Valanciunas has to earn his minutes for the Raptors
Jonas Valanciunas has to earn his minutes in 2015-16 by being more decisive and versatile, based on head coach Dwane Casey's emphasis on flexibility.
Valanciunas often disappeared late in games last season despite being a well-rounded and efficient player, so this will be an interesting development -- and a very important one for the Raptors' future.
According to our nERD metric, which indicates how many wins above or below .500 a player would make a team during a season, Valanciunas has improved each year in the league, raising his score from 1.9 to 4.1 to 8.0 in the most recent season. His 8.0 nERD ranked 14th in the entire NBA last season and was fifth among true centers.
- Phoenix's Drew Eubanks starting for injured Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) on Wednesday March 27th, 2024
- Christian Braun operating in second unit role for Denver on Wednesday night March 27th, 2024
- Denver's Aaron Gordon (foot) starting on Wednesday, Christian Braun to second unit March 27th, 2024
- Bradley Beal (finger) will play in Phoenix's Wednesday matchup March 27th, 2024
- Denver's Aaron Gordon (foot) active on Wednesday March 27th, 2024
- Denver's Michael Porter Jr. (illness) active on Wednesday March 27th, 2024
- Jose Alvarado (hip) uncertain Thursday for Pelicans March 27th, 2024
- Pelicans starting Trey Murphy for injured Brandon Ingram (knee) on Friday March 22nd, 2024
- Brandon Ingram (knee) out least 2 weeks for Pelicans March 22nd, 2024
- Pelicans' Brandon Ingram (knee) will not return Thursday March 21st, 2024
- Trey Murphy playing in second unit role for New Orleans on Tuesday March 19th, 2024
- Pelicans starting Herb Jones (back/hip) on Tuesday, Trey Murphy to second unit March 19th, 2024