Jonas Valanciunas Articles - Page 3

The New Orleans Pelicans visited the Miami Heat with the deck stacked against them. The Pelicans had not won a game in South Beach since 2017 and Brandon Ingram was ruled out for two weeks following an MRI on his knee. Dyson Daniels is also still recuperating from a knee injury, meaning Willie Green’s rotations […]

The New Orleans Pelicans can attack opponents in a variety of ways. Building a wall in the paint only works so well against an elite passer like Zion Williamson. Brandon Ingram can pick anyone apart from the midrange areas. CJ McCollum’s near career-high in three-point volume has led to one of his most efficient seasons […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are heading home having just wrapped up an undefeated three-game road trip through the Eastern Conference. The Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Atlanta Hawks were all missing key contributors but Willie Green’s squad took care of business to build a two-game cushion for fifth place out West. The team is playing […]

The New Orleans Pelicans stood pat this summer and doubled down on the status quo at the NBA Trade Deadline. All the smoke and mirrors around Naji Marshall and Jonas Valanciunas being expiring contracts on the move were misguided. Executive Vice President David Griffin did not build out this roster to wash the progress away […]

The New Orleans Pelicans let things get a little too close for comfort on Friday after building up a 31-point lead at home against the Indiana Pacers. Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy III eventually finished off a 101-89 win, but there is plenty of credit to spread around. Willie Green’s decision to trust Jonas Valanciunas […]

The New Orleans Pelicans would have been forgiven for marking up their road game against the Indiana Pacers as a scheduled loss. Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Trey Murphy III were all listed on the injury report. Jose Alvarado was still serving out a three-game suspension. Dyson Daniels is still rehabbing his knee. […]

The New Orleans Pelicans were steamrolling the Los Angeles Clippers in the first half of action. Zion Williamson was getting dimes along while CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III scored buckets. However, it was not a perfect night for them at all. They saw Jonas Valanciunas go down and it could cost them this game […]

After putting away the pesky Detroit Pistons 128-121, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on the road to face the Memphis Grizzlies in the second game of a back-to-back. Memphis is banged up, bloodied, and bruised heading into this matchup. The Grizzlies will be without Steven Adams (knee), Desmond Bane (ankle), Brandon Clarke (Achilles), Luke Kennard (knee), […]

The New Orleans Pelicans were going into their third road game in four nights without a two-time NBA All-Star and one of the most respective defensive stoppers in the league. The visitors had neither Zion Williamson nor Herb Jones against the Houston Rockets but still came out ahead 110-99. Willie Green’s locker room gave most […]

The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves in a promising position halfway through the 2023-24 NBA season. They boast a commendable record of 26-20. However, to bolster their prospects for a deep playoff run, the team must execute strategic maneuvers at the 2024 NBA trade deadline. The Pelicans’ 2023-24 NBA Season So Far As the season […]

The NBA’s Trade Deadline is less than a month away and teams are starting to commit to certain pathways. Contenders are waiting, looking to load up on the cheap. Sellers are starting to strike deals before the market resets and potential trade partners move on to other options. The standings are starting to shake out […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are approaching a crossroads with the luxury tax and the Feb. 8 trade deadline is just over a month away. Big names like O.G. Anunoby have already been moved. There are of course a lot of moving parts but, save for a Kira Lewis Jr. salary dump to avoid the luxury […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (16-12) and Cleveland Cavaliers (16-12) will face off Thursday night but the two teams have been linked together for a while. As first reported by Jake Fischer earlier this week, the Pelicans have been in contact with the Cavaliers to propose a swap of big men possibly needing better playing environments. […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (15-11) are still a work in progress with some big question marks going into the NBA trade season. Literally big, as in 7-foot-0, 265 pounds worth of Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas big. The pros and cons of moving off or keeping the respected veteran seemingly sway in the balance with every win […]

They needed help from Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks, but the Zion Williamson-led New Orleans Pelicans (10-9) have advanced to the NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals. The Pelicans In-Season Tournament run now leads to a matchup with the Sacramento Kings. A win on the road Monday means a reward money bump and the right to play in […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are always going to be a better team when Zion Williamson is healthy and playing. Although the former No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick has yet to play in both games of a back-to-back set so far in the 2023-24 NBA regular season, the Pelicans are undeniably ecstatic that Williamson is […]

If you’ll allow for a food analogy this Monday before Thanksgiving, the NBA season is nowhere near baked done but 14 games is enough to get the smells circulating through the kitchen. Specific lineups are still working with small sample sizes but some spicy trends are starting to emerge. Well, it seems the New Orleans […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have gotten off to a 1-0 start to the 2023-24 NBA season after an impressive road win against the Memphis Grizzlies in their season opener. They were led by Zion Williamson who is looking healthy and spry and could be a potential MVP candidate. The one thing that’s been holding the […]

On paper, the New Orleans Pelicans are supposed to have one of the deepest frontcourt in the league. Guys like Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Jonas Valanciunas should be able to deliver more than any other big-man combinations. But, it seems like they have been falling short in the NBA Preseason and it is not […]

The New Orleans Pelicans’ offseason was rather uneventful. Despite plenty of noise surrounding Zion Williamson around the NBA Draft, the Pelicans didn’t do much of anything this offseason. The only real addition they made to their team was adding Cody Zeller on a minimum contract after losing Jaxson Hayes in free agency, who bolted New […]

