Progression of JV

[yellowknifer]

He's 34th in paint touches. Look at the stuff yourself. Same head scratching stuff.

There's this silly argument of increasing JV touches in direct correlation to his improvements on the defensive side, which is mind-boggling. You always want to maximize your strengths as a team. And JV's efficiency is one of the biggest and most under-utilized strengths of these Toronto Raptors. The touches/defense argument also doesn't work because you don't need JV to spend more time on the floor to get more touches, you just need to increase his usage, and that doesn't affect the minutes spent on the defensive side.

Given his efficiency - not having to deal with easy transition buckets on dumb long jumpers with unfortunate rebounds will help a lot on the defensive side too. The guy needs to be getting more like 32 minutes a game and closer to 17 or 18 touches. Not sure you want to push his minutes too much beyond that as his efficiency might suffer and his defence too. I think his defense is grossly underrated by some here. He has limitations but he doesn't get a lot of help and tends to play man up effectively and gobbles up almost every rebound which is apparently also an underrated part of defence to some.

IMO he's improved his rotations this year and is playing more disciplined - less gambling.

[djsunyc]

This is horrible defense.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhCHn8BFrzE[/youtube]

by those standards, drummond is horrible too b/c jonas abuses him every time they play.

[vini_vidi_vici]

Also according to Synergy, JV is in the 48th percentile in PostUp finishes this year among qualifiers (Minimum >=10 MPG,10 ATTs). Small sample/etc..

Edit: To put that abit further in perspective, hes .89 OPPP.

DD is .88 in PnR as the ball handler.
KL is 1.10 in ISOs.
LS is .95 in SpotUps.

Im not accounting for volume admittedly, just that ppl like to cite anecdotal evidence.

[vini_vidi_vici]

jv hasn't really played with a pick and roll/pop pg yet. i think we would see a better jv (or any big for that matter) with ford or calderon. even amir's game dipped after jose left.

I agree with this completely and said so during the trade for RG, heres an example.

[Johnny Bball]

Conversely....

The things that kills me about ppl who break down JVs strengths is that you lack perspective.

90% of his shots are within 10ft (look at most players who finish with that high, and their FG%). 18.8% are on putbacks (OREBs). Another 10% are creators by our Ws/Gs in the PnR. Both are efficient finishes always (as per Synergy). He has a has FTr (something I rarely ppl see ppl mention, but too me is the best element of his game). Why wouldnt he be hyper efficient?? The fact that ppl compare him to guys with more USG is another misnomer.

Hang on, he plays C. Are you holding it against him that 90% of his shots are within 10 ft? Pretty sure that the same is true of most dominant centers. Are you going to criticize Dwight for taking 90% of his shots from within 10 feet?

Apart from that Jonas actually has decent range, or more accurately had excellent range, as he showed in his rookie year when he shot from 15-18 feet at the same rate as Lowry and Demar. However two things happened between the end of that year and the start of the next, both of which are directly tied to his development, which is what this thread is about: 1) the coaching staff bulked him up hugely which clearly affected his mechanics as well as his significantly reducing his speed and lift and b) as a rationale for this they focused entirely on turning him into a back to the basket post player, the combination of which led to him not using and not trusting his reliable mid range J, which he had been hitting steadily since he was 15.

Having said that, even though he was new to low post NBA play, he quickly became one of the best on the league at it. The fact that his body is not graceful when he makes his moves confuses people from noticing the extreme grace of his hands. Because they are what matter most and JV has as soft a touch as any big man around. The numbers don't lie. Tops in the league in points per post up last year.

And lastly, you ask "why wouldn't he be hyper-efficient?" as if this is somehow a meaningless and obvious thing. Why - since he hits FTs at 80%, gets tons of putbacks, hits Js, has post moves and is great finishing pick and rolls - shouldn't he have the 2nd best TS% of starters in the league? Well, maybe you should ask, why - since we have a versatile 24 year old C who is the 2nd most efficient scorer in the league and who also rebounds like a fiend (13 rpg per 36) – aren't we using him more and acknowledging what a terrific young player he is?

