When Jonas Valanciunas went down with a fractured metacarpal in his left hand some weeks ago in Los Angeles, Raptors fans were left wondering. With a team already struggling out of the gate offensively and now, with their only legitimate interior offensive threat sidelined for 4-6 weeks. the Raptors short-term future looked bleak offensively to the say the least. Bring on the ugly starts and poor offensive execution down the stretch, right?
Sure, the Raptors have had their issues in select games offensively since that point on, but in what has been a meteoric rise of sorts, the interior defense, rebounding and toughness displayed by JV’s replacement has been nothing short of spectacular. Bismack Biyombo has arrived, and is making his presence felt in Toronto.
On July 18th, 2015, reports surfaced that the Masai Ujiri had signed Bismack Biyombo – a fifth-year big man (at only 23 years of age) from the Congo, still looking for his true identity and a solid rotation spot in the league after 4 rather average/mediocre years in Charlotte. And at that point, let’s be honest. While some die-hard Raptor fans may have been happy after hearing about the signing, most probably shrugged their shoulders and had the “talk to me in October” attitude. Didn’t really seem like huge news at the time.
Viewed as essentially a replacement for the departing Tyler Hansbrough in the offseason, Biyombo was expected to bring those Hansbrough-like characteristics off of the bench for the Raptors. With 10-15 minutes a night on average, Biyombo’s role was expected to be to provide defensive toughness, energy and maybe a few blocks and rebounds off of the bench. Nothing more. Now, with just over a third of the season complete, expectations of the young veteran have changed dramatically.
In the 17 games Bismack has started for the Raptors this season since JV’s injury that night in LA, Biyombo has averaged 30 minutes a game, just over 6 ppg (shooting over 51% from the field), 11.7 rebounds per game, and 1.9 blocks per game. While not exactly Ben Wallace-like numbers, one could certainly make the argument that Biyombo is essentially a poor man’s version of Ben Wallace. At least for the Raptors’ intents and purposes, as we awaited JV’s return (JV will return tonight in Chicago), Biyombo’s role has been starkly similar to Ben Wallace on those gruelingly tough Pistons squads of the early-mid 2000s.
Biyombo’s job has been to defend the paint like nobody’s business, play an opportunistic role on offense taking advantage of cleanup points around the hoop, and when handed the ball close to the basket, Bismack is expected to go straight up and dunk it. With the offensive finesse close to the basket still a glaring weakness in Biyombo’s game, his neutralizing strength is sheer toughness, strength and athleticism around the hoop. He may not be able to shoot it from 10 feet out, but he can grab the ball before the opponent and hand it to somebody who can – a job that Biyombo has grown increasingly comfortable with during Valanciunas’ time off.
There was no better example of Biyombo’s value to this team, than Saturday night in Milwaukee. While the Bucks have never really caused issues for the Raptors in the win-loss column, the pesky Milwaukee teams of the past couple of years have made life difficult for the Raptors (and others in the league for that matter) due to their length and athleticism inside, with guys Giannis Antetokounmpo and John Henson. Insert Bismack Biyombo.
In just over 27 minutes of action against Milwaukee on Saturday, Biyombo dropped 14 points on 5/7 shooting, grabbed 12 boards, and had an unbelievable 4 blocks – pretty much all of the jaw-dropping variety. And you can be assured that once word really gets around the league about Biyombo’s recent performances, the Raptors’ painted area when guarded by Biyombo, will not be a welcome area for opposing slashers anymore. Just ask Jabari Parker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISO9uPVKp58
With the finger wag of his famed fellow Congolese countryman Dikembe Mutombo, Bismack Biyombo reminds Raptors fans that he can be also be a Mutombo of sorts for this Raptors squad. No, I’m not saying Bismack is as good or even can be as good Mutumbo, but what I am saying is that he can employ that same style of play, similar to the Ben Wallace comparison. The point is – while taking some aspects away offensively, minutes can be justified for Biyombo given the sheer impact he has defensively and the energy with which he guards the glass. And for the most part as a starter so far this season, Biyombo has shown clear signs of learning and appreciating this role.
And more recently, even offensively, Biyombo has shown a greater nack around the basket for loose balls and clean dunks when he has the opportunity. As compared to the starters numbers mentioned earlier, Bismack as a bench contributor only shot 42% from the field for 4.5 ppg, grabbed 6.3 rebounds per game, and had 0.9 blocks per game. A case for more minutes for Biyombo? I would think so.
Strictly on a per-minute basis, Biyombo’s contributions as a starter have been much better than his early season performances off of the bench. And so that begs the question for Dwane Casey’s coaching staff and Raptor fans alike – with Jonas Valanciunas set to make his return to the lineup tonight in Chicago, how are the minutes planning to be distributed amongst JV and Bismack at the centre position for the Raptors?
Sure, Jonas is likely the staring centre of the future, offers more to the team offensively and probably a more “stable” option for the team on most nights, but with Bismack’s performances of late, and Dwane Casey’s nightly focus on defense, Casey’s options on a night-to-night basis for the short-term future, may not be as set in stone as we may imagine. ICYMI: Blake’s earlier piece on the return of JV, and what he offers to our team.
Just for our records and analysis, the Raptors went 8-6 to start the season with JV as the starter, and have gone 11-6 since JV’s injury with Biyombo taking his spot. Probably not the most telling statistic given the mix of teams we played and how close the record really has been, but it’s just another notable factor that would make it more difficult for Casey and his staff to distribute minutes.
Having said all of this, it is more than obvious that Casey will probably go back to his Lithuanian option at starting Centre going forward, but given the coaching staff’s focus on defense and tendency to shy away from JV late in games, things could get interesting with respect to Biyombo’s role. Not to mention, matchups, foul trouble (JV’s issue on many nights) or god forbid more injuries are all factors that continue to raise question marks for the remainder of the regular season. The point is, while JV’s starting spot isn’t exactly in jeopardy, Biyombo will force him to be better on a nightly basis.
Look out JV – The force has awakened.
