Jonas Maciulis, who had a terrific showing in the Euroleague with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks in a dramatic game that called Pau Orthez winner in Kaunas after two overtimes. Despite the loss, it was an impressive outing for Maciulis, who showed remarkable versatility. Hes a small forward all the way, but he played parts of virtually every position from point guard to power forward in this game. Among other things, we could see him taking the ball up-court on a number of times, occasionally running the offense as a point guard, and executing a pick-and-roll situation (with Tanoka Beard) as an orthodox playmaker (he delivered a perfect assist to his teammate). He asked for the ball in the low post, taking advantage of his physical superiority to score with his back to the basket. He did a good job cutting and receiving the ball to attack the basket and to shoot from the perimeter (with poor results, though). He also scored in coast-to-coast fashion, beating his defender off t he dribble. He passed the ball within the offensive flow, and hematched up against both forwards on defense. Maciulius kept his hands very active, looking to stealing the ball from any rival on the court. He worked hard on the glass as well. For some stretches in the game, particularly the first three quarters, he was all over the court.
It isnt his first great performance and it wont be the last one (he delivered 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals this in the Baltic League this week as well). Something really strange would need to happen in order to keep Maciulis from becoming a very good player at the highest European level. Hes a very strong wing (he can already outmuscle most of his matchups in international basketball), intense and aggressive, and knows how to take advantage of his physical dominance. Hes quite athletic, but also skilled. His size (6-6; poor for a SF) and his inconsistent perimeter stroke (1/6 from the three-point line in this game; 28% in the Euroleague, and little off-the-dribble ability in this department) seriously hurt his draft chances. After all, its pretty obvious that the physical advantage he enjoys in Europe would be significantly diminished in the NBA, so his effectiveness would take a big hit. But hes a name to remember, as somebody might fall in love with his toughness and character, and bet on a future development.
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