Toronto Raptors assistant coach Johnny Davis joined the Jeff Blair Show on Friday morning to discuss working with rookie Jonas Valanciunas.
Davis has been impressed with how quickly the young Lithuanian has been picking up his game.
“Unfortunately he missed all of training camp so he’s still learning the nuances and the details of some of the things that we are asking him to do, expecting him to do in his position,” Davis told Blair. “But he is still improving and we can see the improvement from him every day in practice.”
Blair also asked Davis about the process of how Valanciunas and his teammates will develop chemistry and an understanding of how best to play together.
“As he gains experience and gets to know players and they get to know him, You’ll see that synergy begin to happen,” Davis said.
“He’s really a student of the game and he’ll pick it up quickly. He has the type of game that makes the others around him better because he does the little things like running the floor, helping out on defence. He communicates on defence. He’s a really good passer of the basketball and players enjoy playing with him and he enjoys playing with them.”
Blair also asked Davis about how new point guard Kyle Lowry’s injury will affect the team as it prepares for the regular season.
“Right now the key thing is to get him healthy so he’s ready to go opening night,” Davis said.
