Everything Valanciunas

[Cody73]

JV's playing better on D, his issue is the refs. If he was out there, he'd be getting a lot of fouls in the past few minutes cause the refs love doing that to big men in the final minutes.

[G__Deane]

JV is currently top 5 in scoring and rebounds on a per minute basis among all centres. Could he produce like that if he played 34 minutes a game? I believe so if he continued to get lots of touches through the game. That seems to be happening more. I'd be so frustrated in past years when JV would get fed for the first 5 minutes, score 6 or 8 points and then go out and be seen again at the end of the second quarter if then. Now that his defence is so improved I see no reason for the minutes not to go up; and they have been of late. Hopefully he'll get lots of usage in the playoffs. Seems a more consistent offensive option sometimes when the jump shots aren't falling.

What weird is there was a Kyle interview last year when DeRozan was injured. Kyle said he was watching game film and actually embarrassed to see how often JV was wide open and ignored. He started feeding him more and JV had a few truly great games going. And the obvious byproduct of that was his defense AND offense picked up.

Then DD returned along with the constant ISO ball, screens by JV and no touches. They didn't learn until this season.

[S.R.]

To be fair, the reason why JV hasn't been out there in clutch time was because of his defense. That's actually the most exciting thing about JV's improvement this year. He's making great decisions on D.... discouraging drivers, preventing lobs & dump-off, while still keeping his man off the boards. Basically, he's dominating the paint. For some reason, it seems like the lightbulb has gone on for him at that end of the floor. He also has great chemistry with Ibaka.

That said, other than clutch time, there was no reason in the past for not utilizing JV more, like we've all been saying for 4+ years.

The defensive system is better in general, more perimeter switching means JV is hung out to dry trying to defend 2 on 1's far less often, but also that guy busts his ass getting around the court at the defensive end - take a few possessions to watch how hard he works at showing, recovering, helping, and generally covering ground moving around. He's bringing high intensity far, far more consistently than he ever used to. It's a great reminder that the guy's only 25 and is still improving.

[Nilanka]

What changed with Jonas' defense? We're not really talking about a gradual improvement. He was crap for years and now he's a stud. Is the simple answer just familiarity with the schemes? Confidence? both?

[rocwell]

What changed with Jonas' defense? We're not really talking about a gradual improvement. He was crap for years and now he's a stud. Is the simple answer just familiarity with the schemes? Confidence? both?

He's moving really well.

[JawsGT]

yeah, not sure if his quickness has improved, but he is definitely getting around that end of the court better. Seems he has a better idea of where and when to be defensively. Although he's always been a good rebounder, his positioning for defensive boards seems improved as well.

[Nilanka]

He's moving really well.

Right, but what was preventing him from moving before? I know he's shed some weight this year, but that doesn't necessarily explain his improved decision-making, and ability to read & anticipate.

Maybe it's just that he's in a groove offensively, getting consistent minutes, and that confidence is transferring to every other aspect of his game too. Either way, it's been an amazing revelation.

[golden]

The defensive system is better in general, more perimeter switching means JV is hung out to dry trying to defend 2 on 1's far less often, but also that guy busts his ass getting around the court at the defensive end - take a few possessions to watch how hard he works at showing, recovering, helping, and generally covering ground moving around. He's bringing high intensity far, far more consistently than he ever used to. It's a great reminder that the guy's only 25 and is still improving.

And I have no doubt that his extra intensity is in no small part related to being more involved on offense this year. You see the same type of thing with Ibaka at times. His offense energizes his defense. Only a player with negative offensive skills like Biyombo would actually be content just doing the defensive dirty work and being completely ignored on offense, IMO.

[rocwell]

Right, but what was preventing him from moving before? I know he's shed some weight this year, but that doesn't necessarily explain his improved decision-making, and ability to read & anticipate.

Maybe it's just that he's in a groove offensively, getting consistent minutes, and that confidence is transferring to every other aspect of his game too. Either way, it's been an amazing revelation.

Quick thinking + confidence can do wonders for someone like JV.

[LJ2]

What changed with Jonas' defense? We're not really talking about a gradual improvement. He was crap for years and now he's a stud. Is the simple answer just familiarity with the schemes? Confidence? both?

Perhaps he's hit a new level or is benefiting from having a defensive oriented big like serge mentor him. Perhaps the team changed their schemes on D to his benefit?

I know there is a column on the front page which comes out with articles once in a while featuring the Raptors playbook. Does anyone play close attention to this and can say if there have been any changes to the Raptors defence from earlier in the season?

[KHD]

And I have no doubt that his extra intensity is in no small part related to being more involved on offense this year. You see the same type of thing with Ibaka at times. His offense energizes his defense. Only a player with negative offensive skills like Biyombo would actually be content just doing the defensive dirty work and being completely ignored on offense, IMO.

I think this is a big one.

JV is heavily involved in creating the offence these days. The obvious examples are his PnR touches, occasional post-ups, and finishing dump-off passes. But even on plays he isn't the primary option, he's been asked to handle the rock outside the 3pt line and create opportunities with dribble hand-offs into screen plays.

He is handling the ball and initiating plays very frequently in the new offence. Must be a nice change for him.

[tDotted]

Being more involved in the offense as well as playing less minutes has allowed JV to play with more intensity and produce at a higher level than before

[3inthekeon]

JV's per game front court and paint touches are almost identical to last year. His usage is only up about 10% from last year.

[white men can't jump]

JV's per game front court and paint touches are almost identical to last year. His usage is only up about 10% from last year.

The way he's getting them is different though, especially the high up touches. In the past our bigs would mostly be stationary, waiting for action designed to free up just one guy for the handoff. Not really engaging. There is more movement now and the bigs are free to react and be like "oh, they are taking away the pass on side A, let me turn and try to create a better option on side B".

A minor kind of change that makes a big difference for our offence, and keeps the bigs more engaged.

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[DogeLover1234]

He's moving really well.

It's really pretty amazing how he managed to transform himself in one off season. How many of the big centers that tried to model their body and defensive game after the early/mid 2010's Roy Hibbert are now net positive players?