You are so blinded can you not just be realistic? I really didn't think this needed to be explained but if you are going to try and twist logic... He's saying you cannot compare fg% or usage between centres and guards. Centres don't have the same opportunity because teams pack the paint where people shoot a high percentage so they won't get the same usage EVER. He's saying you can't compare fg% between guards and centres. centre will always average a higher fg%. It is maddening that some people think that all we do is give JV more shots more usage and he magicall shoots the same and more efficiently. It's does not work like that. If it did teams would play five centres.

And to say jv shoots just as well at range as DD of kL is biased and lacking perspective to even try.

Then there is the defense of every jv fan about bulkig up. When his was skinny he was too slow AND got pushed around. The little weight he doesn't get pushed around. The bulk up and weight argument is nothing but an excuse by fans. If the weight was a problem it would be already gone. Jv is slow. Really really slow. He is a bad defender because he can't seem to see the play developing, and has really learned so little on defense. He's a guy that has to use his smarts to make up for his lack of speed but the problem seems to be learning to use them. He continually sags off his man and sags off the pick and roll. Does it really matter when he scores 20 a night if the opponent can spam pick and roll like Washington did and out score us with him on the floor?

jV is better offensively by a ton. Jv is not much better defensively. Some people really lose perspective. He has to improve his defense if this team is ever going to go anywhere. His offense can stY right where it is. It's good.

[dhackett1565]

Im not holding it against him, in using the context as to why hes hyper-efficient. He HAD decent range in his rookie season, and doesnt now, and its solely the coaches fault? Can you prove that it?? Maybe you could bulk up and not inhibit that part of his game. Perhaps its just a natural regression?? Maybe it was an outlier?? etc..

Im not arguing his post game, least of all me, infact I didnt even cite it in my reply. I dont care for aesthetics (as ive said last year re: the ISO ball narrative), I care about production which JV has excelled.

No I ask that because as you can see, if he has a FTr/FT% which I mentioned, and shoots predominantly within 10ft which most Cs/PFs who do are also hyper-efficient, he should be hyper-efficient, because if he wasnt due to his lack of passing, range, it would be terrible. FWIW, hes in the 38th percentile in PnR Roller, again im sure that makes him great this year (he was good last year no doubt, but so was every big in the system, which has changed).

Again I didnt mention his rebounding, he is very good no doubt. 57.5% of his REBs are uncontested. JV is also 4th in REB chances. Maybe its a byproduct of playing so close to the basket to get more opportunity. Perhaps they are using him more effectively to give him the opportunity to take advantage of his REBS by getting more volume (chances). Edit: Infact looking more into it, his REB per Chance% is fairly low compared to the other elite REB bigs.

Uncontested rebounds can be a sign of good boxing out, as if completely locked out an offensive rebounder will often bail before the rebound is collected to get back in transition, leaving no one within 3 feet of the rebounder when he corrals the rebounds, making it uncontested, in spite of any good work boxing out and preventing the contest.

Second, rebounds per chance is about as useless a stat as I can imagine. Any player who attempts a great many offensive rebounds will generate rebound chances but will see their conversion rate into rebounds plummet, since even the best offensive rebounders are boxed out far more often than not. If Rebound Chances and conversion rate were broken up into offensive and defensive categories, those would potentially be useful, but as NBA.com currently has them broken out there is pretty much zero value in the statistic.

[vini_vidi_vici]

Ppl cite his bulk in defense of him, but never cite this? Why??

Assistant GM Jeff Weltman saw some deficiencies in the third-year centre’s technique and suggested a good use of the off-season would be to address those deficiencies.

“We were all talking about getting JV with some sort of track coach where his footwork and his speed could be worked on,” Weltman said Thursday. “Actually Curtis Crawford, one of our scouts, had read an article on Jim Radcliffe as the University of Oregon and that’s how we actually came upon the coach’s name.”

Radcliffe is considered an authority on sprinting in North America and, as the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Oregon, spends much of his time working with the school’s football players improving their speed and footwork.

