Raptors putting their trust in JV
‘It’s not about scoring,’ Valanciunas says
Jonas Valanciunas is a far better and more willing shooter, he’s become a more adept passer and his ability to read what’s going on in the heat of a National Basketball Association game continues to improve with the experience and responsibility he has.
Now he’s becoming a seven-foot point guard every now and then for the Toronto Raptors.
Valanciunas doesn’t bring the ball up the court while calling plays or anything dramatic like that but his game has evolved enough this season that coach Dwane Casey — and his teammates trust him with a large measure of decision-making with the ball in hands.
As part of Toronto’s read-and-react offence, which relies on ball movement, spacing and the ability to know when to attack, Valanciunas often finds himself with the ball near the three-point line with teammates running off and around him, ready for whatever he decides.
Sometimes it’s a hand-off to a guard using him as a screen, sometimes it’s a fake that ends up with a pass to the same guard after his defender gets caught up in that Valanciunas screen, sometimes he keeps the ball and turns to shoot or drive.
“I’m just enjoying myself,” Valanciunas said. “I’m just enjoying playing. It’s not about scoring, it’s not about grabbing rebounds or anything like that. It’s just playing, leaving everything out there and just making plays, being in the right place, setting the right screen for the open layup, whatever. It’s just fun to play like that.”
It’s a huge departure from early in his career when the six-year NBA veteran would plop himself in the post and wait to be fed the ball.
“He’s handling the ball far more than he was just going down into the post so he’s confident having the ball in his hands, whether it’s up top or in the post because he’s touched it so much,” coach Dwane Casey said.
“That’s something, the way we’re playing now, that helps our bigs handle the ball, touch the ball. They don’t feel like they necessarily have to have a play run for them because they have the ball and that ball is an energy pill.
“It energizes you when you touch it and feel it and when it’s zinging around and moving around, it gives the offence energy.”
Valanciunas has taken to his new role quite well in what’s been a breakout and varied offensive season. He’s hoisting all kinds of jump shots — 50 three-pointers before Tuesday’s game against Atlanta when he’d never taken more than two in a full season previously — and his passing has improved immeasurable.
He’s not piling up assists, only one per game, but his passes often lead to the passes that lead to shots and baskets.
And he’s even shown the flair for some completely unexpected razzle-dazzle.
“For him to be at the top of the key (Sunday) night and throw a behind-the-back pass and try to go to the basket, that shows how comfortable we are and he is to try to make a good decision out of it,” DeMar DeRozan said.
“And it’s something we practise every single day. With the reps continuously coming, working on it, able to see it, I’m definitely confident.”
That Valanciunas would become a viable shooting option is not too big a surprise given the work he’s put in on it over the past offseasons. The passing and decision-making abilities are a bit more impressive because they come through quick reactions and being able to read a play as it develops.
“That’s the part that’s impressed me more than anything else is him making decisions at the top with the ball,” Casey said. “He’s a quasi-point guard, he’s a point guard for two seconds, three seconds he’s got at the top so his decision-making, watching how players are busting through (dribble-handoffs) or whether they’re going under. He’s done a good job of reading those situations.”