Zaza Pachulia has got off to a great start in Milwaukee and looks more at home than ever.
When you hear the name “Zaza Pachulia”, doesn’t it seem like he has been in the league forever? Pachulia was drafted in the second round at 42nd in the 2003 draft and is now a experienced NBA veteran. Zaza has spent most of his career in Atlanta, often playing as the first big off the bench for the Hawks behind Al Horford and Josh Smith. Between 2008-2013 the Hawks made the playoffs every season, that run of six successive post season lies sixth in the history of NBA post season streaks. The Hawks won a lot of games in that stretch, but never really took the jump to be a contender, however in that time Zaza guarded just about every premier big men in the eastern conference; Shaq, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard the list goes on. What you should take from this is there are not many NBA vets out there with experience of six NBA post seasons who are arguably in or just entering their prime. Pachulia is still just 29 and despite having a change of scenery playing in Milwaukee this season I expect his strong veteran presence to have a positive impact on the host of young bigs Larry Sanders, John Henson, Ersan Ilyasova, Ekpe Udoh, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Pachulia has started the season strongly and is making up for some of the lackluster play by highly paid Buck’s big man Larry Sanders. Sanders has been almost nonexistent, so far this year averaging 2.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 17.3 minutes, compared to last season’s 9.8, 9.5, 2.8 and 27.3. Sanders’s numbers will obviously improve, but this slow start has Bucks fans worrying he may regress after get a big money contract extension this off season. However, Pachulia has picked up much of the slack and has lead the Bucks to their only win of the season so far with a 20 point 9 rebound, 4 assists effort against Boston. As of right now Bucks fans will be happy Pachulia is in Milwaukee. Head coach Larry Drew (formerly with Atlanta) was the one responsible for Pachulia to come to Milwaukee.
“I pushed really hard,” Drew said before the Bucks’ regular-season home opener against Toronto Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. “Just looking at this team, I thought one of the things that (the Bucks) needed was a big, physical guy, a bruiser type guy.
Despite not being a star, it is fascinating to see such a developed relationship between a coach and what many would call a “role player”. This just goes to show how vital a small piece of a team can be, you’re not going to win anything by just having one or two good players, you need guys who know their role and feel confident in fulfilling it. Zaza, a native of the Republic of Georgia doesn’t know much of America so when he finds something good, someone he can trust he felt compelled to stick with it.
“LD made a lot of a difference in my decision, I have known LD for a long time. I know how he coaches, I know how he trusts me and how I trust him. He played a big, big role in me coming here.”
So far Pachulia has proved his worth averaging 26mpg 13ppg 7.7rpg 2.3apg and 1.3spg. Those numbers are not flashy, but very solid for a backup centre. A lot of the time Pachulia’s influence does not always appear in the box score, his high level of basketball IQ allows him to significantly improve the team’s ball movement compared to when Henson or Sanders are in. If we look at Pachulia’s Player Efficiency Rating he is currently third in the league at 27.73. Now this is obviously a small sample size and at this point measuring anyone’s PER is limited in what it can tell us, but it does suggest that Pachulia has had a great start to his Buck’s career!
By James Plowright
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