# Who's Better.Part#3



## CLUTCH#41 (Mar 22, 2005)

Mbenga or Pavel.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Ah damn!

You've got to be kidding! I was coming to make this EXACT thread soon


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## aussiewill (Jan 20, 2005)

ATM they are still so very very raw, they are still on the cow lol. IMO DJ will be the better player as he has far superior strength I beleive he could be a poor mans Shaq in the future. The Mavs roster is absolutely awesome atm with the exception of TAW :biggrin:. In 3 years or so I could see our starting lineup as DJ, Dirk, JHo, Quis and Harris. This could be the next generation as the most balanced team. There are only good things to come for this team !!!

:jump:


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Wow, I've got no earthly idea. I've only see Mbenga used as the "Hack-a-Shaq" dummy, and I haven't seen Pavel play at all.


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## soulhunter (Nov 2, 2004)

I have to go with Benga for this one. Both players are projects and are still extremely raw, Pavel has height (7'5 or so) and that is about it, he has a big frame but isn't overly strong and is fairly immobile (as expected). DJ on the other hand is still 7 foot tall but posesses a much more gifted athletic ability, he's incredibly strong and has a massive leap and a good sense of agility about him.

Both DJ and Pavel have been recieving play time recently and have done fairly limited things with thier playing time. Both commit fouls when playing defence and they will for another year or so until they learn the NBA game. However DJ has had many blocks (a while back he had a few games with one or two blocks) Pavel ha yet to be given enough minutes for him to REALLY give an indication of his talent. 

Both are limited once again on offence but there is a clear advantage to DJ he has a nice hook shot which he showcased a while back and is ferocious when he dunks the ball.

Overall I'd go with DJ motre athletiscm and muscle and at this stage probably more talent


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## The Future7 (Feb 24, 2005)

I have to go with DJ. He hit a fadeaway at the buzzer against the Cavs.


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## mavsman (Jun 11, 2003)

I am definitely going with Pavel. He is 3 years younger than D.J. and at 7'5" and 300 lbs he is going to find a place to contribute. I think his superior size and young age gives him a much bigger upside than D.J. Give him a couple of Pete Newell's big man camps along with a couple of summer leagues where he can get some real time on the court and I think we are going to be very happy that we made that deal to draft him. Big men take longer than any other positions to develop. The only way I see him not someday being a starter in this league is if he was a complete stiff and from what I have seen of him he has some coordination. He will never be quick but as we are seeing with Shawn Bradley under Avery, there is a place for a big guy if you use him right.


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## Kunlun (Jun 22, 2003)

aussiewill said:


> IMO DJ will be the better player as he has far superior strength I beleive he could be a poor mans Shaq in the future.


How poor are you thinking? How is he similar to Shaq at all?


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

Who's better now? Neither are worth the argument right now.

Who'll be better? DJ. 

He has the chance to be good to very good as a shotblocker/interior defender. Pavel has the potential to eventually be at best a Zyrdrunas Illgauskus, but I have my doubt as to whether he can reach there. He's slow, not particularly strong, I don't think 5 years from now Pavel will be better than DJ. I don't know how good Pavel will be, and DJ has shown a bit more promise as far as what he can ultimately be for us.


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## mavsman (Jun 11, 2003)

_Dre_ said:


> Who's better now? Neither are worth the argument right now.
> 
> Who'll be better? DJ.
> 
> He has the chance to be good to very good as a shotblocker/interior defender. Pavel has the potential to eventually be at best a Zyrdrunas Illgauskus, but I have my doubt as to whether he can reach there. He's slow, not particularly strong, I don't think 5 years from now Pavel will be better than DJ. I don't know how good Pavel will be, and DJ has shown a bit more promise as far as what he can ultimately be for us.


Nobody knows who will be better yet. But I certainly disagree with your statement about Pavel not being particularly strong. He is as strong as an Ox. Strength will never be one of Pavel's weaknesses. Speed maybe. Did you see Pavel toss Anderson Varejao about 12 feet back with one swipe of his arm? He is strong and will likely get stronger as most big guys do.

Whether or not he will ultimately suck remains to be seen. And if he does turn into Zyrdrunas Illgauskus I would be thrilled. Illgauskus is a very good player. I realize it is the Easter Conference but Big Z is an All-Star. If Pavel is ever good enough to be an All-Star we should all be happy.


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## aussiewill (Jan 20, 2005)

Kunlun said:


> How poor are you thinking? How is he similar to Shaq at all?


I wish you would read what I am saying better. I said that in my opinion DJ could be in the future a poor mans Shaq, which does *not * mean he will go dominate like he does every night. Have you ever seen they guy, he is pretty buff and being so you could imagine that he could have his way with other centers around the league if he could develop his skills. At the moment I don't think he deserves to be even in the active 12, but injuries have him there for the moment. Will he necessarily become a poor mans Shaq, who knows, only time can tell. In the future don't come and make my opinion look ****, read through my whole post carefully before hand.


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

mavsman said:


> Did you see Pavel toss Anderson Varejao about 12 feet back with one swipe of his arm?


Actually, no. I didn't see that.

But that "strong" reference took it's cue from most references to Pavel being big and frail in the Muresan mold. I haven't gotten a chance to see Pavel this year, so I haven't seen his improvement in that regard with my own eyes. If that event indeed happened, than I guess I'm proven wrong.



> Whether or not he will ultimately suck remains to be seen. And if he does turn into Zyrdrunas Illgauskus I would be thrilled. Illgauskus is a very good player. I realize it is the Easter Conference but Big Z is an All-Star. If Pavel is ever good enough to be an All-Star we should all be happy.


I agree wholeheartedly, and I didn't mean for my post to come off, if it did, that I thought him turning into Z would be a disappointment.


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## gambitnut (Jan 4, 2003)

You can't teach height. I don't know much about either, but I'd rather take a chance on Pavel.


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

gambitnut said:


> You can't teach height. I don't know much about either, but I'd rather take a chance on Pavel.


 DJ's 7-0 too, so they're both pretty amply sized for the Center position. That statement is certainly true, but I think it's more a matter of skills with those two.


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## SMDre (Jan 28, 2005)

As long as Povel doesn’t turn into another Darko (So much potential but a slow learner), than I will be happy.


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