Jan Vesely

[fishercob]

BB has had a couple great moments against Dwight Howard.

However, that kid needs to get out of Charlotte before his career is ruined.

Lest we be too quick to cast aspersions a great many people say exactly the same about Wall and Washington.

And on the year Vesely and Biyombo have both been fairly ineffective, to a roughly comparable degree. Vesely is a better finisher (and probably is able to take easier shot attempts because in this case the Wizards are actually significantly better offensively than the other guys) and passer but Biyombo is a better rebounder.

That said Vesely has been significantly better recently and while what someone did last is not necessarily what he or she will do next we can hope that his awful start was largely a product of the major adjustment and the unusual schedule to begin the year. While I'd be thrilled if he could add a reliable jumper I'm not sure why that's taken for granted. He does work hard but hasn't he worked hard for the first twenty one years of his life? Why wouldn't he have already developed the ability to be a respectable foul shooter or hit open jumpers? But at this point there's nothing to be done but hope, and with his play style he is an easy guy to root for.

I am not taking it for granted. There are reasons for optimism though, if one is the type of person to be interested in that sort of thing.

He was a marginally decent three point shooter for four years with Partizan: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jan ... 402/stats/ No marksman for sure, but not a "why are you shooting from there???" type either.

It is reasonable to think that with work and confidence he could make jumpers in the NBA. I wouldn't want that to be the focus of his game, but improving it will help fo sho.

[nate33]

Vesely's FT%

January - .286
February - .417
March - .586
April - .636

Some sample size issues here, but you gotta like the general trend.

[leswizards]

Your guess would be wrong.

Among rookies with at least 250 total minutes this season, Vesely ranks 20th in Win Shares per 48 minutes; Singleton 26th. In total Win Shares, Singleton ranks 17th; Vesely 18th.

Fair enough, but thanks to Nate I was able to see the list, and it just reinforces my acceptance of this pick. 4 of the rookies (Rubio, Stiemsa, Ayon, and L Thompson) on the list were not available in this draft. 2 (Kanter and Irving) were off the board when Vesely was drafted. Of the remaining players on the list, the vast majority were taken in the second round, meaning it was highly unlikely that they would have been taken with the sixth pick in the draft. The only players who were drafted near Vesely that are playing better than him are Leonard, Vucevic, and Morris. So, I guess in hindsight, EG should have traded down to land Leonard, Vucevic, Faried and host of other high quality 2nd round picks. It is hard for me to get upset with EG for not having that kind of foresight.

[leswizards]

I am beginning to think Vesely is going to become the Wizards' Ryan Anderson. What I mean by that is his traditional stats will look quite average, but his advanced stats are going to be off the charts.

[closg00]

Vesely's FT%

January - .286
February - .417
March - .586
April - .636

Some sample size issues here, but you gotta like the general trend.

How-many non-dunking shots has he attempted and how-many has he made?

[jivelikenice]

I like more and more of what I see out of Vesely. I really do think he potentially could live up to his draft slot and and be a dynamic player who can contribute in multiple ways. I'm not ready to concede the guys like Faried and Kawhi will be better players in the long-term although they do have a higher floor. Thompson probably would have been a better pick based on his shooting ability but a 7 footer who can run the floor, play D, & rebound is tougher to find than a shooter.

[hands11]

Vesely's FT%

January - .286
February - .417
March - .586
April - .636

Some sample size issues here, but you gotta like the general trend.

How-many non-dunking shots has he attempted and how-many has he made?

Hell, if he can dunk it every time, he should never take a jump shot.

Another double digit rebound game for Ves. 13 rebounds in 25 minutes.

Ves is a legit number 6 pick. More are seeing that with every game. The rest will jump on board next year. If they don't see it already, they are likely to change now.

He got his first double digit rebounding game in April. Since then he has rack up 4 in the mouth and miss that being 5 games by 1 rebound. Rebound is one of the big holes that needs filled on this team. Ves is going to get better at that, not worse. Next year he will be even smarter and stronger.

