Mo than Meets the Eye: Motiejus Krivas Offensive Breakdown
Mo than Meets the Eye: Motiejus Krivas Offensive Breakdown
The loss of Oumar Ballo to the transfer portal has set the stage for Krivas to prove himself a dominant force in the paint for the Arizona Wildcats.
Coming off a freshman campaign defined by eye-catching productivity in limited minutes, Motiejus Krivas is primed to take a step forward in his second year under Tommy Lloyd. Last season, the Lithuanian big averaged a modest statline of 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in just over 12 minutes per game. Do not be fooled by the numbers. Krivas will have the opportunity to showcase his full skill set in a more prominent role as Arizona’s starting center.
A few weeks ago, ESPN released their list of the Top 100 prospects for the 2025 NBA Draft. Krivas was slotted in at #17. While I was elated to see him a projected first-rounder, part of ESPN’s evaluation stumped me:
“While not supremely skilled on offense, Krivas has the tools to be impactful under the basket. Those things add up to an attractive long-term floor as a defense-oriented backup center”
Labeling someone “not supremely skilled on offense” is tantamount to saying they don’t have many ways to contribute to points being scored for their team. I do not feel this to be true for Motiejus Krivas. This is not an attack on ESPN’s analysts, rather an acknowledgement of a common narrative among draft experts surrounding Krivas that I disagree with. The focus should be more on his ceiling than his floor. Motiejus Krivas (MK) is more valuable offensively than the consensus would indicate. Here’s why:
He has an advanced repertoire of post moves, plus the soft touch with both hands and footwork to go along with it.
His off-ball motor is unremitting – he will find a way to be impactful.
He flashes the ability to score from outside the paint, even to stretch the floor long-term.
He is a considerably better passer than given credit for.
Skilled, mobile bigs with passing chops are at a premium in today’s game. While there is certainly progress to be made, the 19 year-old Lithuanian has the tools and motor to become a valuable offensive asset for NBA franchises in more than a back-up role. Let’s break it down.
Physical Profile
Using Krivas’ measurements from the Basketball Without Borders Global camp in 2023, I searched the annals of NBA Draft combine history to procure a 5-man shortlist of physically comparable prospects in the last 10 years:
This should help you visualize MK on an NBA court. Bear in mind, these measurements will precede the 2025 Draft by almost two years. The rising sophomore stands at 7’2’’/7’3’’ with shoes. He has already added a few pounds to his rugged frame, now listed at 260 lbs, and there is plenty of time for further improvement.
Matter #1: Post Scoring
The physical tools are only part of the equation of Krivas’ interior scoring. The budding center is a versatile low-post scorer, drawing on a variety of moves, solid footwork and body control, patience, and a soft touch to put the ball in the basket. The tape belies the notion that Krivas is not a skilled post player.
These clips showcase what MK is capable of. The young Lithuanian center utilizes up-and-unders, step-throughs, drop-steps, spin hooks, running hooks, and even dream shakes to punish defenders on the block. Notice some of the commonalities in the plays above. Krivas is extremely effective at sealing his defender and establishing deep position down low. He exhibits a great deal of poise in getting to his spots, leveraging pass fakes to pull help defenders away and give himself space to go to work. While not especially fast in his movements, Krivas is able to read defenses from the post and attack accordingly, using his advanced footwork to create advantages.
Take a look at the third clip, for example. MK sets a good ball-screen on the right elbow extended, forcing the Arizona State defense to switch. He then fights to establish position in the paint with his physical superiority and calls for the ball, to no avail. As soon as Caleb Love’s pass to the wing leaves his hands, MK re-seals his defender and is ready to catch the ball on the right block. Identifying the mismatch, ASU’s big decides to rotate over to double-team Krivas. The Lithuanian avoids the trap with a crisp spin hook toward the baseline — away from the defender — for two easy points.
These plays appear to be more than mere flashes. Krivas ranked in the 76th percentile as a post-up scorer in Division I basketball last season, per Synergy. The versatility of his post scoring often goes underappreciated. The fact that MK is skilled does not take away from his ability to perform the offensive functions typical of seven-footers. Krivas is a real lob threat in the dunker spot and shot 58.4% at the rim last season for Arizona. The rising sophomore is active on the boards, cleaning the glass for easy second-chance points or additional possessions for his team. This serves as a perfect segue into the second observation about Krivas’ offensive value; that is, his off-ball motor.
Matter #2: Off-Ball Impact
Let’s start with his production as a rebounder. Per-40, Krivas averaged 5.3 offensive rebounds as a freshman. He also captured just shy of 3 offensive rebounds per game in 20 minutes for Lithuania’s u20 team last summer. Mount Krivas has the physical tools to be an impactful force on the boards. In the possessions below, however, one can also recognize his positional awareness, instincts, and motor as a rebounder.
Check out the following play:
This is an idoneous example of how MK impacts the offense in a low-usage role. If you focus exclusively on Krivas, you’ll notice two things. One, he’s always watching the ball, aware of what is going on around him. And two, he doesn’t stop moving. Whether it’s setting screens, crashing the boards, relocating, or trying to get position down low, the young center is relentless.
While sometimes these efforts can be less apparent, especially in plays where his movement is restricted to the paint, Krivas is assiduous in his off-ball labor and, as seen in this play, is often rewarded for it. This is a coveted trait in the NBA. There’s only one ball on the court — guys who can make do and help the team without it are extremely valuable.
