Motiejus Krivas

PROFILE

FIBA U20 European Championship- August 2024
By Artau Pascual

Pro-ready body to compete at a high level already. Average athlete. His size and game understanding translate perfectly to what the highest European stages demand.  Talent-wise, he might have an NBA window, but shooting prowess and mobility are legit question marks for his case.

On the offensive end, Krivas is a fantastic post-up player. His right-hand touch is great, and he’s great at sealing his position. Very difficult to push him because of his core strength. Lowers his center of gravity easily. Sees the attention he draws and hits open teammates, both cutters and shooters. Can play alongside aggressive forwards and hit them in high-low connections. Not much of a floor-stretcher yet, but he’s starting to shoot it from the mid-range and in pick&pop. Soft right-handed floater. Very coordinated when he rolls to the rim.

On the defensive end, Krivas uses his length and size to protect the rim. He has good positioning and communication skills, and he’s fine at securing the paint. Lacks vertical leap, but anticipation and fundamentals make up for it. Projects as a player who could occasionally stay in front of ball-handlers at the European level because of his length, but he would struggle to do this task at a good level in wider spaces against explosive, shifty guards who can go downhill.

U20 European Championship- July 2023

Strong big with good mobility for European standards. Intelligent player: good passer from the post and knows how to position himself on offense. A threat in pick&roll, both to connect with teammates and to finish himself. Has the touch and smoothness to shoot, but lacks the volume and doesn’t look like someone who likes stretching the floor. Left some worrying moments in the last games, shying away from offering passing lanes in the post against bigs like Sananda Fru or even Danny Wolf, who should have been a favourable matchup. On defense, he lacked the lateral quickness to face shifty ball-handlers on switch and looked lost in some drop coverages. Needs to improve his awareness when he’s outside the paint.

Adidas Next Generation Tournament Istanbul - March 2021
Krivas is a pure center with a remarkable frame and a big wingspan. He is strong in the upper and lower body and shows some coordination in his footwork playing back to the basket. Krivas has a soft touch near the basket with both hands and has potential as a post-up player; needs to improve his mobility because right now is too heavy.. The shooting mechanics are awful; he barely uses his legs but the touch is good enough. Defensively, he is comfortable using his weight and body because he is tough; he is a very good rebounder but can’t defend outside the paint.

TBF 2020 - January 2020
By Biel Colominas
Undeveloped big man who has significantly grown since last spring. His body and athleticism are raw but he has good coordination and natural mobility. Played off the ball most of the time: has good hands to catch the ball while rolling and as a catch-and-finisher, showing soft touch with both hands. Lacks explosiveness as a finisher though. Krivas tries to play physical and to not shy away of contact, even though he cannot absorb contacts at the moment. He likes to pop after ball screens, can shoot from the top of the key in these situations with good success. Has a nose for offensive rebounds, fights a lot for them even out of his area.