What is going to be interesting is, who is going to come off the bench. I don't mind that being Ves, but we will have to wait and see what they do.

Finally being a DC sports fan is hopeful again. Caps in the second round. Skins about to get a top 2 QB to go along with their improved roster. They should win more next year. And the Wiz about to add a top 5 pick to its promising core.

[fishercob]

I believe hands mentioned that Vesely is further along that Javale was as a rookie. I tend to agree:

http://bkref.com/tiny/zPnyy

Javale had a much higher PER on the strength of somewhat better rebounding, more blocks and fewer turnovers.

But Jan is actually a better shooter -- both eFG% and TS%, even with his FT problems -- than Vale was as a rook. He's a much better passer. He had the better (lower) DRtg, 105 to 110 -- but I don't think that even begins to capture how much further along Jan is defensively than Vale was. Hell, he's a better passer and defender than Vale is now, not just as a rookie.

I expect Jan to improve his shooting and rebounding and cut his turnovers. He is going to be much better than McGee.

[tontoz]

Vesely's game on offense reminds me of Childress, always looking to attack the rim with or without the ball. The problem for Childress is that he is a 2/3 so the inability to score from the outside is basically a fatal flaw.

It isn't as big a deal with a guy 6'11. If the Wizards can get wing players who can consistently make perimeter shots that will open up the lane for Ves. There is only one ball so there is something to be said for a guy who can score by moving without the ball and attacking the rim.

[dobrojim]

on the post game last night I commented on how Vesely is like a
monkey wrench to opposing offenses. Maybe my eyes are lying
but I was seeing him more and more make smart basketball plays
that would just blow up what the opp offense was trying to do.
Regular stats probably can't capture this effect and he wasn't
as good at it early on in the season. But I think we have something
here. And even with basically no jumper, his scoring is tolerable while
his efficiency seems very good. His is the reciprocal of 7DD.

[nuposse04]

As long as we can get him a shooting coach in the off-season I think he may live up to his potential. If he does develop an outside shot, I'd rather he not add on TOO much weight because I still want him to have the ability to explode by his defender and attack the hoop. Wasn't he knockin down some 3s in europe?

[nate33]

I believe hands mentioned that Vesely is further along that Javale was as a rookie. I tend to agree:

http://bkref.com/tiny/zPnyy

Javale had a much higher PER on the strength of somewhat better rebounding, more blocks and fewer turnovers.

But Jan is actually a better shooter -- both eFG% and TS%, even with his FT problems -- than Vale was as a rook. He's a much better passer. He had the better (lower) DRtg, 105 to 110 -- but I don't think that even begins to capture how much further along Jan is defensively than Vale was. Hell, he's a better passer and defender than Vale is now, not just as a rookie.

I expect Jan to improve his shooting and rebounding and cut his turnovers. He is going to be much better than McGee.

It's tough for me to look at those numbers and say that Vesely was better than McGee his rookie year. McGee crushes Vesely in points and blocks, beats him handily in rebounds, and their shooting efficiency is essentially the same, with McGee having the much higher usage rate.

That said, if we threw out the first 2 months and only looked at Vesely's numbers thereafter, the comparison might be a lot closer. And we also know that Vesely is infinitely better than McGee at the stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

[FAH1223]

Ves with a jumpshot is intriquing. Let's see what he does this summer.

[zardsfan]

Before you can improve your game, first you need to realize where your game needs improving... something players like Nick and Javale don't seem to grasp at times.

Here is what Jan said post-game last night...

On improving in the offseason:
“I got more confident at the end of the season. I feel much better. There’s a lot of time in the summer ahead of me and I’ll just try to work hard and to improve my skills. I need to work on my outside shot. That’s the first thing I’ll work on.”

Now lets hope he can actually do what he knows he needs to do!

I don't think he is living up to his draft position yet, but I already enjoy watching him play and I am very optimistic about Jan actually panning out to be worth that 6th pick if he continues to improve this off-season.

