Jonas Valanciunas, they said, was a dinosaur.

And not in the hokey he’s on the Toronto Raptors sense of the word, either. Players of his ilk were supposed to be extinct; relegated to museums and the end of the bench during fourth quarters.

A center who can’t stretch the floor or anchor a defense isn’t supposed to keep up in the pace-and-space stylings of the modern NBA.

Armchair and league pundits alike laughed at his four-year, $64 million contract extension in 2015. Such a deal was seen as ridiculous of a starting center who couldn’t even close games.

These days, those voices have quieted. Jonas Valanciunas is doing the talking now.

And not with his mouth, mind you. He’s always come across as rather reserved. No, he’s doing it with his play for the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors; which has improved so vastly over the course of the season, Head Coach Dwane Casey has made him a staple in the closing lineup—something that, as recently as last season, was a far more fluid position.

Finishing with authority

In the Raptors’ Feb. 23 overtime thriller against the Milwaukee Bucks, Casey did what was unthinkable for Toronto only a year ago. He ran a play for Jonas Valanciunas on the final play of regulation.

Using Kyle Lowry, C.J. Miles, and DeMar Derozan as decoys, Valanciunas faked a handoff at the arc, turned, then charged all the way to the basket for a thunderous dunk over John Henson to beat the buzzer.

VALANCIUNAS DUNK TO TIE IT WUT OMG pic.twitter.com/E5ZZOOKcbH — BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) February 24, 2018

It was something only Valanciunas, with his size and strength, could’ve done.

After the Raptors’ March 9 victory over the Houston Rockets, Casey spoke to The Star’s Doug Jones about Jonas Valanciunas’ newfound ability to close games.

“He has grown into that,” Casey said after the Rockets game. “If this were a couple of years ago, we probably would have had to go small. Everybody got on me about that, but he just wasn’t ready for that. Now he is ready. “He was able to carry out the game plan with regards to pick-and-roll situations, be at the rim to block shots, make free throws, make plays, make a handoff at the end of the game. He has grown into that and that is who he is now. Maturity helps us all.”

Change of culture, change of defense



Jonas Valanciunas’ Achilles’ heel has always been his defense. With the league entrenched in position-less basketball, he struggled to stay with fleet of foot wings and versatile bigs, especially in defending the pick-and-roll.

He’d get too close to them on drives, negating his length, and was frequently late closing out on the perimeter due to his lumbering speed.

The Raptors’ culture change, however, has reworked schemes around Valanciunas’ flaws.

No longer does Valanciunas come out too high on screens. Instead, he now hangs back while the Raptors’ perimeter players fight over screens. This allows him to better contest at the rim, where he’s been rock solid.

Small visual thread of some of JV's improvements this season, starting with his rim protection: https://t.co/NzXMj8ODXz — Joshua Howe (@Howevolution) March 19, 2018

Of the players who’ve played at least 40 games and averaged at least 20 minutes, Valanciunas ranks seventh in the league in defensive field goal percentage for shots taken less than five feet from the rim at 57.6 percent.

Per NBA.com:

Maturing defensively

His defensive stance is much better than it used to be. Jonas Valanciunas now stays lower to the ground, constantly shuffling his feet, ready to spring forward and contest shots outside the restricted area.

Valanciunas is tied for 17th in the league in contested shots at 10.7 per game, limiting opponents to a mere 37.7 percent shooting on attempts inside the paint but outside the restricted area.

Jumping out to contest shots in the midrange: https://t.co/odOUiEKUBf — Joshua Howe (@Howevolution) March 19, 2018

When opponents go small, like the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets did in recent games, Casey no longer has to fret about his starting center.

The changes to the defense (with less reliance on hedging and an increase in off-ball switches) has allowed Valanciunas to excel at what once was the weakest aspect of his game. In 2016-17, he was in the 45th percentile when defending the pick-and-roll. This season, he’s in the 83.8th percentile.

