Bismack Biyombo started the second half in place of Jonas Valanciunas against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Jonas Valanciunas appeared to injure his left hand or wrist on a play late in the second quarter. He drew contact from Roy Hibbert and appeared to hit his right hand on the rim, but it was left-hand contact with Kobe Bryant on the way down that appeared to do the damage.
Valanciunas stayed in the game but was flexing his left wrist often over the half’s final 55 seconds.
The team announced early in the third quarter that Valanciunas has a fractured fourth metacarpal (ring finger) and is set to undergo further testing.
If Valanciunas’ injury is a long-term one – that will depend on the location and severity of the fracture – it stands as a massive blow to the Raptors. Biyombo is a fine backup and a strong defender, but his offensive limitations have rendered the team somewhat punchless when he’s on the floor. Lucas Nogueira would be recalled from Raptors 905 in that case, and while he’s probably ready for minutes, he’s still quite raw and can struggle with his pick-and-roll coverages. The Raptors don’t have many other options unless head coach Dwane Casey wants to get experimental with very small lineups, something I’ve been suggesting they try, both to goose the offense and breed familiarity for a potential Valanciunas injury.
Depth at the center position was a concern entering the season and that will be tested while Valanciunas is on the shelf. With the injury occurring on his non-shooting hand, his return could be quick – Chris Paul missed hardly any time with an index finger fracture in the preseason because it was low-severity and located in a favorable position, for example. Still, it’s probably best to begin considering short-term scenarios in which the Raptors don’t have Valanciunas at their disposal.
Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson, and Anthony Bennett could be candidates to see center minutes in funky lineups, and you can pencil Cory Joseph in for a few additional minutes alongside Kyle Lowry, shifting DeMare DeRozan and DeMarre Carroll to the forward spots. Short on pivots, the Raptors won’t have much choice but to get weird and throw traditional positions out the window. It could be fun and help with spacing, but it will be a real challenge on defense and on the glass.
The 23-year-old Valanciunas entered play Friday averaging 13.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 28.1 minutes while shooting 56.2 percent from the floor. He’d hit a bit of a cold spell of late, including a woeful first-half performance against the Lakers, which had cut into his fourth-quarter minutes. Overall, though, he’s shown improvements on both ends of the floor following the signing of a four-year, $64-million contract extension this summer.