Do we then credit them for trying to improve that element or no? Honest Q.

[vini_vidi_vici]

Im not holding it against him, in using the context as to why hes hyper-efficient. He HAD decent range in his rookie season, and doesnt now, and its solely the coaches fault? Can you prove that it?? Maybe you could bulk up and not inhibit that part of his game. Perhaps its just a natural regression?? Maybe it was an outlier?? etc..

Im not arguing his post game, least of all me, infact I didnt even cite it in my reply. I dont care for aesthetics (as ive said last year re: the ISO ball narrative), I care about production which JV has excelled.

No I ask that because as you can see, if he has a FTr/FT% which I mentioned, and shoots predominantly within 10ft which most Cs/PFs who do are also hyper-efficient, he should be hyper-efficient, because if he wasnt due to his lack of passing, range, it would be terrible. FWIW, hes in the 38th percentile in PnR Roller, again im sure that makes him great this year (he was good last year no doubt, but so was every big in the system, which has changed).

Again I didnt mention his rebounding, he is very good no doubt. 57.5% of his REBs are uncontested. JV is also 4th in REB chances. Maybe its a byproduct of playing so close to the basket to get more opportunity. Perhaps they are using him more effectively to give him the opportunity to take advantage of his REBS by getting more volume (chances). Edit: Infact looking more into it, his REB per Chance% is fairly low compared to the other elite REB bigs.

Uncontested rebounds can be a sign of good boxing out, as if completely locked out an offensive rebounder will often bail before the rebound is collected to get back in transition, leaving no one within 3 feet of the rebounder when he corrals the rebounds, making it uncontested, in spite of any good work boxing out and preventing the contest.

Second, rebounds per chance is about as useless a stat as I can imagine. Any player who attempts a great many offensive rebounds will generate rebound chances but will see their conversion rate into rebounds plummet, since even the best offensive rebounders are boxed out far more often than not. If Rebound Chances and conversion rate were broken up into offensive and defensive categories, those would potentially be useful, but as NBA.com currently has them broken out there is pretty much zero value in the statistic.

Uncontested REBs could also be a function of teams not crashing the glass as hard, or teammates boxing out, or a myriad of things, im not saying its solely his fault, but it doesnt mean he is any more a REB guy either.

Youre wrong, they do have it segregated. DREBS per chance is 54.5%. Again very low for an elite REB big. Edit: Hes 6th in the L in DREB chances too.

[Rapcity_11]

Im not holding it against him, in using the context as to why hes hyper-efficient. He HAD decent range in his rookie season, and doesnt now, and its solely the coaches fault? Can you prove that it?? Maybe you could bulk up and not inhibit that part of his game. Perhaps its just a natural regression?? Maybe it was an outlier?? etc..

Im not arguing his post game, least of all me, infact I didnt even cite it in my reply. I dont care for aesthetics (as ive said last year re: the ISO ball narrative), I care about production which JV has excelled.

No I ask that because as you can see, if he has a FTr/FT% which I mentioned, and shoots predominantly within 10ft which most Cs/PFs who do are also hyper-efficient, he should be hyper-efficient, because if he wasnt due to his lack of passing, range, it would be terrible. FWIW, hes in the 38th percentile in PnR Roller, again im sure that makes him great this year (he was good last year no doubt, but so was every big in the system, which has changed).

Again I didnt mention his rebounding, he is very good no doubt. 57.5% of his REBs are uncontested. JV is also 4th in REB chances. Maybe its a byproduct of playing so close to the basket to get more opportunity. Perhaps they are using him more effectively to give him the opportunity to take advantage of his REBS by getting more volume (chances). Edit: Infact looking more into it, his REB per Chance% is fairly low compared to the other elite REB bigs.

Uncontested rebounds can be a sign of good boxing out, as if completely locked out an offensive rebounder will often bail before the rebound is collected to get back in transition, leaving no one within 3 feet of the rebounder when he corrals the rebounds, making it uncontested, in spite of any good work boxing out and preventing the contest.

