The Minnesota Timberwolves are extremely deep in their frontcourt but still rookie Nemanja Bjelica has earned himself a good amount of playing time. Coming into the season it looked as though Bjelica would struggle to find minutes as the fifth big man on the roster but he passed Adreian Payne on the depth chart and is the backup power forward. Bjelica has been pretty good so far this season but still has a lot to learn about the NBA including what's a foul and what's not, according to Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Bjelica committed 13 fouls in his first three NBA games but he was able to limit himself to just one foul in the Timberwolves' last game. Bjelica played in Europe prior to coming over to the United States and there they allow much more physical play whereas in the NBA the fouls are called for much less which is something Bjelica will have to adjust to but interim head coach Sam Mitchell thinks he will.
"That's to be expected. It's a different game in Europe. They let you bang and do things a little different. In the NBA, they call things a little bit tighter. He's getting used to it," said Mitchell.
A good example of someone who went through the same thing for Timberwolves fans is Nikola Pekovic who made the same transition Bjelica is making. As a rookie Pekovic averaged 7.3 fouls per 36 minutes but one year later it went all the way down to 2.8 so it is an adjustment that he will likely make it just may not be as quick as fans would hope.
While the fouls can present somewhat of an issue Mitchell is more concerned about getting more out of Bjelica on offense. Mitchell said that he is a very good shooter but he doesn't look for his shot enough and that is evident by the fact that he has only taken 19 shots in the first four games. Bjelica's shooting percentages as of now are 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from three so it is clear why Mitchell wants him to take more shots.
Kevin Garnett starts games for the Timberwolves at the power forward spot but he has only averaged 15.8 minutes per game so it has been Bjelica that has been seeing most of the time there. Bjelica is averaging 5.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and Mitchell has been impressed with his play but once he learns what he can get away with on defense and gets more confidence in his shot the 27 year old Serbian has a chance to be a really good player.
