Memphis Grizzlies: Grading every player at the NBA All-Star Break
A. GP: 27, MPG: 27.2, PPG: 15.6, RPG: 11.3, APG: 1.7, SPG: 0.6, BPG: 0.6, FG%: .539, 3P%: .357. C. Memphis Grizzlies. JONAS VALANCIUNAS
Memphis Grizzlies C Jonas Valanciunas has been arguably the team’s best player this season
Jonas Valanciunas is doing Jonas Valanciunas things.
He is being the anchor down low, getting good looks from Ja and doing a lot of dirty work. Jonas has been the anchor for this team. He has been the most consistent player for Memphis this season. You can almost expect a double-double from him every night. You know what you’re getting from him.
Jonas is shouldering a little bit more of the scoring load compared to last season, but he’s taking it very well, shooting almost 54% from the field. He also ranks number 16 in the NBA in field-goal percentage.
Valanciunas also is top across the board for this team when it comes to basically any rebounding metric. He is the best rebounder on this team, and one of the best in the league. Jonas is 8th in the NBA in rebounds per game and 4th in total rebound percentage. The man is just an animal.
If there is anything more I’d want to see from Jonas, it would be more defense. He seems to have declined a little bit defensively compared to previous seasons, but that very well could be a spell.
In the end, Jonas is one of the two best players on this team this season, and he honestly deserves more respect for what he does.