Two years ago the Toronto Raptors drafted Jonas Valanciunas 5th overall. The 6’11, 230 lb Lithuanian, who started playing professionally at the age of sixteen, had garnered a large amount of attention from the NBA following a successful career in Lithuania. A $2.5 million dollar buyout clause prevented Valanciunas from joining the Raptors last year, thus the big man’s NBA career began this past season.
Following a debut in which he scored twelve points and grabbed ten rebounds, Valanciunas struggled the first half the NBA season. Posting respectable numbers in November (9 PPG, 5.5 RPG in only 24 MPG), December proved disastrous as his numbers slipped and he broke his finger on December 21st. The injury would keep him out until February 1st, and while he would struggle statistically that month, he would turn the corner in March, averaging 11.4 PPG and 7.3 RPG.
His strong play in March would earn him Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, and he would continue this into April, ultimately posting Post All-Star numbers of 11.1 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 27 minutes of play per game. His strong finish to the season would earn him All-Rookie 2nd Team honors.
Valanciunas’ numbers the last two months of the season are encouraging, indicating that once he adapted to the NBA game and was healthy he was able to display the skill set that made him a top five draft pick. There is a lot to like about his game, as he is able to score both with his back to the basket and facing up, showing the ability to hit from midrange. He is fairly mobile for his size, and has shown at times he can be explosive going to the basket (see below).
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy7Ex3bi6Gs]Defensively, Valanciunas made an impact, particularly when paired with Amir Johnson. As Hasan Alanam at Canada.com pointed out, the duo allowed 96.5 per 100 possessions. These two will likely be playing the majority of minutes together next season, and with added strength and development this pairing could be even stronger defensively.
Next season Jonas will be the opening day starter. Andrea Bargnani is on the way out, leaving Valanciunas as the only center on the team other than Aaron Gray. His minutes per game should increase, and barring injury we should see statistical improvement across the line. One area he will need to improve is foul trouble. Jonas averaged three fouls a game this year, and while he only fouled out twice he averaged at least four fouls in 40% of his games (25 of 62). The Raptors could slip into the playoffs next season, and how much improvement Valanciunas shows will largely dictate whether Toronto does or not.
2012/13 Statistics:
- 8.9 PPG
- 6.0 RPG
- 1.3 BLKPG
- PER 15.62
- Season High Points: 22 against San Antonio
- Season High Points: 13 twice against Indiana and Detroit
Statistics acquired from ESPN.com
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