Jonas Valanciunas's Ceiling...?

[Miekenstien]

Agreed, I'd love him to be the next Kareem and average 33 and 15,but he aint Kareem and league is totally different now. I dunno who he currently compares to in terms of his actual style, he seems a little unique in what he does, just different bits and pieces from various players. but I can see him being a 17-13 guy, and would be delighted if he got to that level. He will definitely be right up there in rebounding, he just works so hard. Also offensive rebounding, which i think is so important, getting second and third chances, he's got that ability.
His mid range shot looks a little weird, but the touch looks fine and I think he'll eventually be reliable from mid range down the road. Defensively he is improving slowly, which is fine. I watched Andrew Bogut come into the league, he originally wasn't anything special defensively, 5-6 years later he lead the league in blocks and is generally a great rim protector these days. I was never that worried about JV's defense, it will, and is, coming around.

i love boguts' game.

in all fun, with the names of all time greats being tossed around freely here, why not throw in kareem too. i've seen bigV hit a hook shot. might as well throw him into the ceiling conversation.

lol at a poor mans duncan. greatest power forward ever, skill wise. (i would take the mailman over timmy) if bigV came to 65 cents on the dollar of timmy, he was a great pick.

[mcHAPPY]

Agreed, I'd love him to be the next Kareem and average 33 and 15,but he aint Kareem and league is totally different now. I dunno who he currently compares to in terms of his actual style, he seems a little unique in what he does, just different bits and pieces from various players. but I can see him being a 17-13 guy, and would be delighted if he got to that level. He will definitely be right up there in rebounding, he just works so hard. Also offensive rebounding, which i think is so important, getting second and third chances, he's got that ability.
His mid range shot looks a little weird, but the touch looks fine and I think he'll eventually be reliable from mid range down the road. Defensively he is improving slowly, which is fine. I watched Andrew Bogut come into the league, he originally wasn't anything special defensively, 5-6 years later he lead the league in blocks and is generally a great rim protector these days. I was never that worried about JV's defense, it will, and is, coming around.

JV is going to be slow to develop on D considering all the time spent on the bench last season and to start this year.

Practice time, once the season gets going, is virtually non-existent.... especially 5on5 game like experience.

It is a catch 22:
bench him because he is not executing defensive rotations at game speed;
he can't learn defensive rotations at game speed because he is on the bench.


JV is going to be fine.
Never going to be a generational dominant player in the mold of Hakeem, Shaq, or Duncan but should have no problem being considered an all-star such as Al Horford.

[Superjudge]

He looked spry last night.

[MACK11]

Looking back at this thread, Jonas can definitely be a 20&10 guy

How has you're opinion changed since December on JV?

[BigCamB]

I think the same still...17 or 18 points with 11-13 boards. Continuing to develop his team and individual defense is key. Blocking shots isn't so important either, just constantly being in the right position to challenge and alter the shots ala Marc Gasol is more than enough. A bit less robotic with his post moves and a consistent mid range J and the stats will take care of themselves.

[TSF]

I think JV's ceiling is a poor man's Tim Duncan. His game reminds me a lot of Duncan's but I don't think JV will ever be as consistent offensively as Duncan. I also think that JV has the potential to affect the defensive end like Hibbert. It seems a lot of people on here are underestimating his ceiling because he may look lost at times or seem like hes not even a factor on the court but under a coach like Dwane Casey, who is not the best at developing young players, he often doesn't look his best. Since the Rudy Gay trade as well as the increased playing time, he has been an animal. Hopefully this brief period is just the start of Big Val's potential!

I'll take the poor man's Tim Duncan with the extra little bit of height and weight that makes him a true center so that we can pair him with a long, lanky PF with a midrange shot instead of tiago splitter.

[imanshumpert]

I'll take the poor man's Tim Duncan with the extra little bit of height and weight that makes him a true center so that we can pair him with a long, lanky PF with a midrange shot instead of tiago splitter.

Umm Tim Duncan is taller and heavier than Jonas.

[TSF]

Umm Tim Duncan is taller and heavier than Jonas.

