Davis, Jamal Crawford, Tracy McGrady all took more than 500 three-pointers in 2003-04 but only managed to shoot .321, .317 and .339 from that range.

When defenses tightened up in the playoffs, Peja's output dropped off alarmingly from 24.2 ppg to 17.5 ppg. His shooting % dropped, naturally.

RJ's FG% dropped off in the playoffs too as you'd expect (playing 7 games against the best defense in the league) BUT his production still increased from regular season. RJ was able to find a way to help his team more even when his shot was not falling.

Jefferson is an excellent half-court passer and not all of his assists are on the break. When Kidd and Martin were out, he averaged nearly 7apg and after that his role as a creator and ball-handler increased.

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Kezersoze

Richard Jefferson hands down but Iam going to shut up for now cause I'am a big RJ/NETS fan

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ian

Just like the Nets system allows Jefferson to be on the break. You can argue his merits in the half-court, but I think we can both agree that if you take away the break his stats would not be as good as they are now.

"Matt!"

Stojakovic was the number one option on a team that had option 1a, option 1b, and option 1c, and even later option 1d. Stoja, Miller, Bibby, and Webber were all fully capable up putting up 25 points on any night.

While I understand where you're coming from with these points, I don't think I'm going to agree with you, and vice versa. I just think, as an overall player, Peja's far more advanced game make up for any other "deficiancies" he has in his game where RJ takes the advantage.

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ufm19

peja

third in MVP voting. nuff said even tho he is primarily a jump shooter while RJ has much more potential and is a complete player. Peja is a great passer and defender tho. I'd stick with him

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