Everything Valanciunas

[consmap]

On the bright side, last few games he's been getting some good burn in the 4th. Could use a few more touches though but meh.

Still inconsistent (on both ends) but when he's on... he's ON. Just needs more time to bring everything together me thinks, and he needs to continue to close out games if he plays well.

[JimiCliff]

Are you calling me a Jonas troll?

I see right through your avatar

[mcHAPPY]

There is a difference between being held accountable and not being permitted to make a mistake.

When JV is permitted to play through mistakes, I think he loosens up, becomes more consistent in his effort and demeanour, then we all see what he is really going to be (good or bad).

If you knew the slightest mess up was going to lead to the bench and you really wanted to play, I think we all might be a little stressed out and defeated at times.

Coaches need to inspire confidence.

[enlightenment]

I see right through your avatar

Maybe im being ironic?

But this is my view so far: JV is going to be the best player on this team eventually, at this point however he is not capable of locking down the paint consistently on what should be an elite-defensive team. The better defensive lineup has been to have Amir at C and PPat/JJ at PF.

JV needs to have the fundamentals DRILLED into his head, they need to become second nature, and I have seen a lot of improvements in his habits. There is still a ton to improve, and I am okay with him getting benched when he makes a mistake because he will eventually learn to put in complete games day in and day out, and when that happens he will force Casey to play him 35 mpg! Casey has set the standard, and its up to JV to go and reach beyond it.

[consmap]

Also wanted to say that for all the talk about the fan base having to be patient with JV's development, I'm hoping that JV is being patient with himself. In the words of Greg Pop: "It's supposed to be hard!!!"

[Superjudge]

JV is still borderline stiff. Getting better though. In close games, where every possession down the stretch counts, and you are in a year where WINS are the goal...he can't be left on the floor, he makes too many gaffs. As the gaffs decrease his time will increase. I think it's funny how guys complain about this. This is how you develope young talent that may one day be great, you do it slowly.

[special1]

Who is taking his minutes that is contributing more to wins and how so?

When I see Jonas, I see an effective offense player who is ignored for extremely long stretches of the game, loses steam when playing long minutes that are due to horrible minute distribution by the coach, and does let the poor decisions of his coach, ISO-tenancies of his teammates, and bad foul calls influence his effort and demeanour (which is something he needs to fix). I also see a young man learning the NBA game from the bench when he should be getting more opportunity on the floor.

Last night he played the 2nd most minutes on the team behind Lowry! What more do you want??? Obviously, it doesn't matter how much minutes he plays.....the JV "fan club" just keeps on pushing the same talk. JV is getting his playing time.....don't blame the coach. This "JV isn't getting enough playing time" is crazy/fanboy talk.

[Superjudge]

Don't sweat that post Special1, read the whole thing, its shot to incredible shit from the get go, the minutes part is justa cherry.

[mcHAPPY]

Don't sweat that post Special1, read the whole thing, its shot to incredible shit from the get go, the minutes part is justa cherry.

Coming from you Craig, I take this as a compliment.

Thank you.

[Superjudge]

There are still openings in my remedial Basketball class for beginners if you're still interested.

:P

[mcHAPPY]

Last night he played the 2nd most minutes on the team behind Lowry! What more do you want??? Obviously, it doesn't matter how much minutes he plays.....the JV "fan club" just keeps on pushing the same talk. JV is getting his playing time.....don't blame the coach. This "JV isn't getting enough playing time" is crazy/fanboy talk.

The last 3 games he has been getting good minutes.

Hopefully that continues and hopefully he ups his play to justify the minutes.

Before that he was a third year player playing nearly 4 minutes behind his 2nd year average despite improvement on the (supposedly) most important part of the game for the Raptors (defense).


As I said in a previous post, there is a difference between held accountable and not being permitted to make a mistake.

[mcHAPPY]

There are still openings in my remedial Basketball class for beginners if you're still interested.

:P

Sorry dude.

I don't trust a guy who sells cars about anything.

[Superjudge]

I guess there is also a difference between unbiased critique and ignoring obvious events that shouldn't be ignored right?

The mistakes he makes aren't missed shots, or bad fouls. he is missing actual fundamental plays on defence, getting beat back by the other big, forgetting to rotate, not knowing where to rotate, becoming a spectator on defence and allowing himself to get shuffled under the rim in the process making him irrelevant for both defence and rebounding too often.

These are really big MENTAL mistakes. And you sit for these as a young player because thats how you learn. These aren't "rep" plays, they are plays that show where your mental preparation is at. The raptors are handling JV perfectly right now, hes getting big minutes, earning repetition, getting better. But they are also training him for 70 games from now.....they are going to need him to think like Hayes come playoff time, they need to be able to trust him. Right now he isn't showing he can be trusted and it takes time, and a SHIT load of mental effort on his end to get there.

I kinda think all this talk of poor coaching is ridiculous....like, a 180 degree rotation from the truth. JV is being coached beautifully, and his improvement is proof of that.

[Superjudge]

Sorry dude.

I don't trust a guy who sells cars about anything.

Bit of a cunty post, but thats cool.....

[mcHAPPY]

I guess there is also a difference between unbiased critique and ignoring obvious events that shouldn't be ignored right?

The mistakes he makes aren't missed shots, or bad fouls. he is missing actual fundamental plays on defence, getting beat back by the other big, forgetting to rotate, not knowing where to rotate, becoming a spectator on defence and allowing himself to get shuffled under the rim in the process making him irrelevant for both defence and rebounding too often.

These are really big MENTAL mistakes. And you sit for these as a young player because thats how you learn. These aren't "rep" plays, they are plays that show where your mental preparation is at. The raptors are handling JV perfectly right now, hes getting big minutes, earning repetition, getting better. But they are also training him for 70 games from now.....they are going to need him to think like Hayes come playoff time, they need to be able to trust him. Right now he isn't showing he can be trusted and it takes time, and a SHIT load of mental effort on his end to get there.

I kinda think all this talk of poor coaching is ridiculous....like, a 180 degree rotation from the truth. JV is being coached beautifully, and his improvement is proof of that.

Nice post, Craig.

I'll agree to disagree on some parts but overall - great post.

It is a shame a guy with such insight and communication skills resorts to being an @ss as often as you do.

You have a good knowledge of the game. It would be a welcome addition to the forum, from my perspective and in my opinion, if you took the time to elaborate more frequently.