The Jonas Valanciunas Thread

MinnyMo · Post #1461 » by **MinnyMo** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 11:36 pm

His lift doesn't look that great, which obviously doesn't matter that much with his height and wingspan, but considering it looks like he never spent a day in a gym working out in his life, if he could gain a couple more inches on his vertical with a jumping program.

draft · Post #1462 » by **draft** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 11:49 pm

I don't think offense will be a problem for him. He has a soft touch, he's always moving and he has great mobility. He's a lot like Amir in this regard. He just needs to add a couple of post moves.

Post #1463 » by **Undefeated** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 2:57 am

Volcano wrote:His screens aren't as effective as I'd like though.

I don't know if we're thinking along the same lines, but I think Val's got the fundamentals down though by establishing a wide stance. He just slips the screen too early rather than holding the screen and absorbing contact which I'd attribute to his lack of strength.

Makoto15 · Post #1464 » by **Makoto15** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:33 am

A lot of Euro's have a rep for being soft. This kid is very different.

- This guy is a very young, legitimate 7-footer, who can play physical, rebound and blocks shots, and he isn't soft.
- He actually has a nasty streak.
- He is extremely agile for his size and is not a plodder.
- Everyone who sees him thinks he could turn into one of the better centers in the league within 3-5 years.
- I think the GM has shown real guts to take this kid and legitimate 7 footers with this kind of motor don't come along often, and when they do, you grab them.
- He obviously has to gain some muscle and get stronger cause he's young, and get used to the speed of the NBA, but he will be a great pick for years to come.

Interestingly, I'm not describing the current chatter by the Toronto media machine and Raptors brass. This was all the buzz from the ESPN guys and Joe Dumars when he chose another Euro big ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

Let's hope this kid works out better. I just wanted to give some perspective to all the people drinking the kool-aid and thinking that he will turn out good because so and so said he will.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basket ... ilicic_ap/

raps91 · Post #1465 » by **raps91** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:34 am

Darko didn't work out because he's European

totallyr · Post #1466 » by **totallyr** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:42 am

Cool, ballboy battles

MinnyMo · Post #1467 » by **MinnyMo** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:44 am

People go on about his game and how he is missing this or missing that, he's to thin, etc... but you guys need to remember, he JUST turned 19 on May 6, he's light years away from being a finished product. He has a solid grasp of all the fundamentals needed to be an effective 5 at the NBA level, now we just need to nurture him and make sure he follows the best path to fulfill his potential.

lyricalmilitia · Post #1468 » by **lyricalmilitia** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:53 am

listen valanciunas be good, he has a long way 2 go,he's only 19

lyricalmilitia · Post #1469 » by **lyricalmilitia** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:55 am

and being european doesn't make you a bad player, it's either your a bad player, or your good doesn't matter where your from

M_Carter · Post #1470 » by **M_Carter** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:02 am

Makoto15 wrote:A lot of Euro's have a rep for being soft. This kid is very different.

- This guy is a very young, legitimate 7-footer, who can play physical, rebound and blocks shots, and he isn't soft.
- He actually has a nasty streak.
- He is extremely agile for his size and is not a plodder.
- Everyone who sees him thinks he could turn into one of the better centers in the league within 3-5 years.
- I think the GM has shown real guts to take this kid and legitimate 7 footers with this kind of motor don't come along often, and when they do, you grab them.
- He obviously has to gain some muscle and get stronger cause he's young, and get used to the speed of the NBA, but he will be a great pick for years to come.

Interestingly, I'm not describing the current chatter by the Toronto media machine and Raptors brass. This was all the buzz from the ESPN guys and Joe Dumars when he chose another Euro big ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

Let's hope this kid works out better. I just wanted to give some perspective to all the people drinking the kool-aid and thinking that he will turn out good because so and so said he will.

THANK YOU...I feel exactly the same way. I hope to god i'm wrong but so far every euro we picked has been a disaster

Laowai · Post #1471 » by **Laowai** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:02 am

Enough already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Volcano · Post #1472 » by **Volcano** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:03 am

Undefeated wrote:
Volcano wrote:His screens aren't as effective as I'd like though.

I don't know if we're thinking along the same lines, but I think Val's got the fundamentals down though by establishing a wide stance. He just slips the screen too early rather than holding the screen and absorbing contact which I'd attribute to his lack of strength.

