Everything Valanciunas

[white men can't jump]

Vucevic is a stud. I thought I heard on raps broadcast 6th year, but perhaps it was 6 yrs since Demar played w him at USC.

Val is unlikely to ever have as much scoring and rebounding talent as vucevic but he could be very effective if he picked up his intensity. We also don't need him to score 18-20 per night for the raps to be successful. But 10 boards would be nice. Easy put backs converted, less bone headed turnovers, less getting frustrated and letting that affect his focus and even effort. All achievable.

Also people are overreacting to one bad game from a young kid with a busted up hand. He's been solid so far this season. The only complaint I think anyone could legitly have against him up to last night is the missing of gimmies....but that's never been a problem for him before, so I don't see why anyone should assume it will be persistent.

Otherwise, he is clearly faster than last year, and this has shown especially on D, where so far he's been a better rim protector with his rotations being sharper.

The turnovers have only been the last couple of games. Perhaps there's a correlation to his busted up strong hand? Before that he only had 3 turnovers across all the rest of our games.

Rebounding has been fine. He's playing under 23 mpg and grabbing over 7 boards. He's our best rebounder and rebounding has been more a team issue.

To me the biggest issue is his confidence and focus, and finding better ways to utilize him offensively. He's still not good enough in the post for that to be basically the only area he gets touches in. He gets hardly any passes as a roll man, or on dump offs from others' drives. And the more he struggles in the post in a game, the more it affects his focus, especially offensively. Need to find a way to get him easy buckets to help get him rolling, and he's gotta do a better job converting...but again, considering he's always been solid scoring around the basket, I don't see his missed gimmies as a long-term issue.

*Also need to remember, while annoying, he's started slow every season.

[MixxAOR]

He's not going to become Greg Monroe right? JV's ceiling I mean

[white men can't jump]

He's not going to become Greg Monroe right? JV's ceiling I mean

I don't know. As a C he's probably already better defensively than Monroe. But he'll never be the post player Monroe is. It's hard to compare when guys have very obviously different games.

[nubreed000]

WTF happened to Jonas last night? The dude was an absolute pylon. Deserved an F- in the quick recap.

It felt like it was just a summer ago that we were projecting him to be a top-5 centre in the near future. Well right now, he looks hard pressed to ever surpass Howard, Cousins, M.Gasol, Drummond, Vucevic, Chandler, Noah, Horford, Jordan, Lopez, Hibbert, etc. Maybe even add Olynyk to that list.

I want to remind myself to be patient, that he's only in his 3rd year. But looking objectively, I see a player whose low-post offensive repertoire is weak, doesn't have good defensive instincts, is slow-footed, not a great leaper, and doesn't have a soft touch around the basket.

There's a part of me that wonders whether he's actually our franchise "anchor" that we once thought. He'll be a serviceable player, no doubt, but a star-in-the-making? Not sure I see it anymore.

I'm entirely in the same boat as you right now.

And it's not just one bad game. His terrible pump fakes, getting stripped by 6ft guards, missing easy baskets, and not fighting for rebounds has been a recurring theme for a while now. I get it that he's young, but you would think that by year 3 one or more of these things would be addressed. And the idea that he needs to be given the ball more doesn't work. He HAS been given the ball, and many a times he can't finish or he turns it over. Eventually teammates will stop trusting him.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: our starting front court is our weakest link and we need a starting calibre Power Forward to play beside Jonas, or a starting calibre Centre to play beside Amir. Those 2 together just isn't working because neither guy can stay on the court for longer than 25 minutes from the looks of it. Amir played all of last season on a bad ankle, and within 2 games he's already injured this season. I love the guy, but let's not pretend like he's supposed to be our full time starting PF that will win games for us because 90% of the time he's injured.

[Nilanka]

I'm entirely in the same boat as you right now.

And it's not just one bad game. His terrible pump fakes, getting stripped by 6ft guards, missing easy baskets, and not fighting for rebounds has been a recurring theme for a while now. I get it that he's young, but you would think that by year 3 one or more of these things would be addressed. And the idea that he needs to be given the ball more doesn't work. He HAS been given the ball, and many a times he can't finish or he turns it over. Eventually teammates will stop trusting him.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: our starting front court is our weakest link and we need a starting calibre Power Forward to play beside Jonas, or a starting calibre Centre to play beside Amir. Those 2 together just isn't working because neither guy can stay on the court for longer than 25 minutes from the looks of it. Amir played all of last season on a bad ankle, and within 2 games he's already injured this season. I love the guy, but let's not pretend like he's supposed to be our full time starting PF that will win games for us because 90% of the time he's injured.

