Jonas Valanciunas will return to action for the Toronto Raptors on Monday against the Chicago Bulls, head coach Dwane Casey said Sunday, per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Valanciunas has been sidelined since Nov. 20 due to a fractured fourth metacarpal in his left hand (a break at the base of his left ring finger). Originally expected to miss six weeks, his return marks a shade over five weeks since the injury, costing him 17 games. He was cleared for practice on Dec. 21 but needed about a week to work his way back into game shape, as the on-court work and cardio he could do while injured doesn’t quite keep a player in peak condition.
The Raptors have unquestionably missed Valanciunas despite their 11-6 record without him. Prior to the injury, the Lithuanian big man was playing perhaps the best two-way ball of his career. While there remain some vision issues out of the post, he remained an effective scorer on the block and an absolute terror as a dive-man. He had improved his screen-setting, too, helping create additional seams and options for Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph. The numbers get muddled some by the co-incidence of DeMarre Carroll’s absence, but the Raptors have been 9.8 PPC worse without Valanciunas this season, suffering on both ends of the floor and especially on the offensive glass.
In 14 games, Valanciunas was averaging career-highs of 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor. More importantly to the team’s long-term prospects, he showed a great deal of comfort in the new defensive system. Valanciunas was overexposed some last season being asked to hedge hard against the pick-and-roll, and this year’s more conservative system, one that plays to his strengths better, appears to be a good fit. The team’s starting five wasn’t playing particularly well before getting hit with injuries, but the next eight most common Valanciunas lineups had all outscored opponents, including the team’s dangerous closing group with Joseph inserted for Luis Scola (+27.2 PPC in 35 minutes).
The Raptors now have their entire roster healthy and available for the first time in nearly two months. That’s paramount for a team that hasn’t yet found chemistry within their starting lineup, the primary goal for the team over the next few weeks.
More to come on Valanciunas’ return tomorrow.
