When it comes to centers, Jonas Valanciunas of the Toronto Raptors and DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans, are two big men that have had their fair share of history on the court.
According to Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun, Valanciunas recently opened up about Cousins' trash-talking but downplayed any rivalry speculations.
“I don’t have nothing against him,” Valanciunas said of Cousins on Wednesday. “I even like to play like that. See him barking all the time. It’s fun. It’s a different matchup. He’s a good player but he barks a lot.”
The most recent play that made headlines between them took place last week, during the Raptors' 122-118 victory over the Pelicans at the Air Canada Centre. Late in the fourth quarter, Cousins pump-faked Valanciunas into oblivion and promptly drained a three-pointer to cut into the Raptors' lead.
Boogie’s pump fake was just too much to handle 😂 pic.twitter.com/xWvDnuy2b2
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 10, 2017
He added that Cousins isn’t the first player he's encountered in a game who displays a sort of bully-like mentality on the court.
“I had Kevin Garnett like that,” Valanciunas said of the retired ex-Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves star forward. “I had a chance to play against him and he was like that, maybe tougher, but now we got Boogie. It’s fine with me. I’m enjoying it too. That just motivates me even more.”
Valanciunas also said that it’s not a matter of him keeping his composure, as much as it is just using another player's trash-talking as motivation to play even harder for the Raptors to win.
“I’m telling you that is what motivates me more,” Valanciunas said. “He gives me that shot. He’ll say something. I’m not a talker. I don’t talk on the court. We won two games in a row against them. That’s all I need to say, right?”
Touché, Jonas. Well said, indeed.
For Toronto this season, Valanciunas is currently averaging 11.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in just 21.5 minutes of action per contest.
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