he sucked. until the today's game. Tyson Chandler dominated him. It's fair to criticize and doubt him. But it was also fair to do it many many times before. This is nothing new. He's a huge, very long, athletic guy who plays with high energy. He's also someone whose improvement year-to-year is huge and very consistent. However, his skills aren't there yet, both offensively and defensively. There's a lot to be positive about. But media and many fans seem to take those Camby/Noah comparisons literally and expect Valanciunas to suddenly change the Raptors' culture, fix all Bargnani's defensive problems and have a big impact on wins a la Tyson Chandler in Dallas. He's not going to be a significant net-positive player right away. If Toronto improves, it will be mainly because of Kyle Lowry and a full training camp under Dwayne Casey.
Motiejunas was indeed passed by the coach. Don't take quotes and interviews in reports very serious - it's only some mumbo jumbo. It amazes how many people here in Lithuania are fools and don't understand that. 1) Kemzura didn't see Motiejunas in his final roster but he could not just say it directly to Donatas and in public as all people here in lithuania would have been upset by the coach. Donatas saw that and made first move as he did not want to spend another summer in national training camp and get rejected. 2) Donatas knew that but he said in media he was not starter so he chose to play in Vegas. Saying that he does not make a 12th man roster would have been decreased his stocks and etc. He was not signed with Rockets at that moment. So basically that happeneds is that both Lithuanian coach and Motiejunas were saying things what was best for them but not what had really happened/
With all due respect, you are speculating. This happens all the time in all sports in every country. Coaches and players say things in public and fans interpret them anyway they want. Unless you can provide a quote otherwise, imo, you are just speculating contrary to the facts (the quotes from the coach and player). You will see that happen a lot on the bulletin board with the Rockets.
You don't have to exaggerate to make your point, especially with 1 point and 1 rebound in 8 minutes of action. At least, JV managed 4 points in 9 minutes of actions.
i am not trying to exaggerate. and i'm not talking about stats. in fact, i replied to your initial post because your conclusion was generalized and based on stats and you seemed to be missing the point in this particular case. Chandler was put on the court to shut down Valanciunas specifically, he did his job and was taken right after. No point to keep him in the game after that for reasons discussed a lot in the main Olympics thread. He stuck to Valanciunas, challenged his shot, forced him to commit a couple of turnovers, as well as led to a Jasikevicius turnover when he was trying to pass it to Valanciunas. In other words, he tuned a Jasikevicius-Valanciunas P&R (a very efficient tool in many other games) into a net-negative play. If there's a one-on-one defensive dominance in basketball, this was it.
on another note, while Chandler scored 1 point, that's because he missed 3/4 free throws. Tyson shooting 2 free throws might be boring, but that's a great offensive possession. Typically, that's close to 1.4 points per possession = Larry Bird taking NBA 3s in his prime. I definitely wasn't thinking about Tyson's offense when I wrote it, but it makes that matchup even more one-sided than I remembered.
I didn't watch the game or know much about Valanciunas' game. But I would point out that Tyson Chandler is a very good defensive center. Really good. A bad fit for a D'Antoni team, but when used properly, and when healthy, he can be a game changer. That Valanciunas struggled is not a big deal.
definitely. this is not to say that Valanciunas is now a scrub and will always be. i was just making a point in regards to media and many fans who expect Valanciunas to be the ROY and have a huge impact on Raptors problems in the paint right away.
probably. although imagine him battling LeBron / Melo at PF. even if it's for a few minutes, it would've been pretty fun.
I would rather have him keep developing his game and then watch him battle LeBron and Melo during the NBA season than imagine him playing against Team USA in the Olympics.
Team USA is a unique creature. in retrospective, Donatas was probably better suited to battle it than other Lithuanian backup 4s. during the season, his matchups will be different. i understand you as you are speaking from a Rockets fan perspective. as a general basketball fan, it's sad to miss it.
