Showing off in this World Cup in his consecration as a star, Rokas Jokubaitis He also did it in the best showcase, that of the United States, leaving a pleasant impression against the handful of stars of an NBA that saw him in the foreground directing as the starting point guard the unquestionable victory of Lithuania (104-110) with his 9 points, 6 assists and 1 steal in 22 minutes to decorate a solvent lesson of knowing how to be. And so that the best league in the world does not forget him despite the fact that the latest events have cooled his arrival.
The young exterior of 22 years He only thinks of Barcelona and he has already made it clear that he will continue for another year at Barcelona to live his third season in Barcelona, where he has learned the best of the grassroots profession under the wisdom and demand of Saras Jasikevicius while his jump to the NBA has been postponed.
Drafted on 34 by the Thunder in 2021 and transferred his rights to the New York Knicks, the Lithuanian liked the coach of the New York team, Tom Thibodeau, during the Summer League, in addition to impressing Mike Budenholzer, then coach of some Milwaukee Bucks that had just been proclaimed champions. With both parties believing that the best thing was to continue gaining experience in Europe, ‘Thibs’ acknowledged to MD at the beginning of this year that he wanted to see Jokubaitis again in the summer league, which the Catalan did not even contemplate when coinciding with the start of Lithuanian training for the World Cup.
However, Rokas refreshed the NBA’s worth for the challenge with his complete performance on both sides of the court, maintaining an interesting duel with, precisely and by those whims of fate, the banner of the Knicks, Jalen Brunsonwho praised what could be his teammate and position: “He’s a fantastic player, I played against him today and I have great respect for him,” said the point guard.
Rokas, defending Brunson alongside Valanciunas
POOL / EFE
Jokubaitis, very confident after his 19 points against Greece, displayed his sharp reading of the game in the pick and roll among other situations and boasted of resources in attack. Turning his weakness into a strength, for Rokas it is less and less of a problem that rivals force him to dribble to the rightyour less dominant hand.
The young point guard, the only Barça player still alive in the World Cup, found Jonas Valančiūnas in 2×2 and he knew how to attract with his penetrations to find assists, also correct in shooting with 3/8 in shots and 1/3 in triples, also accelerating the counterattack judiciously when he had to go out in transition.
His mere presence in attack with his size conditioned, distorting the pairings, the United States, which preferred on some occasions to assign him another defender other than Brunson, inferior in melee, which helped Lithuania find a mismatch. Rokas’s intense defense also bothered the star of the knicksdespite which he was able to finish with 14 points.
But it was also a learning game for Jokubaitis at the hands of Mikal Bridges. The ‘ironman’ of the NBA -he has not lost a single game in the last two seasons-, showed that he has studied Rokas very well, insisting on directing him to the right -despite which the Catalan unbalanced him-, and putting him up to two authoritarian blocks in very similar plays, knowing that the Mazeikai point guard sometimes takes the shot from middle distance at the exit of the direct blockade. In any case, Rokas had been able to generate those pitches.
Although Brunson is indisputable as a starter -with a contract until 2025-, next season space could be opened for Rokas given that the situation of substitutes as Immanuel Quickley y Miles McBride, with both ending their relationship in June 2024. Crowning with a solid performance against Team USA some excellent numbers in this World Cup of 12.8 points, 5.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds and a PIR of 16.6 in 24 minutes with 52.3% in field goals and 66.7% in triples, Rokas Jokubaitis left a loud reminder to the NBA.
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2023-09-04 06:05:34
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