Memphis Grizzlies: What is the deal with Jonas Valanciunas?
The Memphis Grizzlies finally saw Jaren Jackson Jr. re-enter the rotation on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, they still wouldn’t be at full strength, as Jonas Valanciunas has missed the last couple of games.
But there wasn’t a clear moment that he was concussed.
He supposedly sustained his concussion in a win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. It wasn’t clear that he would miss time until the next day when he appeared as OUT on the injury report.
When will Memphis Grizzlies C Jonas Valanciunas return?
There are a lot of questions on everybody’s mind, but the primary question is that around his return date. Concussions can be tricky, so it’s unclear when he’ll return.
To put things into perspective, Grayson Allen suffered a concussion earlier in the year and missed six games. Valanciunas has only missed two games, so there could be a longer road to recovery in his future than expected.
That said, the Grizzlies will hope that “Lithuanian Lightning” returns in fast order, as he has been arguably the best player on the team in the past month.
He’s had the best season of his career in 2020-21, averaging 17.0 points per game, the highest-scoring tally of his career. He’s been getting his points through unrelenting offensive rebounding and elite post play. He’s one of very few pure big men left in this league and it’s starting to pay off for him.
JV has also tallied 12.6 rebounds on the year, which is on track to beat Zach Randolph’s Grizzlies record of 11.6. Valanciunas is top three in rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game, two areas that the Grizzlies didn’t expect to excel in without JJJ in the lineup.
Once Valanciunas returns, the Grizzlies will form one of the best frontcourts in the NBA with more potential than anybody has seen in recent memory. If the Lithuanian big man doesn’t see a drop-off with his gigantic counterpart back in the game, the Grizzlies will be unstoppable in the paint.
Next. 3 takeaways from Jaren Jackson Jr.'s debut. dark
That said, it’s still unclear if he’ll be returning any time in the next couple of games. Grizzlies fans will sleep with their fingers crossed until then.