Valanciunas (calf) is set to return earlier than Nikola Jokic and be the Nuggets' starting center.
Jonas Valanciunas's return to the Denver Nuggets is now on the horizon.
Jonas Valančiūnas
Jonas Valančiūnas
Jonas Valančiūnas
MIN: 13.29
PTS: 8.48 (63.53%)
REB: 4.67
AS: 1.24
ST: 0.21
BL: 0.61
TO: 1.12
GM: 33
In the pregame of the Nuggets' Tuesday clash against the Los Angeles Lakers, David Adelman revealed that the Lithuanian star is on course to return to the team's lineup.
Based on Adelman's words, Valanciunas is poised to come back earlier than Nikola Jokic and be the starting center for Denver.
“Jonas has looked good, but there is a timetable to that injury. He could redo that very easily,” Adelman said. “So he feels really good right now, but we have to get him through these tests, play some 3-on-3, 4-on-4, up to 5-on-5, before we feel comfortable with him [playing].
"There’s always risk, but less risk, of him to come out there. … I can’t get Jonas back and then run him into the ground so we have to find a baseline on what’s appropriate for him when he comes back. Because immediately, he’ll be, most likely, our starting center.”
In just his first game as the team's starting center in the wake of Nikola Jokic's brutal knee injury, Valanciunas also went down and suffered from a right calf strain. The Nuggets subsequently announced that he will be sidelined for four weeks.
This delivered a gut-wrenching blow for the Nuggets out of their depleted frontcourt. Yet in the end, they survived upon the huge step up made by DaRon Holmes II and Zeke Nnaji.
Valanciunas' upcoming return will be a huge relief for Denver. Before sustaining the injury, the veteran center impressively played as Jokic's backup, averaging 8.5 points, 4.7 boards and 1.2 assists in 13.3 minutes across 33 games.
The looming on-court comeback of Valanciunas stands as a good sign for the Nuggets' health chart, as the two of Jokic and Cam Johnson are also progressing well from their respective knee injury recovery.
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