Second, rebounds per chance is about as useless a stat as I can imagine. Any player who attempts a great many offensive rebounds will generate rebound chances but will see their conversion rate into rebounds plummet, since even the best offensive rebounders are boxed out far more often than not. If Rebound Chances and conversion rate were broken up into offensive and defensive categories, those would potentially be useful, but as NBA.com currently has them broken out there is pretty much zero value in the statistic.

I'm almost positive your first point happens incredibly rarely. Bigs never bail that early. Could be wrong though.

Lastly JV is 3rd in deferred rebound chances which is interesting. Funny that Kevin Love is #1 when everyone thinks he's a stat padder.

[cammac]

Also according to Synergy, JV is in the 48th percentile in PostUp finishes this year among qualifiers (Minimum >=10 MPG,10 ATTs). Small sample/etc..

Edit: To put that abit further in perspective, hes .89 OPPP.

DD is .88 in PnR as the ball handler.
KL is 1.10 in ISOs.
LS is .95 in SpotUps.

Im not accounting for volume admittedly, just that ppl like to cite anecdotal evidence.

I respect you but sometimes you want to relate the obscure to prove a point.
You have a unnatural bias when it comes to JV he can be condemned in some areas such as his defense is a work in progress. But his offense is excellent no matter how you want to analyze it.

Since basketball is a team game lets look at some other factors.
DRtg Lowry 100 DeMar 105 JV 101
ORtg Lowry 112 DeMar 113 JV 127
Please note both Lowry's & DeMar's are enhanced somewhat because both play with the 2nd units much more than JV.
Yes the vast majority of JV points come from 10 ft and in but he has improved his shooting in all areas every year.
WS Lowry 1.3 DeMar 1.2 JV 1.3 reality JV contributes as much to win share on significantly less minutes'
Passing obviously JV sucks but then so do Drummond & Whiteside
Obviously Jonas needs to improve his defense but he also needs to be much more of a focal point on this team only someone with a huge bias could look at this any other way.

[Hero_Panda]

[
I know that Scola ir more crafty and mobile, but is he really more capable then JV, especially at this age?

Offensively, Scola is more capable than JV, even at his age. It's not because JV is incapable of being a top option on offense, it's just that throughout his career the team has never been put JV in position to have more offensive responsibilities to expand that part of his game. It was always about "Defense this, defense that. His offense will come eventually."

[vini_vidi_vici]

Also according to Synergy, JV is in the 48th percentile in PostUp finishes this year among qualifiers (Minimum >=10 MPG,10 ATTs). Small sample/etc..

Edit: To put that abit further in perspective, hes .89 OPPP.

DD is .88 in PnR as the ball handler.
KL is 1.10 in ISOs.
LS is .95 in SpotUps.

Im not accounting for volume admittedly, just that ppl like to cite anecdotal evidence.

I respect you but sometimes you want to relate the obscure to prove a point.
You have a unnatural bias when it comes to JV he can be condemned in some areas such as his defense is a work in progress. But his offense is excellent no matter how you want to analyze it.

Since basketball is a team game lets look at some other factors.
DRtg Lowry 100 DeMar 105 JV 101
ORtg Lowry 112 DeMar 113 JV 127
Please note both Lowry's & DeMar's are enhanced somewhat because both play with the 2nd units much more than JV.
Yes the vast majority of JV points come from 10 ft and in but he has improved his shooting in all areas every year.
WS Lowry 1.3 DeMar 1.2 JV 1.3 reality JV contributes as much to win share on significantly less minutes'
Passing obviously JV sucks but then so do Drummond & Whiteside
Obviously Jonas needs to improve his defense but he also needs to be much more of a focal point on this team only someone with a huge bias could look at this any other way.

If I have an unnatural bias against him, then that makes your bias for him?? And ive stated numerous times how much I like him and posted numerous SotDs promoting him, one I posted earlier in this thread for example. I just take exception to him being "elite", because some parts of his game a very good, and have again stated this on numerous occasions.

iDRTG might be the worst stat, because it is skewed to big men, as per Dean Oliver, which again I quoted earlier in this thread.

