Landry Fields scored 15 points, and Kyle Lowry had 14 points and six assists in his Raptors debut to help Toronto beat the Washington Wizards 104-101 in exhibition play Wednesday night.
How does Valanciunas look? His numbers look modest, but he hasn't played 30 or more minutes yet. What's the talk around Toronto on his rookie potential? How are the Raptors looking to run their offense this year, and will Valanciunas be a major contributor in it?
Val looks great. His numbers have been pretty darn good considering that he's a rookie and playing limited minutes. I still think he's going to experience foul trouble and growing pains as a rookie centre but the potential is there. Fantastic defensive awareness and nice touch around the basket. Not a good man defender but just needs to get stronger. I think the offense will still be run through Bargs, Lowry and Derozan but Val has the potential to average 8-10 pts and 7-8 rebounds.
Those are decent projections for a patient fan, but for the impatient fan, do you think he has potential to far exceed those numbers in a few years, as his draft position would suggest? I saw his fellow countryman, Donatas Montiejunas, in summer league action, and he really impressed me. I can see Montiejunas being a long-term NBA staple, with high potential. Do you get the same vibe watching Val? Where do you see his ceiling and basement?
Oh definitely. I think those would be rookie year stats. In a few years i'm sure he can become a top 5 centre. He looks like a less athletic Tyson Chandler/Joakim Noah with better offense type player. He is ready to start right out of the gate and will get better with experience. His main problem right now is foul trouble.
Jonas is gonna be a beast. I saw him against NY just take Amar'e right to the hoop no problem. He's so raw it's scary. By next year, he'll be a force.