I like his fundamentals in general. He's not some SG in a center's body for sure.

I wasn't talking about the quick slip, as he does it to try to get open under the basket before the D can rotate (I think he does it a bit too much too). His standard screens off the ball could stand to be a little better. I'd like to see him set some good hard picks. It's something I think he can easily implement, even now before he fills out.

Volcano · Post #1473 » by **Volcano** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:10 am

MinnyMo wrote:People go on about his game and how he is missing this or missing that, he's to thin, etc... but you guys need to remember, he JUST turned 19 on May 6, he's light years away from being a finished product. He has a solid grasp of all the fundamentals needed to be an effective 5 at the NBA level, now we just need to nurture him and make sure he follows the best path to fulfill his potential.

Wow..if we don't talk about his game, then what are we going to talk about? The type of pasta he eats? Just because we're trying to scout out his game doesn't mean we don't know he needs to develop. And don't see how that's any different from this:

MinnyMo wrote:His lift doesn't look that great, which obviously doesn't matter that much with his height and wingspan, but considering it looks like he never spent a day in a gym working out in his life, if he could gain a couple more inches on his vertical with a jumping program.

Not to mention, I think it's a poor observation and suggestion. The last thing he needs is to go do a vertical jumping program.

Makoto15 · Post #1474 » by **Makoto15** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:11 am

lyricalmilitia wrote:and being european doesn't make you a bad player, it's either your a bad player, or your good doesn't matter where your from

I like that idea and think it's a very open-minded attitude. It's just statistically false. A grossly disproportionate percentage of the more successful players in the NBA are African American and come from the hood. And I'm not saying that this should be someone's only consideration for drafting a guy, that would be racist and stupid. But let's not pretend this isn't the predominant pattern.

douggood · Post #1475 » by **douggood** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:12 am

What I love about JV is that he is a north south player, runs basket to basket.

Raemizzle · Post #1476 » by **Raemizzle** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:24 am

Personally for me, I just feel it's the fan-wide perception of Bargnani being soft that is categorizing all other Euro's to be just as soft. I mean if it's lack of rebounding and physicality in the paint that equates being soft, I hope Val AND Bargs apply themselves more to make the haters eat crow.

highness · Post #1477 » by **highness** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:27 am

Prodigy73 wrote:Personally for me, I just feel it's the fan-wide perception of Bargnani being soft that is categorizing all other Euro's to be just as soft. I mean if it's lack of rebounding and physicality in the paint that equates being soft, I hope Val AND Bargs apply themselves more to make the haters eat crow.

Doesn't it ever get tiring to support a player that disappoints year after year? lol

C_Money · Post #1478 » by **C_Money** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:36 am

Well if he doesn't gain mucle by the time he gets to the NBA he's going to get pushed around worse than the dorky kid at school.

gerrit4 · Post #1479 » by **gerrit4** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:40 am

I'll save you the suspense.

I will guarantee you that there will not be players of the level of Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh or Carmelo Anthony selected after Jonas. I'll bet that in 5 years, if any players in the top 15 have a comparable career to Darko the teams that drafted him will be pretty happy.

Darko's draft was one of the best of all time. This one is one of the worst of all time. I was hoping for Kemba or Knight - but I'd be shocked if either is a transcendent player.

MinnyMo · Post #1480 » by **MinnyMo** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:48 am

Volcano wrote:
MinnyMo wrote:People go on about his game and how he is missing this or missing that, he's to thin, etc... but you guys need to remember, he JUST turned 19 on May 6, he's light years away from being a finished product. He has a solid grasp of all the fundamentals needed to be an effective 5 at the NBA level, now we just need to nurture him and make sure he follows the best path to fulfill his potential.

Wow..if we don't talk about his game, then what are we going to talk about? The type of pasta he eats? Just because we're trying to scout out his game doesn't mean we don't know he needs to develop. And don't see how that's any different from this:

MinnyMo wrote:His lift doesn't look that great, which obviously doesn't matter that much with his height and wingspan, but considering it looks like he never spent a day in a gym working out in his life, if he could gain a couple more inches on his vertical with a jumping program.

Not to mention, I think it's a poor observation and suggestion. The last thing he needs is to go do a vertical jumping program.

I was talking about the people who don't like the pick because of the things that he doesn't bring to the table now/yet, I however, think it's a great pick for our future.

Are you happy with the Raptors selection 5th overall?