The Nuggets finally got one of their [centers back from injury on Thursday night](https://nugglove.com/nuggets-huge-lift-thrilling-injury-update-ahead-tip-off-against-wizards) as Jonas Valanciunas returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with a calf injury. Big Val started the game and racked up 8 quick points and 4 rebounds in the first 6 minutes, helping Denver get out to a double-digit lead.
Jonas played 22 minutes in his return and put up 16 points and 9 rebounds in a 107-97 victory over the Wizards. Denver has played this entire month without an active center on the roster after Valanciunas and Nikola Jokic both went down with injuries in late December.
They’ve been patching things together with power forwards like Aaron Gordon, Zeke Nnaji, and DaRon Holmes, but it hasn’t always been pretty. In the 11 games before Val’s return on Thursday, the [Nuggets had been outrebounded](https://nugglove.com/nuggets-deficiency-without-centers-starting-cause-major-problems) by more than 11 boards per game with the worst rebounding rate in the NBA.
That includes two straight losses to the Hornets and Lakers, in which the team was outrebounded by more than 20, as well as a game against this same Wizards team just last week, where Washington won the rebounding battle by 12.
Valanciunas’ return brings stark rebounding improvement
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The impact of Valanciunas’ return was felt immediately. In Thursday night’s win in Washington, the Nuggets pulled down 4 more rebounds than the Wizards, had 8 more points in the paint, and held an opponent under 100 points for just the second time all season and the first time since October.
The Wizards aren’t exactly the ‘96 Bulls, but still, this is huge for the Nuggets. They’ve been routinely bullied on the glass for weeks, regardless of opponent. They’ve been forced to play guys out of position and rely on players who really shouldn’t be in an NBA rotation, at any position.
It’s hard to win like that, and it’s a testament to how well the available players have played that they were able to go 6-5 without a center. Valanciunas certainly isn’t Jokic, but it’s clear what a difference it makes just having a true NBA-caliber center playing just over 20 minutes.
Hopefully, the team has learned a lot during this tough stretch, and they can apply some of these newly discovered skills once the team is back at full strength. That should be coming soon, and the Nuggets should go back to being an excellent rebounding team before long. If they can get back to that while incorporating what they’ve pulled off without any big men, this team is about to go on one hell of a run.