Where Is JaVale?

JaVale seems to do okay individually against finesse centers, but disappears against more physical ones. He was called to the challenge last night and didn’t show up.

As stated, last night should be a clear signal to him that he’s got some work to do both in the weight room and the film room.

That JaVale need to “get paid” elsewhere. His stats have improved, he passes the “eye test” on many nights, seems to be working harder…but the advanced stats say his play is not helping create wins even if it appears in traditional stats to be improving.

Add in nights like this one, and you can see how easy it is to outclass him in the post. He might alter a lot of shots even when he isn’t blocking them, and I wouldn’t be shocked if a team with a better track record (ie most high school teams) of player development turned him into a star. But within this organization the holes in his game really just SCREAM that we need to avoid giving him a toxic DeAndre Jordan style contract.

The pundits keep saying its the benchmark for JV, but the clips game proves otherwise to me

But the wiz have shown zero interest in setting up those fundamental basketball tenants in the last 5-10 years. JaVale has been her FOUR years…if you haven’t flashed the ability to improve in four years the likelihood of it happening is almost nonexistent.

Its the same with with our magical roster of high IQ guys with no skills and high athleticism guys with no IQ. You can’t be waiting on 7 different guys to “develop their J” at one time. While its a common tenant to say you can teach shooting, its also usually apparent quickly in a career that someone will be able to learn how.

He is a very poor on-ball defender and a very poor help defender. He is indeed a great shot-blocker which almost always comes when he is helping. The problem is, it seems to be the only way he knows how to help. If the situation and timing are right, he can get up like no one else and bat it away. But how many times does he just stand like a statue and watch some wing player drive for a layup? He has no sense of where to move to disrupt the opposing offense.
Although his offense has improved a little by developing a serviceable hook shot, he is not a good offensive player because despite his “athleticism,” i.e., running and jumping, he is not a good athlete in the sense of hand-eye coordination or handling the basketball or seeing the court. On a contested rebound, have you ever seen him come away with the ball? Rarely, because he just can’t secure it.
Which means he is also only a mediocre rebounder.