Toronto Raptors: Jonas Valanciunas adopts a new style amidst an uncertain role

With new personnel and a fresh identity, the Toronto Raptors are set to endure massive changes this year. No player embodies those changes more than Jonas Valanciunas.

Jonas Valanciunas has been the Toronto Raptors starting centre for all but six of the 440 games he has played in his seven-year career with the team. This season, he has been asked to come off the bench. When a player occupies the same role for this long, deviating from it takes a certain level of mental acuity. So far, Valanciunas is acclimating to his new role brilliantly.

It was Game 2 of the NBA season. Visiting Toronto was the Boston Celtics – the crowned-too-early team of the season. Valanciunas, in this particular matchup against Celtics centre Al Horford, was asked to come off the bench.

In the face of his new role, JV was consistently outplayed by Boston’s backup centre Aron Baynes and was more focused on the whistle than the man in front of him throughout most of his 14 minutes on the floor.

This was especially the case in the third quarter. Valanciunas appeared to have a meltdown on the court after a series of whistles put the bruising big in foul trouble, while also keeping him from scoring more than four points for the game.

Logging as many fouls as points isn’t exactly a rare occurrence for the ordinarily slap-happy Valanciunas, but in this particular scenario, in addition to his new role with the bench unit, the combination made him snap. His usual bouncy energy was replaced with a hanging head, slumped shoulders, and sarcastic laughing at blown whistles. This was not the JV we knew.

Big Questions

After the game, all wary eyes were locked on the big man. Can he play without two ball-handlers creating space for him? Is this a glaring weakness in his game? Will this be a season-long issue for Toronto?

Fortunately for Valanciunas, he would have a chance to rectify Friday’s performance against the Celtics just 24 hours later against the Wizards. Word came down just before tip-off on Saturday that Valanciunas would get the start, and he responded with his best performance of the young season.

Against Boston, Valanciunas was primarily looking for his own shot, and without the proper personnel next to him, he struggled. His focus shifted the next night though, as he played the part of an active opportunist on the offensive end.

After a so-so start to the Wizards game, Jonas finally made his mark with a Shaq-like dunk after grabbing the offensive rebound off his own missed shot. For the rest of his time on the floor, he managed to play this way – finding position under the basket, eating up rebounds and driving to the hoop through openings. Valanciunas made 6-of-7 free throws on the night in just 19 minutes, finishing with 17 points and seven rebounds.

On a per-minute basis, JV was a nightmare matchup for both Ian Mahinmi and Jason Smith (the duo committed seven fouls in 34 total minutes). Wherever the ball was, Valanciunas was ready to pounce on it.

Throughout his nine-point first quarter, Jonas looked comfortable, which was most important. It was a polar-opposite performance from Friday’s dud in Toronto against Boston, one which JV seemingly brushed off. The big question now was whether he could sustain Saturday’s burst of energy as a key figure off the bench. Monday night against the Hornets would be the first opportunity to answer that question.

JV’s Redemption

Unsurprisingly, Serge Ibaka got the start against Charlotte. Valanciunas entered the game around the four-minute mark of the first quarter and immediately replicated the energy he played with against Washington.

There were a few important details in play here: JV played over half of his nine first-half minutes with Fred VanVleet as the sole ball-handler, and Norman Powell as the secondary creator. Powell, acting in place of the injured Delon Wright, doesn’t have the handling ability that Wright has, and his impact thus far has been up and down.

Regardless, Valanciunas adjusted, doing the dirty work under the basket in place of his traditional post-ups. In the first quarter alone, he scored twice off of offensive rebounds, and once off an open lane to the basket for a total of six points – all without a single play called for him.

An Evolving Player

Whereas last year he needed to adjust defensively, these small changes on the offensive end are what will keep Valanciunas alive in this rotation. Instead of forcing the issue without the proper spacing on the floor, such as what he tried against Boston, he is instead adjusting on the fly based on the players around him.

The result has been Valanciunas becoming a blue-collar player seemingly overnight. He would finish Monday’s game with 17 points and 10 rebounds, as well as two blocks and two steals in just 20 minutes off the bench.

Although we’ve seen this version of Valanciunas at times in the past (most notably in the playoffs), he’s never been asked to play this style full-time.

But now, as a key role-player who is occasionally being asked to come off the bench, Valanciunas is learning to be fluid before our eyes. He’s showcasing an ability to be both a primary option on the offensive end, and a complementary role player for a less structured bench offense – and the last two games prove he can excel in either situation as long as he stays focused.

If ever we had to ask who would step up to fill the void of leadership following the loss of DeMar DeRozan, we should look no further than the Lethal Lithuanian. After a slight speed bump early on, Valanciunas looks to be gathering his footing and acclimating himself superbly over the last two contests.

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing from here – there will be more hiccups along the way, but JV has proven his ability to rebound strongly, both on and off the court.