WS is a cumulative boxscore stat.

Has he improved shooting in the midrange? No hes shooting 33.3, and last year was 33.7.

I never said he doesnt have to more a focal point (specifically offensively), hes the third on the hierarchy, which is fine to me due to his inherent limitations.

[cammac]

Also according to Synergy, JV is in the 48th percentile in PostUp finishes this year among qualifiers (Minimum >=10 MPG,10 ATTs). Small sample/etc..

Edit: To put that abit further in perspective, hes .89 OPPP.

DD is .88 in PnR as the ball handler.
KL is 1.10 in ISOs.
LS is .95 in SpotUps.

Im not accounting for volume admittedly, just that ppl like to cite anecdotal evidence.

I respect you but sometimes you want to relate the obscure to prove a point.
You have a unnatural bias when it comes to JV he can be condemned in some areas such as his defense is a work in progress. But his offense is excellent no matter how you want to analyze it.

Since basketball is a team game lets look at some other factors.
DRtg Lowry 100 DeMar 105 JV 101
ORtg Lowry 112 DeMar 113 JV 127
Please note both Lowry's & DeMar's are enhanced somewhat because both play with the 2nd units much more than JV.
Yes the vast majority of JV points come from 10 ft and in but he has improved his shooting in all areas every year.
WS Lowry 1.3 DeMar 1.2 JV 1.3 reality JV contributes as much to win share on significantly less minutes'
Passing obviously JV sucks but then so do Drummond & Whiteside
Obviously Jonas needs to improve his defense but he also needs to be much more of a focal point on this team only someone with a huge bias could look at this any other way.

If I have an unnatural bias against him, then that makes your bias for him?? And ive stated numerous times how much I like him and posted numerous SotDs promoting him, one I posted earlier in this thread for example. I just take exception to him being "elite", because some parts of his game a very good, and have again stated this on numerous occasions.

iDRTG might be the worst stat, because it is skewed to big men, as per Dean Oliver, which again I quoted earlier in this thread.

WS is a cumulative boxscore stat.

Has he improved shooting in the midrange? No hes shooting 33.3, and last year was 33.7.

I never said he doesnt have to more a focal point (specifically offensively), hes the third on the hierarchy, which is fine to me due to his inherent limitations.

Not sure where you get your mid-range figures
But 3>0 ft his % of shots is .378 which is well below his historic average of .454 but is shooting .774% he has increased his 3>10 ft. % significantly to.448 from his historic average of .375 his shooting .450 which is slightly lower than his historic average of .485 shooting from 10>16 and 3PT> 16 should be considered anomalies because the represent 13.5% of his shooting and are 1.000 & .625 which are obviously unsustainable.

[vini_vidi_vici]

I respect you but sometimes you want to relate the obscure to prove a point.
You have a unnatural bias when it comes to JV he can be condemned in some areas such as his defense is a work in progress. But his offense is excellent no matter how you want to analyze it.

Since basketball is a team game lets look at some other factors.
DRtg Lowry 100 DeMar 105 JV 101
ORtg Lowry 112 DeMar 113 JV 127
Please note both Lowry's & DeMar's are enhanced somewhat because both play with the 2nd units much more than JV.
Yes the vast majority of JV points come from 10 ft and in but he has improved his shooting in all areas every year.
WS Lowry 1.3 DeMar 1.2 JV 1.3 reality JV contributes as much to win share on significantly less minutes'
Passing obviously JV sucks but then so do Drummond & Whiteside
Obviously Jonas needs to improve his defense but he also needs to be much more of a focal point on this team only someone with a huge bias could look at this any other way.

If I have an unnatural bias against him, then that makes your bias for him?? And ive stated numerous times how much I like him and posted numerous SotDs promoting him, one I posted earlier in this thread for example. I just take exception to him being "elite", because some parts of his game a very good, and have again stated this on numerous occasions.

iDRTG might be the worst stat, because it is skewed to big men, as per Dean Oliver, which again I quoted earlier in this thread.

WS is a cumulative boxscore stat.