Since Jan. 1, Jonas Valanciunas’ defensive rating of 104.3 is better than any starter not named OG Anunoby.

The improvements on defense, of course, have unlocked the boons that were always there with Valanciunas offensively.

Post scoring

Against smaller lineups, he’s simply too big and strong for defenses to contend with in the post or on the boards.

He’s become a dependable scoring option in the post against whoever is thrown at him in single coverage. Of all NBA players who post with at least a 15 percent frequency, Jonas Valanciunas’ 1.12 points per possession are tied with Taj Gibson as the most efficient. His proficiency in the post is up in the 95th percentile of the league.

Posting up, where he's lethal this season: https://t.co/cjwKFSz8lC — Joshua Howe (@Howevolution) March 19, 2018

Off-ball gravity

Outside of directly scoring, Valanciunas can also be depended on to help keep the offense moving to find the best shot. He’s excellent at setting screens, both on and off the ball. He’s second on the team in screen assists, trailing only Jakob Poeltl at 2.3 to 2.9.

More importantly, Valanciunas has developed a reliable chemistry with the Raptors’ All-Star backcourt in the pick-and-roll.

Almost half of Valanciunas’ touches come from Kyle Lowry, receiving 10.8 passes per game, converting on 49.6 percent of his shots from Toronto’s point guard.

Valanciunas also receives 17.3 percent of DeRozan’s passes—third most on the team. The connection is good for 1.1 assists per game, and Valanciunas’ 57.0 percent shooting off DeRozan’s passes leads the team.

DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas combined for 27 points in the first quarter and the #Raptors lead the #Blazers 37-18 after one. pic.twitter.com/8ttMKXaciB — Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) February 3, 2018

Part of Valanciunas’ increased usage this season (he’s at a career-high 22.1 percent, according to Basketball-Reference) comes from his extended range.

Newfound shooting

This season, Valanciunas is shooting 44.8 percent from deep on 58 attempts after not attempting more than two in any previous season.

Teams are now forced to respect Valanciunas, opening more driving and passing lanes for his teammates. Combine that with his ability to roll—he’s third in the NBA in field goal percentage (56.9 percent) for players who average at least three roll possessions per game—and the Raptors have a player who can collapse a defense on dives and is slowly starting to stretch it out.

That combination from a big man is often enough to wear out a defense’s elasticity, not unlike an old rubber band. No surprise, his 111.7 offensive and 5.7 net ratings are both career bests.

Passing

Everyone on this Raptors team is encouraged to make plays, and Valanciunas has been able to showcase some playmaking chops.

Toronto’s center makes the the third most passes on the team at 35.7, upping his assist percentage to a career-high 7.5.

Making smart passes, keeping the offense moving: https://t.co/ELbiOQ0qJj — Joshua Howe (@Howevolution) March 19, 2018

In the clutch

With Jonas Valanciunas on the court late in games, the Raptors have another go-to option, making them less predictable and, therefore, more dangerous.

The Raptors are 14-8 in clutch situations with Valanciunas on the court, and his 1.1 net rating is second behind only Anunoby.

Other than his size defensively, perhaps Valanciunas’ best late game value is his free throw shooting. With a lineup of Lowry, DeRozan, Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and Valanciunas, there aren’t any real options for opposing teams to pick on when they need to foul.

Where some teams (like the Los Angeles Clippers with DeAndre Jordan) have centers who need to be taken off the floor in clutch situations, Valanciunas is shooting 80.6 percent from the line this season. His dependability was evident in the Raptors’ victory over Houston with two huge shots from the charity stripe.

There are still times where match-ups dictate Poeltl to be the better option to close games; or moments where Casey simply leaves in his monster bench to finish games off. But that speaks more to their strengths than any weakness in Valanciunas.

In the biggest moments this season, in the tightest games, it’s been Valanciunas getting his due and roaring out against extinction with every great play he makes.

The dinosaur has evolved.