The Sixers lone free agent acquisition (to this point), Primoz Brezec, will be the focus of our second
Predicting 2010 piece. After the jump we'll dive into the stats and the 7-footer's gangster roots.
Fresh from a stint in Europe, the Sixers brought in the 7'1" Primoz Brezec to ostensibly fill Theo Ratliff's shoes. I say ostensibly because Primoz's game resembles Willie Green's more Theo's. He's a jump-shooting, end-of-the-bench center, and I truly hope his DNPCDs outnumber his appearances this season.
But Brezec isn't a complete waste, he will almost certainly bring humor to the team (or at least the team's bloggers.) Here's
one anecdote from his time in Toronto. Apparently, Brezec took a swing at a mascot and followed the vicious blow up with fighting words. Another time, he was the first man to ever refer to Sam Mitchell as "
A gangster."
And now the stats:
My predictions above are per game, for the games in which Primoz actually steps on the floor, which should number fewer than 40. I see an uptick in his shooting stats, mainly as a self-fulfilling prophecy. He was reportedly brought in because he's an offensively gifted big man. When he's out there, he'll let them fly. Honestly, he's got to be nothing more than a warm body behind Dalembert, Speights, Jason Smith and Elton Brand at the five. Maybe 6 fouls when the Sixers are matching up against Dwight Howard or Shaq and Sammy gets into early foul trouble. Any larger role from Slovenian Slugger would be a waste in my eyes.
Up next: Royal Ivey.
Of the 12 players under contract so far, this guy is clearly #12. After reading about him, I really don't understand why they signed him. Wasn't there anybody available who could play a little defense?