[OhCanada-Participant]

 I’m predicting a breakout year for Valanciunas. Now that Derozan has been resigned and with Lowry entering a contract year which will be his last years playing within his prime Toronto will likely start to slowly develop Valanciunas into a more utilized offensive weapon. He is Toronto’s most valuable asset going forward and offensively he is underused in many ways.

Coming into the league like most bigmen Valanciunas was not perfect. Coach Casey has given him minutes from the get go yet has been strict on him limiting his minutes in the 4th and at times benching him. This has been due to his lack of agility defending the rim and normal young bigman bonehead plays Casey wont put up with. Now four years into his NBA career and having turned 24 this May it seems Valanciunas has grown into his body and now is at a comfortable weight.This postseason before he got injured Valanciunas did it all. He was defending in space, at the rim, not getting called for moving screens, and playing physical without fouling all of which have been reasons Casey benched him in the past. He is much more agile and fluid and seems to be a step ahead of where he used to be.

If Valanciunas gets a chance to score he will convert. There’s only 12 Centers in the league that outscored him last year and on that list only 2 have a loweer usage rate (Whiteside, Howard). The reason thier usage rate is so low is because of the Hack-a-Shaq. You can’t hack at Valanciunas the way you can hack at those two he shoots 76% FT which is elite amongst Centers. Also only four players on that list did not average 32-mpg (Vucevic 31.3, Gortat 30.1, Monroe 29.3, Whiteside 29.1). Valanciunas averaged 26-mpg.

This Summer Valanciunas has been showing off his midrange game with team Lithuania. He is a good shooter when left alone, if gaurded that goes away due to lack of elevation over and seperationg from the defender. He made around 46% of his jump shots in the regular season and 70% in the postseason although on very limited attempts. This Summer he seems to be taking about 4 or 5 midrange shots and hitting 2 or 3 a game.

In all I’ve been very critical on him in the past and have defended Casey on reasons why Big Val didn’t get his minutes. Last year I think he made the improvements necessary for him to be a 30-32 mpg guy but with Biyambo playing the way he did it wasn’t necessary. This year I think he is ready for increased playing time and offensive responsibility and could be a MIP candidate.

 

 

 

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 He’s actually been Very consistent since his 2nd year in the NBA — you can pencil him for 12 pts 8 boards & 55% FG% & just under 30 min per game

I don’t see his stats jumping much…… nut they don’t need to…….. b/c Toronto’s Offense is Guard Heavy….

 

 

 

[Jr. ROXASParticipant]

Every year we think this would happen to Val but every year Casey also finds a way to bury him on the bench. It’s simple, Val will break out if Casey lets him.

[Mr. HookShotParticipant]

He should watch tape of Marc Gasol over and over again. Both defensively (how to defend in space etc.) and offensively (how to utilize a jump shot), Gasol should be the blueprint for Valanciunas going forward. The question is whether Valanciunas will ever become as comfortable with the ball in his hand as Gasol, as that would determine whether he can handle a bigger role on offense when passing from the block and making his teammates better. 

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