Subscribe
Follow Us
For their last four games, the Toronto Raptors have been without their starting center, Jonas Valanciunas. As coach Dwane Casey told the media on Monday, that will continue for at least the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavs.
Casey says won't rule out Valanciunas for series but can't see Game 1 or likely Game 2 either.
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) May 16, 2016
The seven-footer sprained his right ankle in Game 3 of Toronto's second round series against the Miami Heat and has not played since. Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Casey said Valanciunas has not resumed basketball activities yet, which could mean his absence will extend longer than two more games.
Article Continues Below
Valanciunas had been in the midst of a big postseason before going down, averaging 15.0 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
Fortunately for the Raptors, they've gotten more than they could've ever expected from backup Bismack Biyombo in Valanciunas' absence. In the last four games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Biyombo put up an impressive 11 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
The series between the Raptors and Cavaliers will kick off on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. EST at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/heat-raptors-series-lowest-assist-average-series-last-10-years/”]NEXT: Heat-Raptors series had lowest assist average for a series in last 10 years[/button]
