I am sick and tired of this new narrative (being pushed by the simpletons at ESPN, no doubt) that Jonas Valanciunas is “struggling”. No. He’s not struggling. What is happening, and this has been happening his whole career so no one should be surprised, is that he is being held down by incompetent and racist (against Lithuanians) coaches.
I have absolved Valanciunas all responsibility for his lack of production/minutes his entire career, and I’m not about to stop absolving him now. Just because he isn’t in Toronto anymore doesn’t mean that all of a sudden his coaches don’t hate him. A quick look at the Grizzlies roster and Valanciunas’ place in the rotation makes it clear that the hatred is still there and is, in fact, stronger than ever.
When Valanciunas misses a shot that maybe he should have made, that is the coach’s fault. When Valanciunas is late to a defensive rotation, that is the coach’s fault. When Valanciunas lets a rebound slip through his hands, that is the coach’s fault. Every single negative that could be found in his game is the fault of the coach and the coach only.