Everything Valanciunas

[white men can't jump]

I may sound like an old fart, but I hate how every team's offense is basically becoming "shoot as many 3s as we can". Every tea, looks the same now.

You dont sound old, you sound like a sports fan. It creates homogeneity, and in this specific example it creates a very uninteresting dynamic of "whoever's hot wins" where there's no struggle to influence the pace/style, just whoever can hit the most 3s wins. It's a crapshoot to watch, and this is at least the second article I've seen on this so far this season.

Some people like it, but this is the least excited/interested I've been in watching nba games in the 25 years I've been watching. There's no struggle of "which team will impose their will on the game" because so many try to do the same things.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[slaw]

Well he dominated the indy series without many plays run for him..

Playoff performances occur in very small sample sizes. They are not necessarily indicative of anything - good or bad.

[KeonClark]

You dont sound old, you sound like a sports fan. It creates homogeneity, and in this specific example it creates a very uninteresting dynamic of "whoever's hot wins" where there's no struggle to influence the pace/style, just whoever can hit the most 3s wins. It's a crapshoot to watch, and this is at least the second article I've seen on this so far this season.

Some people like it, but this is the least excited/interested I've been in watching nba games in the 25 years I've been watching. There's no struggle of "which team will impose their will on the game" because so many try to do the same things.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

Did somebody say...

This looks like a job for me!

[white men can't jump]

You don't see a difference in a 6'6 finesse go to scorer, and a 7' old school center?

Well considering this finesse goto scorer relies on shots in the lesst efficient area of the court at a high volume to score, and shots he was never making at an acceptable clip until this season...and he rarely actually dominates even on some of his great nights (ie an elite team has no problem letting Demar jack up 20+ shots to get his points if it means freezing out the rest of our scorers), then yes i have a problem with it because how good would Jonas look if he got 6-7 years of being able to do whatever garbage he wants offensively with no accountability on D to try and develop?

Even this year, at his highest production, there are alarming things about Demar's game. He depends on FTs a lot still, but he's attempting shots at the rim at his lowest rate ever (at least last time i looked a few days ago), which is typically the easiest area to draw FTs. He's basically shooting better than he ever has in the midrange and taking more shots than he ever has before in general. Demar's game is at least, if not more, out of date than JV's as he's basically a 1980s style wing volume scorer.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[Scraptor]

I can't argue with the rationale, but I have two issues.

First, how often has JV been given the opportunity to dominate, in terms of touches and/or competent passes? Half the time he does get the ball in the post, his teammates stand around, which tells every defender that this is a JV post-up call.

Second, even when JV has had a dominant - or at least highly efficient & effective - night, he still seems to get the hook more often than not.

It's that double standard we've talked about for years. Some guys have a long leash with Casey, some don't.

The other thing is, how is he supposed to get every offensive rebound when first, he's setting picks at the high post 80% of the time, meaning he's never going to get inside position on the opposing big, and then when our guys are shooting long jumpers he has to hedge his bets in case a long rebound goes the other way in transition?

It's just mystefying to me.

What I really don't like in that article is that JV is mentioned the breath after Kanter/Vucevic/Okafor and co. People respect Zach Lowe and having JV in that company is just going to solidify that perception that he may be the type of big the game is moving on from on. Which I don't believe is a set fact, because JV was more mobile before we put him on the Hibbert program.

[KHD]

Well considering this finesse goto scorer relies on shots in the lesst efficient area of the court at a high volume to score, and shots he was never making at an acceptable clip until this season...and he rarely actually dominates even on some of his great nights (ie an elite team has no problem letting Demar jack up 20+ shots to get his points if it means freezing out the rest of our scorers), then yes i have a problem with it because how good would Jonas look if he got 6-7 years of being able to do whatever garbage he wants offensively with no accountability on D to try and develop?

Even this year, at his highest production, there are alarming things about Demar's game. He depends on FTs a lot still, but he's attempting shots at the rim at his lowest rate ever (at least last time i looked a few days ago), which is typically the easiest area to draw FTs. He's basically shooting better than he ever has in the midrange and taking more shots than he ever has before in general. Demar's game is at least, if not more, out of date than JV's as he's basically a 1980s style wing volume scorer.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

yeah, he's currently shooting 25% of his shots from 10-16 feet and 31% of his shots from 16 feet to the 3pt line, up from 21% and 25% last year. Only 14% of his attempts are at the rim now compared to 23% last year.

It's alarming. He's shooting 50% from 10-16 feet and 42% from 16-3pt right now which hides things but the reality is that the shot selection has arguably regressed from last year. Let's hope he continues to shoot at nowitzki-like percentages or things could get ugly.

[KeonClark]

Well considering this finesse goto scorer relies on shots in the lesst efficient area of the court at a high volume to score, and shots he was never making at an acceptable clip until this season...and he rarely actually dominates even on some of his great nights (ie an elite team has no problem letting Demar jack up 20+ shots to get his points if it means freezing out the rest of our scorers), then yes i have a problem with it because how good would Jonas look if he got 6-7 years of being able to do whatever garbage he wants offensively with no accountability on D to try and develop?

