As per Yahoo Sports, JV is opting to take the quicker road back to playing basketball again:
After undergoing further tests on Saturday, Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas will bypass surgery on the fracture in his left hand, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Valanciunas injured his hand on a swipe from Kobe Bryant in Friday’s win over the Lakers. Blake has already covered what the Raptors might do without JV in the lineup and the big man also lamented on his misfortune following the game yesterday.
The healing time for such injuries is anywhere between 6-12 weeks, so it shouldn’t be a surprise if Valanciunas is out till the new year.
This should serve as an opportunity for Bebe to showcase his skills, and I’m not saying the Raptors should do this, but Chuck Hayes is out there. The thought of Bismack Biyombo playing starter minutes is a scary one because it basically means that on any pick ‘n roll, the guard will be doubled and ball-handlers on the already-sputtering Raptors offense would face greater pressure.
The smaller lineup of James Johnson, Terrence Ross, Patrick Patterson, Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph was a very effective one against the Lakers, and could be a go-to move for Dwane Casey if he chooses to stick without a real center, but then again, evaluating a lineup’s effectiveness against the horrible Lakers is not a good idea.
The Raptors are 9th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage, and losing their best rebounder is sure to hurt. The question is whether Casey goes for a big-for-big replacement via Biyombo or Bebe, or opts to go smaller.
