Raptors rolling with Moose on the loose
With Valanciunas dragging and Ibaka in foul trouble, enter veteran forward Monroe
Nearing the four-minute mark of the second quarter against the Utah Jazz on Monday night, Nick Nurse had a feeling he needed a backup plan at centre. Cue Greg Monroe. The mix of Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka in that role has been a revelation so far this season. Toronto has reaped the benefits of one of Nurse’s major moves since taking over as head coach, with the two big men averaging 31.6 points and 14.6 rebounds a game.
But early in Monday’s game, it didn’t quite look like their night — though they would eventually combined for 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Valanciunas had played hard on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, putting up 14 points and eight rebounds in just over 17 minutes. He worked more than13 minutes in the first half against the Jazz, going 2-for-7 with three defensive rebounds and a foul. Nurse saw some fatigue in the 26-year-old.
Ibaka still had a hot hand but sat after racking up three fouls early in the second quarter.
So, Nurse looked down the bench to the veteran Monroe with 31⁄ 2 minutes to play before the break.
“That’s kind of what Greg’s there for,” Nurse told reporters in Salt Lake City following the game. “He’s that third insurance policy guy and that just felt like
the right moment, and he did a good job.”
Monroe finished with a season-high 13:38 minutes under his belt, about five minutes longer than his previous three appearances combined.
Having an11-year league veteran on the bench is a luxury that has been easy to overlook during the Raptors’ 9-1 start. Dividing the five spot between Valanciunas and Ibaka has limited what was already expected to be minimal playing time for Monroe when he signed a oneyear, $2.2-million U.S. deal in early August. But getting back on the court for a substantial shift looked like second nature. He helped the Raptors go on a 15-6 run to close out the first half, adding four points and two rebounds. They never looked back after taking that lead.
“He knows what he’s doing. He’s not afraid with the ball. He’s going to put his body on people,” Nurse said.
Erratic playing time was something Monroe had to get used to last season, when he bounced from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Phoenix Suns to the Boston Celtics. It was in Milwaukee that Monroe found the most success, averaging 11.3 points and eight assists in 23.3 minutes a night over 20 games, but Boston coach Brad Stevens liked what he saw from the affably nicknamed Moose during nearly four months in the organization.
“It was great having him around,” Stevens said last month, when the Celtics were in town to face the Raptors. “All we wanted was for him to have a great experience and be prepared to help us win. I thought he did a great job when he got the opportunity.” Monroe has made it known from the beginning that unselfish play is as integral to his game as playing out of the post or the elbow. He knew what to expect coming into the season as a backup centre and hoped to log minutes with the second group.
“It’s just no ego,” Monroe said of Toronto’s second unit after training with them this past summer. “That’s all you ask for when you’re playing with anybody. It’s unselfish and that’s how I’ve always played, and just making the right play. I think everybody on this team — and in that group for sure — understands that, that making the right play is the most important thing, and who scores it, who passes it, doesn’t matter as long as it’s the right play.”
In return for sacrificing minutes, Monroe knew he would be coming off the bench for a perennial playoff team, home to all-star calibre players and backed by one of the toughest home crowds around. A team he believes has a shot at a championship.
So, when Monroe was asked months ago why he choose the Raptors, his answer was simple: “Why not?”