Really? Shoot. Duncan always seemed a little bit more prototypical power forward-y, whereas Jonas seemed more center-y. Oh well, the eye test fails me. I'll still take the poor man's Tim Duncan, in any case

[Mediumcore]

For a centre to be a 20-10 guy may not be a good thing in todays NBA. The league is speeding up, not slowing down. JV scoring 20 pts. a game in the low post could very well mean we have a slower pace than the opposing teams. That's why everyone is playing small ball these days.

I'll take 10 rebounds for JV though.

[Puffer]

[QUOTE=Mediumcore;338630]For a centre to be a 20-10 guy may not be a good thing in todays NBA. The league is speeding up, not slowing down. JV scoring 20 pts. a game in the low post could very well mean we have a slower pace than the opposing teams..../QUOTE]

If it comes from transitions, getting up and down quickly, through pick and rolls and through recognition of when he is open, their pace might actually speed up.

[WJF]

This past season only 19 players averaged 20 points per game or more, for all you out there saying Jonas can get 20 and 10 may want to really look at what it take to accomplish that.

With the Raptors as they stand right now, Jonas will never be a #1 scoring option so very hard to put up 20 every game as a 2nd to 4th option. if he can do 17 and 11 it would be huge. He has a solid foundation that would allow him to get there, adding a counter post move to what he has already as well as finding confidence in shooting the 15-17 footer when open would get him there. I think we will see after this summer if he has what it take to continue to develop as a player, so far he has shown good signs.

[JawsGT]

This past season only 19 players averaged 20 points per game or more, for all you out there saying Jonas can get 20 and 10 may want to really look at what it take to accomplish that.

With the Raptors as they stand right now, Jonas will never be a #1 scoring option so very hard to put up 20 every game as a 2nd to 4th option. if he can do 17 and 11 it would be huge. He has a solid foundation that would allow him to get there, adding a counter post move to what he has already as well as finding confidence in shooting the 15-17 footer when open would get him there. I think we will see after this summer if he has what it take to continue to develop as a player, so far he has shown good signs.

I think 20/10 is a reasonable expectation, but not for next season. 17/11 next season would be incredible.

[mcHAPPY]

This past season only 19 players averaged 20 points per game or more, for all you out there saying Jonas can get 20 and 10 may want to really look at what it take to accomplish that.

With the Raptors as they stand right now, Jonas will never be a #1 scoring option so very hard to put up 20 every game as a 2nd to 4th option. if he can do 17 and 11 it would be huge. He has a solid foundation that would allow him to get there, adding a counter post move to what he has already as well as finding confidence in shooting the 15-17 footer when open would get him there. I think we will see after this summer if he has what it take to continue to develop as a player, so far he has shown good signs.

Only 5 averaged 20 and 10.

I see him being a 18 point guy and 10+ rebounds.

The key for him is not going to be his number of points but how efficiently he does it.

If he can put up 18 points on just 12 shots, that would be fantastic. Based on his activity off the ball and his ability to hit FTs, hopefully that is not an unrealistic expectation.

Important to remember kid just turned 22. I don't wish to place limitations on him. He could be scary at in another 3 years.

[Other Scott]

Only 5 averaged 20 and 10.

I see him being a 18 point guy and 10+ rebounds.

The key for him is not going to be his number of points but how efficiently he does it.

If he can put up 18 points on just 12 shots, that would be fantastic. Based on his activity off the ball and his ability to hit FTs, hopefully that is not an unrealistic expectation.

Important to remember kid just turned 22. I don't wish to place limitations on him. He could be scary at in another 3 years.

Exactly. It doesn't really matter how many PPG Valanciunas gets. The key is being a consistent and efficient offensive option. If he doesn't get the PPG because the opposing team is working hard to take him away, I'm fine with that.

He has to improve consistency, he has to curb the turnovers, and he has to improve his defense. But it was exciting to see flashes of what Valanciunas could be this season. That Game 1 against the Nets was so encouraging.

[007]

As long as he is an efficient scorer and gets over 10 rebs a game I will be so happy.