Has he improved shooting in the midrange? No hes shooting 33.3, and last year was 33.7.

I never said he doesnt have to more a focal point (specifically offensively), hes the third on the hierarchy, which is fine to me due to his inherent limitations.

Not sure where you get your mid-range figures
But 3>0 ft his % of shots is .378 which is well below his historic average of .454 but is shooting .774% he has increased his 3>10 ft. % significantly to.448 from his historic average of .375 his shooting .450 which is slightly lower than his historic average of .485 shooting from 10>16 and 3PT> 16 should be considered anomalies because the represent 13.5% of his shooting and are 1.000 & .625 which are obviously unsustainable.

Here is this year.

Here is last year.

FWIW, I posted the link so you would know where I got it from, but theres your clarification.

[hsb]

He's saying that it's erroneous to compare a guy who's only effective within 10ft of the basket to players who play beyond that range. Big men who play exclusively in the post have high FG%. It's not like Jonas is reinventing the wheel.

Lets not undersell how dominant he is at scoring though. He had the highest points per front court touch last year. Coupled with being the best at scoring from post ups last year too, lets take that in for a second. Do we, as a fan base, acknowledge how incredible it is to have a young talent as good as this? These are amazing numbers.

This year so far...

He's a hair higher than Kosta Koufos, Robin Lopez and Farried for post touches. He's 16th in post touches overall with a pts% of 109.8 lol. Ahead of him; only one person has a lower turnover percentage and his pass percentage is 6th worse, still ahead of Whiteside, Drummond and Howard.

He's 34th in paint touches. Look at the stuff yourself. Same head scratching stuff.

Kosta Koufus? Really?

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge what's going on and how good of a young player he is. He needs more touches. It's best for the team now, come playoff time and moving forward into the future.

[Kabookalu]

He's saying that it's erroneous to compare a guy who's only effective within 10ft of the basket to players who play beyond that range. Big men who play exclusively in the post have high FG%. It's not like Jonas is reinventing the wheel.

Lets not undersell how dominant he is at scoring though. He had the highest points per front court touch last year. Coupled with being the best at scoring from post ups last year too, lets take that in for a second. Do we, as a fan base, acknowledge how incredible it is to have a young talent as good as this? These are amazing numbers.

This year so far...

He's a hair higher than Kosta Koufos, Robin Lopez and Farried for post touches. He's 16th in post touches overall with a pts% of 109.8 lol. Ahead of him; only one person has a lower turnover percentage and his pass percentage is 6th worse, still ahead of Whiteside, Drummond and Howard.

He's 34th in paint touches. Look at the stuff yourself. Same head scratching stuff.

Kosta Koufus? Really?

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge what's going on and how good of a young player he is. He needs more touches. It's best for the team now, come playoff time and moving forward into the future.

What would be best for the team is if he could improve his passing and court vision, not giving him a couple more touches a game. There's a reason why I argue this ad nauseam, because if he can fix his passing he immediately becomes an elite center in the league. He becomes unstoppable, and he starts becoming the center we've always envisioned he'd be.

Giving him a couple more touches a game would push the margins more, but improving his passing would morph the entire structure of our team.

[DonMega]

Jv is coming along nicely.

Sent from my Note 4

[Yeezus_]

He's saying that it's erroneous to compare a guy who's only effective within 10ft of the basket to players who play beyond that range. Big men who play exclusively in the post have high FG%. It's not like Jonas is reinventing the wheel.

Lets not undersell how dominant he is at scoring though. He had the highest points per front court touch last year. Coupled with being the best at scoring from post ups last year too, lets take that in for a second. Do we, as a fan base, acknowledge how incredible it is to have a young talent as good as this? These are amazing numbers.

This year so far...

He's a hair higher than Kosta Koufos, Robin Lopez and Farried for post touches. He's 16th in post touches overall with a pts% of 109.8 lol. Ahead of him; only one person has a lower turnover percentage and his pass percentage is 6th worse, still ahead of Whiteside, Drummond and Howard.

He's 34th in paint touches. Look at the stuff yourself. Same head scratching stuff.

