Valanciunas will be at centre of offence
Big man being given more opportunities to handle and distribute the basketball
Jonas Valanciunas probably won’t stand with the ball at the elbow in the Toronto Raptors’ offence this coming NBA season and rifle off nolook, over-the-shoulder passes to cutting teammates.
He may not rip down a defensive rebound and take off dribbling up the court, leading the team in transition and either attacking the basket on his own or dishing off picture-perfect passes to his teammates, filling the wing like some seven-foot Lithuanian Magic Johnson.
But there are likely to be more ways for the 26-year-old centre to make a mark on the team’s offence. He and Raptors coach Nick Nurse are examining all legitimate and logical possibilities.
“We are expanding his offensive responsibilities a little bit,” Nurse said after the Raptors worked out in suburban Burnaby, B.C., on Wednesday. “More involvement in the offence, not necessarily scoring or shooting, but handling and passing.”
Valanciunas’s impact offensively grew exponentially last season and has to continue in his first year under Nurse. A traditional back-to-the-basket big man in his first six seasons in the NBA, he blossomed into a more multi-faceted player last season.
He was given more responsibility for ball-handling and decision-making in halfcourt sets but, more importantly, he became a far more legitimate shooting threat than he had ever been.
After taking just four three pointers in his first five seasons — and making only one — he hoisted 74 last year and his 40.5 per cent conversion rate was astonishing given his history.
He won’t become a go-to guy in Toronto’s perimeter offence but he is going to be more of focal point in both facilitating scoring for others and shooting enough to keep defences honest.
“A lot of dudes just understand holding the ball in your hand is scoring. No,” he said. “Holding the ball in your hand is creating opportunities for other players. That’s what I want to do, that’s what I want to get better on — passing, just creating opportunities for guards, whoever is on the court. So, it’s not about scoring, just team sport.”
If nothing else, Valanciunas has been consistent since he arrived in Toronto about seeing the game as collective effort rather than one that focuses mainly on individual skills. He’s always talked team first and done it, not demanding shots or the ball in traditional places big men get it. He has been willing to cede scoring totals to others.
How Nurse will use him remains to be seen but with a Toronto offence seemingly being built around more movement, more creativity and the ability of everyone to read and react to the actions of others, Valanciunas will have to continue to display the growth he did last season.
“We worked a lot last year on just handling the ball, I’ve got to learn how to be good ballhandler (but) it’s not what big guys do typically, so it’s kind of ... last year that was a new thing for me, so …
“We’re learning how to play without ball. Guys cutting, some weak side action or stuff like that, it’s going to help for everybody.”
The other side of Valanciunas’s game — defence — also needs some work and needs to continue to improve. In the constantly changing NBA, a big man has to be able to guard all kinds of different opponents in all kinds of different schemes: switching pick and rolls, getting out to contest corner threepointers, being able to protect the rim and close off paths to the basket for attacking guards.
The demands are endless and Valanciunas has plenty left to master. Nurse knows that, his staff knows that, and there’s a method to some of their training camp madness.
“I am hoping to give him more chances to defend different people,” Nurse said. “He’s got to be able to guard more than just the five (other post players) in today’s NBA game. “You guys know we have a one-on-one tournament every day. That isn’t just for the offensive guys. That’s for guys like J.V. to have continual reps of playing against Kyle (Lowry) and Fred (VanVleet) and Norm (Powell) and guys he could end up on.”
“We’re learning how to play without ball ... it’s going to help for everybody.” JONAS VALANCIUNAS ON HIS TRAINING CAMP WORK