And neither one is any semblance of an offensive threat that needs to be game-planned for.

[Chr1s1anL]

Bebe2016

[NaijaBoy17]

I think Val is fine. He'll pick it back up once he's fully healthy.

What's really exciting me about Jonas is that his free throw attempt rate (0.761) is Dwight-esque right now.

His minutes have been weird so far due to a combination of foul trouble and injuries. He's putting up 16-11 and 2 blocks per 36 right now though which is quite promising.

[Nilanka]

anyone see that video of jv working with magloire
jamal looks like a baby beside him now

Probably because only babies tuck in their t-shirts....

[Mediumcore]

Reflecting on JV's issues so far this season, I think it would have been amazing for his confidene if we had made a move for KG this past off season. Just having that type of intense player who gets all the players around him jacked up and confident is exactly what JV needs. Being able to practice and be menotred by one of the all time greats could really accelerate his growth.

[Superjudge]

Reflecting on JV's issues so far this season, I think it would have been amazing for his confidene if we had made a move for KG this past off season. Just having that type of intense player who gets all the players around him jacked up and confident is exactly what JV needs. Being able to practice and be menotred by one of the all time greats could really accelerate his growth.

I cant disagree here. It would be a great influence.

[planetmars]

Reflecting on JV's issues so far this season, I think it would have been amazing for his confidene if we had made a move for KG this past off season. Just having that type of intense player who gets all the players around him jacked up and confident is exactly what JV needs. Being able to practice and be menotred by one of the all time greats could really accelerate his growth.

KG has a no-trade clause.. so he'd want to come here.. but yeah he would have been an awesome mentor for JV.

[Other Scott]

Zach Lowe chimes in on Valanciunas, and mostly not in a positive way:

6. Jonas Valanciunas’s Slow Passing

Valanciunas is a real threat on the pick-and-roll and in the post, with a burgeoning power game and a loping righty hook that he can get off over almost anyone. But he won’t approach peak lethality until he can read the floor at full speed and whip smart passes.

Valanciunas draws extra help on post-ups, but he’s slow recognizing open players, and he can make only the most obvious passes at this point. He can’t yet anticipate defensive rotations and find the player who’s about to come open — instead of the guy who already is, but won’t be much longer.

The same is true on the pick-and-roll. Valanciunas will catch the ball in space just below the foul line, with the defense in the middle of a crisis-level rotation. Passing opportunities abound, but they vanish fast, and Valanciunas notices them only once it’s too late.

This will come with time, but the Raps are ready to make noise now, and they need a fully operational two-way center.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Zach Lowe chimes in on Valanciunas, and mostly not in a positive way:

The only way for him to become better in those circumstances is through practice, in live game situations. He needs to be fed the ball a lot more, if he's going to improve his recognition. Not only will the touches in-game help him, but they will also provide him with more video to review, more real situations he's experienced to replay in practice, etc...

You can run through fundamentals in practice, but there is no substitute for live game action against real competition.

[Nilanka]

The only way for him to become better in those circumstances is through practice, in live game situations. He needs to be fed the ball a lot more, if he's going to improve his recognition. Not only will the touches in-game help him, but they will also provide him with more video to review, more real situations he's experienced to replay in practice, etc...

You can run through fundamentals in practice, but there is no substitute for live game action against real competition.

Don't worry. In terms of his development, Casey says Jonas is exactly where he's supposed to be :|

[Other Scott]

The only way for him to become better in those circumstances is through practice, in live game situations. He needs to be fed the ball a lot more, if he's going to improve his recognition. Not only will the touches in-game help him, but they will also provide him with more video to review, more real situations he's experienced to replay in practice, etc...

You can run through fundamentals in practice, but there is no substitute for live game action against real competition.

But that's a double edged sword for a team trying to win. Right now going to JV is an endpoint for your possession. It works, but if it starts being used in larger doses then teams are going to adjust quickly, just because there aren't many places the ball can go to from a JV post-up.

He is up to 20% usage this year, which is pretty good for a 1 dimensional offensive player. I think he has to prove he can do more with the ball before you put him over the 21-22% mark.