It was barely one minute into the game when the big man drifted toward the basket, corralled a deft handoff from his teammate and took off for a mean one-handed slam through the helpless defence, hanging on the rim for further dramatic effect. Capped off by a barrage of aggressive takes to the hoop, he’d finish the quarter with 10 points en route to a career-high by the time the final buzzer sounded.
“He was going to play like trash or he was going to play amazing. And he played amazing like we expected.”
That was Toronto Raptors floor general Kyle Lowry last night, following the Raptors 125-114 win against the hapless Sixers at the Air Canada Centre. The “he” in question? Philadelphia centre Henry Sims. Kidding, obviously—it was Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors promising 21-year-old pivot who has been front and centre in Raptorland this week for all the wrong reasons.
But on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of nearly 19,000, Valanciunas was able to make right, even if only for a couple of hours, putting in a career night with 26 points and 12 rebounds on 10 of 14 from the floor.
There’s no shortage of public figures who have messed up royally and owned up to it, and now we can add Valanciunas’s name to the list. And while we’ve all made mistakes (the last four words, it should be noted, are not meant to undermine the seriousness of the allegations against JV), there are few avenues that exist for you or I to immediately vent our frustrations the way an athlete can on the court. And while the lights, camera and action of the pro sports world is often an unwanted distraction, the opportunity to exorcise some demons as part of your job is one hell of a occupational perk.
If your average paper pusher at any office tower in any city gets in trouble with the law, can he or she come into work the next day and file expense reports better than they ever have before?
Can a surgeon put on the scrubs and really go for it this time?
Can I come into work and transcribe the hell out of an interview?
Well, technically, yes. But somehow, it’s not quite the same.
Last night we witnessed sport as an outlet.
“This is our sanctuary, basketball,” Lowry said to that point. “It’s our space, our secret spot. That’s where guys can release a lot of energy.”
Watching Valanciunas play on Wednesday with an unabashed aggressiveness and a serious expression plastered on his face, it was pretty apparent that he wasn’t simply ignoring what happened to him, putting the blinders on and just going out to do his job, as some teammates suggested. “I’m just trying to fix my mistakes”, he said immediately after the game in his first public statement since being charged with a DUI early Monday morning. “I learned from what I did and I’m trying to fix.”
He went on after the game as probably the biggest media horde he’s faced thus far swarmed his locker: “It has been a rough couple of days, but I had to find energy to come out and fight. I felt really good fan support—thank you to them.”
Ultimately, no amount of points or rebounds will truly repair the damage stemming from the charges laid on Valanciunas; any true redemption ultimately won’t take place on a basketball court. But this is sports, so if history is any indication, we’ll all move on sooner rather than later. As in: As soon as the playoffs kick off and the Raptors take over Toronto for all the right reasons.
For now, Valanciunas’s performance Wednesday night can help in some way. Help him personally, and help the fans. It’s something. And that’s better than nothing.