Even this year, at his highest production, there are alarming things about Demar's game. He depends on FTs a lot still, but he's attempting shots at the rim at his lowest rate ever (at least last time i looked a few days ago), which is typically the easiest area to draw FTs. He's basically shooting better than he ever has in the midrange and taking more shots than he ever has before in general. Demar's game is at least, if not more, out of date than JV's as he's basically a 1980s style wing volume scorer.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

Yeah, but he's a hard worker and dwane casey loves him more than his own son. Valanciunas paints itty bitty basketball players and dwane is an old boy from the south he don't speak russian

Only 3/4 tongue in cheek

[SkywalkerAC]

Will people get over this 'Hibbert Program' thing already? That's not the way that player development works - one offseason of muscle-building doesn't make or break a players' future physique or development. The team has also worked to make him quicker through running/sprinting programs, but you don't hear jack about that.

At the end of the day, Jonas just isn't that quick of a guy - never was, even as a stringbean - and any extra bulk he's carrying is likely the fault of his daily dietary decisions, not his offseason workout plan 4 years ago.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

He's gotta force the issue. There is a clear and undeniable difference in jonas vs indy and early miami series vs jonas of right now, and he was really being fed much more.

For sure, it's absolutely on JV to take advantage of every opportunity he has, and it does get frustrating to settle for jumpers. On the other hand, just like other players on the team who shall not be mentioned, he sometimes needs to take shots to establish himself as a mid-range shooting threat, to create future driving opportunities. It's also hard to dominate a game when you're given maybe 3-5 chances to score a game, some of which are well off the low-post, and your other chances all come as a result of getting offensive boards (isn't that in itself dominating the glass?).

[white men can't jump]

Yeah, but he's a hard worker and dwane casey loves him more than his own son. Valanciunas paints itty bitty basketball players and dwane is an old boy from the south he don't speak russian

Only 3/4 tongue in cheek

Lmao

I really just never understood the double standard thing with Casey. Even Lowry was getting jobbed by Casey until we traded Jose. Ross playing behind veteran/washed up depth players. Does anyone really think benching Ross for AA for like two months in his rookie year when AA was shooting like 30% from the field was good for his development? It may not have been bad, but there's no way it was good. It taking the whole season before he benches Scola in the playoffs despite him being a huge problem on both ends of the court. Fine...you dont think Pat's a starter...but he fits with them and every guy you play over him has been worse than him since Amir left. What is the benefit? It's not good for the team or the player you end up having to rely on. JV getting benched for a Hayes or Gray...I must've missed them dominating inside and on the glass.

So much horseshit....

Oh and of course the latest Powell vs Carroll thing.

Basically if you're old or Demar you can get away with doing whatever you want out there.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[Chr1s1anL]

I'm trying to figure out how Deebo's season this year is anything but, dominant?

Honestly I just don't think JV works as hard as Lowry/Deebo. His national team coach mention it. Also on that recent podcast by Zach Lowe on all things Raptors one of those writers said "JV doesn't go hard all the time". For JV to survive in this new era he is going to have to work his ass off this summer!

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

[Chr1s1anL]

I'm glad some of you are finally seeing the light. Even though I said this two years ago. To survive as big in this league you have to be able to guard on the perimeter. No ifs or buts about it.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

[KeonClark]

I'm trying to figure out how Deebo's season this year is anything but, dominant.

Honestly I just don't think JV works as hard as Lowry/Deebo. His national team coach mention it. Also on that recent podcast by Zach Lowe on all things Raptors one of those writers said "JV doesn't go hard all the time". For JV to survive in this new era he is going to have to work his ass off this summer!

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

There's no "think" about it. Kyle and Demar are two of the hardest working players on the team, and the league. I remember reading about Kyle going on in a snow storm in Denver after flying in late on a grueling road trip earlier this year, to go shoot for a couple hours.

All this talk about resting those guys, well, they sure as hell will still work their ass off all day everyday. May not smack an elbow or back on the hardwood, but the exhaustion will be a factor no matter how many minutes are played

[Chr1s1anL]

There's no "think" about it. Kyle and Demar are two of the hardest working players on the team, and the league. I remember reading about Kyle going on in a snow storm in Denver after flying in late on a grueling road trip earlier this year, to go shoot for a couple hours.

All this talk about resting those guys, well, they sure as hell will still work their ass off all day everyday. May not smack an elbow or back on the hardwood, but the exhaustion will be a factor no matter how many minutes are played

That's why I can never serious hate on those two. I know they put in the work day in day out. When they are struggling I know it isnt cause of lack of effort.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

[SkywalkerAC]

You do always hear Jack and Leo and Matt talk about the work & practice ethic of DD/Kyle/Norm, they don't usually (ever?) mention JV in that conversation. JV's known to work hard 'on the court', it's off the game-court where I'm starting to have my doubts.

OK, that's more than enough hatin' for me today. I'll be watching for a bounce-back from Jonas today.

Go Raptors!