[Jay81]

vesley may have some competition

[closg00]

Before you can improve your game, first you need to realize where your game needs improving... something players like Nick and Javale don't seem to grasp at times.

Here is what Jan said post-game last night...

On improving in the offseason:
“I got more confident at the end of the season. I feel much better. There’s a lot of time in the summer ahead of me and I’ll just try to work hard and to improve my skills. I need to work on my outside shot. That’s the first thing I’ll work on.”

Now lets hope he can actually do what he knows he needs to do!

I don't think he is living up to his draft position yet, but I already enjoy watching him play and I am very optimistic about Jan actually panning out to be worth that 6th pick if he continues to improve this off-season.

+1 I have really enjoyed Vesely's hustle-game, but wonder if he'll stick strictly to dunks:

* The Wizards brought-in a shooting-coach during camp to work with Jan
* Coach Wittman asked Jan to start shooting more
* Jan spoke through-out the entire season about all of the shooting he was doing in practice and that he was going to start shooting soon.
* Jan says he's going to work on shooting during the off-season
*

[JWizmentality]

vesley may have some competition

Eww, somebody get that girl a plate of food!

[hands11]

I believe hands mentioned that Vesely is further along that Javale was as a rookie. I tend to agree:

http://bkref.com/tiny/zPnyy

Javale had a much higher PER on the strength of somewhat better rebounding, more blocks and fewer turnovers.

But Jan is actually a better shooter -- both eFG% and TS%, even with his FT problems -- than Vale was as a rook. He's a much better passer. He had the better (lower) DRtg, 105 to 110 -- but I don't think that even begins to capture how much further along Jan is defensively than Vale was. Hell, he's a better passer and defender than Vale is now, not just as a rookie.

I expect Jan to improve his shooting and rebounding and cut his turnovers. He is going to be much better than McGee.

It's tough for me to look at those numbers and say that Vesely was better than McGee his rookie year. McGee crushes Vesely in points and blocks, beats him handily in rebounds, and their shooting efficiency is essentially the same, with McGee having the much higher usage rate.

That said, if we threw out the first 2 months and only looked at Vesely's numbers thereafter, the comparison might be a lot closer. And we also know that Vesely is infinitely better than McGee at the stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

How does Ves compare to McGee in plus min PER differential ?

Personally, I don't need to look at the stats to support the idea that Ves is farther along them McGee was. All I have to do is watch them. Ves is 1000 times smarter as a basketball player then McGee was. He is a much better defender. He is a better teammate. Haven't looked at the stats but I image Ves had more steals. His P n R defense was much better. His position D was better. He gets the ball out on the outlet faster then a ton of players in the league. He is just a better basketball player after year one then McGee was. Actually, way better. I expect year two will only widen that gap.

[dangermouse]

So i was watching some Bobcats footage... (yeah, i dont know why either. ive had the flu, i guess im trying to drive it out of my body)...

I think BJ Mullens compares well with Vesely. BJ is a little taller and has a bigger frame. He has a decent mid range jumper too.

I think Vesely can become a better version of BJ, as a PF. He's just as athletic if not moreso, he's more fleet of foot, already a better defender and rebounder. All he really has to do is add a knockdown mid range jumper to his game, not a big ask. He's already added muscle weight as the season has gone on, give him an off season and i think he'll reach these goals.

[nate33]

So i was watching some Bobcats footage... (yeah, i dont know why either. ive had the flu, i guess im trying to drive it out of my body)...

I think BJ Mullens compares well with Vesely. BJ is a little taller and has a bigger frame. He has a decent mid range jumper too.

I think Vesely can become a better version of BJ, as a PF. He's just as athletic if not moreso, he's more fleet of foot, already a better defender and rebounder. All he really has to do is add a knockdown mid range jumper to his game, not a big ask. He's already added muscle weight as the season has gone on, give him an off season and i think he'll reach these goals.

Mullens is more like McGee than Vesely. He's the kind of guy whose true impact is far less than the stats suggest. Vesely is the opposite.