The Toronto Raptors entered the NBA as part of the league’s efforts to expand the game into Canada. Since then, they have become one of the best-ran organizations in the NBA. Throughout its history, the Raptors have done well in the NBA Draft. Toronto has found gems late in the first round and has selected […]

With the semi-finals set for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, let’s not forget the 5 to 8 classification bracket that will take over Thursday’s slate of games, which includes a showdown between Lithuania and Slovenia. Check out our FIBA World Cup odds series for our Lithuania-Slovenia prediction and pick. Lithuania bowed out of the tournament following […]

Jonas Valanciunas has established himself as one of the most imposing starting centers in the NBA. But while Valanciunas has been solid in the NBA, it’s safe to say that the Lithuanian big man does more damage on the international stage, especially after leading his country to a major upset over Team USA in the […]

It was never going to be an easy FIBA World Cup run for Team USA. The team was just formed weeks before the tournament and it showed against a ruthless Lithuania team led by Jonas Valanciunas. Hero ball reigned supreme in the last minutes of the game as the Red, White, and Blue tried to […]

After going undefeated in the group stage of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the United States outlasted Montenegro 85-73 in a challenging contest. Team USA is set for probably its toughest challenge to this point when it takes on Lithuania Sunday. Both Team USA and Lithuania are headed to the World Cup quarterfinals next […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have been involved in plenty of trade rumors this offseason but if any persist, they don’t surround face of the franchise Zion Williamson, but seldom-used point guard Kira Lewis Jr. and starting center Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas, the No. 5 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, has spent the last two seasons […]

Jonas Valanciunas is in, but Domantas Sabonis is not part of the Lithuania squad which looks to take the upcoming FIBA World Cup by storm from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10. Sabonis, the son of Lithuanian basketball legend Arvydas, could have been the national team’s main man for this World Cup as he led the […]

The NBA offseason is in full swing baby! Already, we’ve had a couple of blockbuster trades, such as Bradley Beal heading to the Phoenix Suns. However, the more exciting trades happen under the radar. Solid role players start to be shopped for other players in the name of improving their rosters. The New Orleans Pelicans […]

The New Orleans Pelicans, after weeks of such strong play, faltered when it mattered most. Instead of capitalizing on the Minnesota Timberwolves’ self-destruction, the Pelicans instead imploded en route to a 113-108 defeat. And now, they find themselves in a win or go home situation in the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament against the nascent Oklahoma […]

The New Orleans Pelicans’ winning ways continued on Saturday evening, as they pulled out a stellar victory against the Los Angeles Clippers in front of a packed crowd at Smoothie King Center. Leading the charge once again was star forward Brandon Ingram who finished the contest with a whopping 36 points, 8 assists, and 4 […]

New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas didn’t make much of an impact in Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic. He finished with just eight points — on 2-for-4 shooting from the field — and five rebounds in the 101-93 Pelicans loss. Still, when the Pelicans visit the Mode Center on Wednesday night to play Damian […]

The return of Zion Williamson may have taken the New Orleans Pelicans to an entirely different level, but it has severed Jonas Valanciunas’ involvement in the offense. However, at least for one night, Valanciunas staked his claim for a higher place in the Pelicans’ offensive hierarchy with an incredible scoring night, against the second-ranked defense […]

NBA players in today’s generation often get called, “soft.” However, it is typically fans or old-heads who refer to them in this manner. They are quick to call out today’s star-studded generation of players for flopping and complaining about calls. But a current NBA player recently called out LeBron James. New Orleans’ Pelicans big man […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have hung tough against the top seeded Phoenix Suns thus far in their first round playoff series. Granted, some of that is likely due to the absence of Devin Booker. Booker suffered a grade 1 hamstring strain in Game 2 of the series, opening the door for the Pelicans to steal […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have been one of the biggest surprises of this year’s playoffs. Despite their 36-46 record in the regular season, the Pelicans have seemingly peaked at the right time and are playing their best basketball of late. They enter Game 5 tied 2-2 in their series with the Phoenix Suns. This is […]

The eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans shocked the world on Tuesday night, upsetting the NBA-best Phoenix Suns in Game 2 to tie up the first-round series at 1-1. The win makes things more interesting by itself, but Devin Booker’s hamstring injury adds another layer of intrigue as he appears set to miss time. What once looked like […]

The New Orleans Pelicans were completely outclassed by the Phoenix Suns. There’s no beating around the bush surrounding that fact. Despite mounting a third-quarter comeback to cut the lead to eight, Chris Paul shut down their hopes with a crazy 4th quarter run. It was clear from the get-go that these two teams were on […]

Nearly a week after the conclusion of regular season, the Phoenix Suns finally know their opponent for the first round of the NBA Playoffs. They’ll take on the New Orleans Pelicans in a best-of-seven series beginning Sunday night, after the Pelicans took out the Los Angeles Clippers in Friday’s play-in game. While the Suns will […]

Fresh off their big win over the San Antonio Spurs, the News Orleans Pelicans are riding high as they head into their highly anticipated showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament on Friday. In their continued fight to earn the final spot in the Western Conference Playoffs, the Pelicans will […]