The ability to make things happen as a roller is another characteristic cherished by front offices. It just so happens that Krivas ranked in the 87th percentile as a P&R roll man last season, tallying 1.318 points per possession on 75.5% true shooting. MK is coordinated, fluid, and light off his feet for a seven-footer, all of which contributes to his effectiveness in the pick and roll. The Wildcats’ center is capable of absorbing and finishing through contact. While not much of a vertical athlete, MK utilizes his touch to finish plays around the basket or punish defenses from a few feet out with push shots. This last skill handily ties into the next part of Krivas’ game to be discussed: his shooting touch.
Matter #3: Shooting Touch
Krivas has solid touch around the basket, that much has been established. However, his range already extends beyond the painted area.
The first two plays show that Krivas can generate and convert good looks from the short roll through push shots or floaters, both of which he can get off quickly and in rhythm. Take a look at the third possession. Krivas comes up to the free-throw line, looking to feed his former Wildcats teammate Paulius Murauskas in the post with a high-low pass. However, Krivas recognizes that Murauskas has been pushed out of position and his defender is giving him space, so he seamlessly plants his feet and rises up for the mid-range jumper — nothing but net. There is latent potential for MK to become a serviceable spot-up shooter down the line.
Watch him drill two open threes in clips four and five. The mechanics of Krivas’ shot are not flawless, but solid nonetheless. Krivas passes the eye-test. Expanding his range beyond the paint, in a meaningful way, is certainly on the table.
Free-throw percentage is viewed as a reliable indicator of spot-up shooting; being able to consistently make free throws bodes well for him knocking down mid-range looks. For Arizona, MK shot 77.8% from the charity stripe on 1.8 attempts per game, while converting 76.5% of his FTs for Lithuania’s u20s in just under 5 attempts per game.
One would expect Krivas to start experimenting as a spot-up shooter this upcoming season, after not attempting a single three-point shot his entire freshman campaign. Taking on minimal volume, at least, would allow scouts to better gauge the viability of his incipient jump shot. The flashes of outside shooting are encouraging, though, and the ability to stretch the floor would open up a whole new dimension of MK’s game on the offensive end.
Matter #4: Passing
Last but not least, MK’s playmaking is a hugely undervalued component of his offensive potential going forward. Krivas has good feel for the game. At his size, he can flat out pass the ball. While he does not boast an outstanding processing speed, Krivas is capable of hitting cutters in a variety of situations, as seen above. His propensity to scan the floor while posting up allows him to make the right reads in the half court, even in traffic.
Let’s focus on the last possession of the compilation. The Lithuanian big puts his playmaking acumen on display with an impressive cross-court read. MK establishes position down low. As soon as he receives the entry pass, Krivas is already reading the defense. His size allows him to see over the top of his match-up. He spots the weak-side defender packing the paint, leaving the shooter open in the opposite corner. MK reacts by slinging a cross-court skip pass right into the shooting pocket of Florida’s Kajus Kublickas, who knocks down the open three.
These sort of high-level playmaking glimpses are a big reason for my belief in Krivas’ upside. Not only is he a more skilled post scorer than made out to be, but if he can continue to work on extending his range and becoming a more consistent low-post distributor, a bright future lies ahead.
Assists are not the only form of playmaking. These sequences below capture how MK can contribute as a playmaker, aside from feeding cutters or shooters from the low post.
MK has shown the ability to operate as an offensive hub in short spurts. Krivas injects the offense with fluidity by swinging the ball via a pass-and-screen or DHO, shifting the point of attack and forcing the defense to adjust. This generates advantages that Krivas himself capitalizes on to finish plays. These two features of MK’s playmaking chops are telling of his potential impact in this facet at the next level.
Why the Discrepancy?
If you’ve made it this far, you’ll likely be wondering why the stark contrast between my observations and ESPN’s analysis. To answer this question, I reviewed all of MK’s misses last season. I found that most, if not all, fall into four categories:
Easy looks
Off-balance finishes
Blocked at the rim
Forced contact finishes
See an example of each, in order:
Curiously, a large portion of his total misses fall into the first two categories. Improving his conversion rate on easy buckets should not be too difficult of a task. The reason for ESPN’s take, in my view, has to do with the other two categories. Pay attention to the last two possessions.
MK is met at the rim by Oregon’s N’Faly Dante. The fear is that Krivas, a slow and somewhat unorthodox mover, lacks the vertical pop to consistently punish defenses at the rim. In the last clip, Krivas tries to force himself into his defender, rising up for a slow contact finish that gets blocked. While Krivas can put points on the board with such finishes, the success rate is much lower against physical bigs.
MK has declared he studies Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun, and Domantas Sabonis. These stars are not elite vertical athletes either, but leverage contact, footwork, pump fakes, and touch to score at will in the post, as well as their ability to pass the ball and score from outside the paint.
As a floor, Krivas has the tools to become a serviceable back-up NBA big based on his two-way impact. However, I have tried to convey that Krivas can become much more. He must continue to improve his footwork, the quickness with which he turns the shoulder, his use of timings and contact when executing post moves, and his decision-making as a roller in small windows.
Still. His blend of size, skill, length, motor, and IQ begs the question: can he become an offensive player of the level of say, Ivica Zubac? I think so. And if the passing and floor-stretching upside materializes, the offensive ceiling is higher than you’d think. The upcoming season will be pivotal for MK. My one piece of advice? Don’t underestimate Krivas. Don’t box him into something he’s not. He might just prove you wrong.