“Yes, Pip, dear boy, I’ve made a gentleman of you.” – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
Toronto Raptors rookie center, Jonas Valanciunas, is, in the words of Charles Dickens, “a young fellow of great expectations.”
Valanciunas was selected fifth overall by the Raptors in the 2011 Draft, but his arrival was delayed last season by his Lithuanian club team, Lietuvos Rytas. Nevertheless, the 7-footer emerged as one of the best young bigs in basketball last year. He dominated the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championships two summers ago, where he led the tournament in points (23), rebounds (13.7) and blocks (3.2), and won a gold medal with Lithuania. While playing for Rytas, Valanciunas averaged 18.4 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per 40 possessions, and shot 63.4 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line. His player efficiency rating (PER) last season was an impressive 26.7, up slightly from his 25.9 output the previous year. He also participated in the London Olympics as the youngest member of the Lithuania basketball team, recording modest numbers (4.4 points and four rebounds per game) in 10 minutes of action per game.
For some perspective, since being drafted, Valanciunas has been named 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship MVP, 2011 FIBA Europe Young Men’s Player of Year (joining past winners like Ricky Rubio, Jan Vesely and Rudy Fernandez), 2011 Lithuanian Player of the Year, 2012 LKL All-Star MVP (his second), and 2012 Eurocup Rising Star.
It’s clear coming into the current NBA season that the big man is integral to Toronto’s long-term plans. He’s young, long, gifted, hard-working and surprisingly athletic for his size. Raptors fans accustomed to seeing fours and fives spotting up at the three-point line will be glad to know that the Lithuanian isn’t afraid to play in the painted area, either.
“He does so many things that don’t necessarily show up on a stat sheet that create opportunities for others. He’s the kind of guy that is a factor in so many ways,” GM Bryan Colangelo told The National Post at the team’s media day. “This kid is 20 years old and he represents a big chunk of the future of this organization.”
Again, great expectations.
Valanciunas made his NBA preseason debut in a home-and-home against the Detroit Pistons last week. He recorded two points (1-for-2 field goals), zero rebounds, two blocks, and a plus-8 rating in just 13 minutes (due to a left calf injury that forced him out of training camp and the team’s first preseason game) on Oct. 10; and 11 points (4-for-7 field goals), eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and a minus-2 rating in 29 minutes on Oct. 12.
Offensively, Valanciunas played mostly alongside Andrea Bargnani in the Raptors’ frontcourt (although he spent some time with Ed Davis). The Raps ran two pretty effective sets with the 7-footers on the floor. The first was a double post with Valanciunas stationed in the high post as the primary on-ball screener, and “Il Mago” serving as a more of a rover, alternating between spots in the low-post and on the weak-side elbow extended.
In his preseason debut, a slip screen off this action led to Valanciunas’ first NBA basket, a two-footer that he finished off the glass from Jose Calderon, and an almost identical play produced an and-1 for the Lithuanian in the next game. As head coach Dwane Casey told TheStar.com, this sort of movement from the high post – that is, rolling to the hoop and sealing off defenders – also opened up the offense for other Raptors. The second set was a traditional spread formation with JV isolated on the block. From here, he hit a memorable running sky hook in the waning moments of the Oct. 12 game.
Although Valanciunas didn’t see a ton of touches in either contest, he seemed a tad hesitant with the ball when he did. He rarely faced up his man, as he did on occasion in Europe, and had a few preventable turnovers, including a fumbled dribble hand-off with Calderon in the first game that started a Pistons fast break. Some of this may be a function of jitters or rust coming off the calf injury.
The rookie made up for it at the other end, though. In both games, he played strong interior defense on Greg Monroe (7-for-16 and 3-for-8 shooting in the two games) and Austin Daye (2-for-11 on Oct. 12), using his length and lateral foot speed to frustrate the Pistons’ forwards throughout. His defensive effort manifested in two swats (a third went uncounted on the 10th), a steal and some noticeable deflections. He also managed to avoid foul trouble (four in 42 minutes), a tendency that he picked up while overseas.
On the glass, the 7-footer improved on his initial rebounding goose egg as he collected eight boards (five defensive and three offensive) on Friday night.
Raptor fans can take solace in these flashes for the time being. Given the limited run Valanciunas has had in the Association, it’s hard to be disappointed with his performance.
“Expectations are really high for the young man, probably unrealistic right now just because he’s been out for so long. The only way he is going to learn is to get out there and get thrown into the fire,” said Casey after his rookie’s first preseason game.
Yes, like Dicken’s Pip, we’ll see if Jonas Valanciunas can become the gentleman we all expect him to be.
What are reasonable expectations for Valanciunas in his rookie season?
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