On a night when the Toronto Raptors’ hot shooting seemed to dethrone the Kings, it was a single play in the paint that turned the game in the Toronto’s favour.
With Sacramento in town, all eyes were on the much-anticipated duel between young centres Jonas Valanciunas and DeMarcus Cousins.
The two went toe-to-toe early, exchanging baskets and elbows (both subtle and not-so-subtle), but Sacramento’s star appeared to be in control, a worrying reality for a Raptors team that’s struggled to defend against the NBA’s premier post threats.
Looking down his bench for reinforcements, Raptors coach Dwane Casey elected to bring in veteran Chuck Hayes in place of his 22-year-old starter. The coach’s thinking was clear: Cousins wouldn’t be able to push Hayes and his trunk-link centre of gravity around. Plus, Hayes—a former King—has plenty of experience going up against Cousins in practices and likely knows his game more intimately than any other player on the Raps’ roster.
Hayes did his job, and he, Amir Johnson and Tyler Hansbrough took turns guarding Cousins in the second quarter while Valanciunas watched from the pine. The two teams headed to the half tied at 54 and it seemed the JV-Cousins duel wouldn’t get the stage time we’d all hoped for.
Until, of course, it did.
When Valanciunas returned to the floor to start the second half, so too did the fireworks down low—culminating in a single offensive possession for Valanciunas and the Raptors that swung the game for good:
Valanciunas’s strong take sent Cousins to the bench with his fourth foul. It also invigorated the Raptors, who, on the heels of two straight three pointers from Greivis Vasquez, turned up the heat on their inferior opponents. They hit eight triples in the third quarter, while a profoundly confident Valanciunas went to work inside. The big Lithuanian showed off his growing offensive arsenal, hitting a series of turnaround hook shots and low-post takes and finishing the frame with nine points, five rebounds and two blocks.
With their only real weapon stuck on the pine, the Kings simply couldn’t answer the run.
“It’s night and day without DeMarcus in there,” Patrick Patterson told reporters after the game. “If he’s in the post, you have to double team. If he’s on the perimeter, you have to shrink in and limit his passes. When he’s out there, he’s a huge problem.”
At just 24, Cousins already might be the most skilled interior scorer in the league. He’s also a truly elite rebounder. What’s more, he has an excellent grasp on the mental aspect of the game, the psyche of being a disruptive NBA big man.
There was a moment early in the game, when he blocked a Valanciunas floater well after the shot was attempted. It was a obvious goaltend, but the message was clear: You can have this basket, but you’ve got to bring it harder than that against me.
Later in the second half, Cousins, sandwiched by Hayes and Lou Williams, aggressively batted away Sweet Lou’s arm as he tried to give a high-five to Hayes after a turnover.
He struggled on Wednesday, but Cousins is very much the real deal. That’s why it’s so promising to see Valanciunas play like his peer, and not the lunch meat that Cousins turns most opposing bigs into over the course of a game.
If you look closely, JV’s play against premier big men has been a promising trend this season. While his minutes have been erratic, as Casey often favours a small-ball lineup, particularly in crunch time, the Raptors centre has held his own when matched up with the top bigs in the game, be it Joakim Noah, Nik Vucevic, Andre Drummond, DeAndre Jordan or Cousins.
Valanciunas finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes of action on Wednesday. Cousins, who’s averaged nearly 25 points and more than 13 rebounds since December, scored 13 and managed only four boards.
After the game there was effusive praise for the job Hayes did coming off the bench to guard the King’s imposing big man, limiting his chances and forcing Cousins into a good chunk of his whopping nine turnovers.
“Chuck came in and did a great job,” Casey told reporters. “He got into his head a little bit…[and] defensively did a good job of getting him out of his spots.”
Patterson shared the sentiment: “It’s hard for anybody to guard [Cousins],” the Raptors star reserve said. “He’s hands down one of the best fives in the league. For what Chuck did tonight, I tip my hat to him.”
Sure, the Raptors got admirable contributions from the bench (Lou Williams, it should be noted, dropped a team-high 27 points) and rode nearly historic shooting (the 17 threes equaled the second-highest single-game total in franchise history) to a blowout win. But let’s take this moment to tip our hats to Jonas Valanciunas.
Because on this night, Cousins—the perennial all-NBA candidate—and Valanciunas—the young big still finding his place in the league—were equals.