Raptors break the glass and call on Nogueira
Valanciunas injury is going to force the team to test its depth on road trip
He is a quick, long, lanky big man with unique skills, usually stashed deep on the bench and to be used only in the case of emergencies. It’s a luxury few NBA teams have.
So imagine the happiness coursing through the Raptors organization when Lucas Nogueira did all his uniquely Bebe things when finally pressed into action during Saturday’s grotesquely one-sided win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Blocking shots, running the floor, finishing lobs with dunks — the full Nogueira experience was on display when he had to fill in for the injured Jonas Valanciunas.
“It’s great to have a guy like Lucas there. We all know he’s a guy that would play for any other team,” said Jakob Poeltl, who has supplanted Nogueira as the primary backup to Valanciunas.
“Even for us in the pre-season, we always tried to have three centres ready to go (and) I imagine it’d be tough for Coach (Dwane Casey) to make that decision (on who to play).
“Again he showed how good of a basketball player he is (Saturday), coming off a game of not playing and getting out there in his second half and really doing his thing.”
Nogueira’s “thing” is to be an active, athletic component to the front court. He has wavered in and out of the Toronto rotation his three seasons, because he is prone to injuries and to errors that make coaches scream. To his credit, he’s almost always been ready when called upon.
With Valanciunas out due to a sprained left ankle — there is no timetable for his return, the team said — Nogueira will become a rotation regular by circumstance.
“The unfortunate thing for him is he’s playing behind Jakob and JV and we haven’t even got to Serge (Ibaka) at the five yet,” Casey said. “Lucas is a quality player, he’s one of our best rollers, catchers, great hands, basketball IQ; it’s good that he’s a luxury for us.
“He’s saved us almost every year now from whatever.”
The Raptors face a daunting, season-long road trip that starts Monday in San Antonio and continues with games against the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, Denver and Utah. That’s a parcel of Western Conference heavyweights who are light years better than the two Eastern Conference minnows Toronto dispatched to open the season.
“It’s our job, we’re not going to complain about it,” guard Kyle Lowry said. “I think it’s an opportunity for us to bond a little bit, take advantage of some good weather out west and play some good teams and see where we are.
“We’ve got the Spurs, the defending champs, we’ve got an up-and-coming Laker team, we’ve got some good teams coming out of that Western Conference and it’s going to be a big test for us.”
As Casey often points out, a trip like this, especially so early, will not define Toronto’s season. And it makes the end perhaps easier.
“It’s a tough part of our year but the good thing about it is, the positive is, we don’t have to go out on long road trips after we get this one out of the way,” he said.
At least one player is looking forward to the trip for selfish reasons.
“Hopefully, while other teams are still trying to get their chemistry together, we can sneak some wins in there, too,” California native Delon Wright said.
“At least for me, I’m happy we get to stay in L.A. for a couple of days, that’ll definitely be good.”