Kosta Koufus? Really?

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge what's going on and how good of a young player he is. He needs more touches. It's best for the team now, come playoff time and moving forward into the future.

What would be best for the team is if he could improve his passing and court vision, not giving him a couple more touches a game. There's a reason why I argue this ad nauseam, because if he can fix his passing he immediately becomes an elite center in the league. He becomes unstoppable, and he starts becoming the center we've always envisioned he'd be.

Giving him a couple more touches a game would push the margins more, but improving his passing would morph the entire structure of our team.

I think the team needs to give him the ball in the high post and run plays with him there.

[hsb]

He's saying that it's erroneous to compare a guy who's only effective within 10ft of the basket to players who play beyond that range. Big men who play exclusively in the post have high FG%. It's not like Jonas is reinventing the wheel.

Lets not undersell how dominant he is at scoring though. He had the highest points per front court touch last year. Coupled with being the best at scoring from post ups last year too, lets take that in for a second. Do we, as a fan base, acknowledge how incredible it is to have a young talent as good as this? These are amazing numbers.

This year so far...

He's a hair higher than Kosta Koufos, Robin Lopez and Farried for post touches. He's 16th in post touches overall with a pts% of 109.8 lol. Ahead of him; only one person has a lower turnover percentage and his pass percentage is 6th worse, still ahead of Whiteside, Drummond and Howard.

He's 34th in paint touches. Look at the stuff yourself. Same head scratching stuff.

Kosta Koufus? Really?

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge what's going on and how good of a young player he is. He needs more touches. It's best for the team now, come playoff time and moving forward into the future.

What would be best for the team is if he could improve his passing and court vision, not giving him a couple more touches a game. There's a reason why I argue this ad nauseam, because if he can fix his passing he immediately becomes an elite center in the league. He becomes unstoppable, and he starts becoming the center we've always envisioned he'd be.

Giving him a couple more touches a game would push the margins more, but improving his passing would morph the entire structure of our team.

That's one aspect sure, but you're skipping a step in getting there. Running plays to use post-ups as a decoy and developing a semblance of generating assists is going to need more touches from the post and paint. That's why I'm stating giving him more touches is better now (because he scores at such a high rate), for the playoffs (adds diversity to a guard heavy offense and the team gets accustomed to a player who scores in the post) and for the future (he's one of the most talented young players in the league, give him more reps).

To also mention as it's on topic; Dwight, Whiteside, Drummond, Gortat and Okafor have less pass percentage than JV on post touches and out of the 15 other guys ahead of him on post touches only Ezeli has a lower turnover percentage. Paint touches is more of the same but he ranks even lower for touches. He's destroying everyone on points too. The Raptors are last in hand-offs for instance, I wouldn't be shocked he has to generate more off of offensive rebounds than a lot of his counterparts. But those aren't the valuable touches I'm talking about to take advantage and grow his game.

He's 23 and doing this lol. He needs more touches for the weaknesses you state and with how good he is right now. It's literally a win-win.

[Kabookalu]

Lets not undersell how dominant he is at scoring though. He had the highest points per front court touch last year. Coupled with being the best at scoring from post ups last year too, lets take that in for a second. Do we, as a fan base, acknowledge how incredible it is to have a young talent as good as this? These are amazing numbers.

This year so far...


Kosta Koufus? Really?

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge what's going on and how good of a young player he is. He needs more touches. It's best for the team now, come playoff time and moving forward into the future.

What would be best for the team is if he could improve his passing and court vision, not giving him a couple more touches a game. There's a reason why I argue this ad nauseam, because if he can fix his passing he immediately becomes an elite center in the league. He becomes unstoppable, and he starts becoming the center we've always envisioned he'd be.

Giving him a couple more touches a game would push the margins more, but improving his passing would morph the entire structure of our team.

I think the team needs to give him the ball in the high post and run plays with him there.

We already do though, sorta. Maybe not in the elbows and high posts as much, but he still gets plenty of opportunity to employ his face up game in the mid range, he just pump fakes a million times before wildly driving to the basket.