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Raptors’ Valanciunas Suffers Hamstring Injury

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Toronto Raptors prospect Jonas Valanciunas’ first NBA season hasn’t gotten off on the right foot – so to speak.

The Raptors don’t begin training camp for another week but they already suffered their first scare of the season when. Valanciunas was spotted wearing a walking boot on his left foot over the weekend. The team issued a statement Monday confirming that he suffered a strained hamstring during a workout on Saturday. The injury is not thought to be overly serious at this point.

The 6-foot-11 centre has been in Toronto preparing for the Raptors’ training camp, which opens in Halifax on Oct. 2. Toronto selected Valanciunas fifth overall in the 2011 draft. He spent last season playing professionally in Lithuania before joining the Lithuanian national team at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and then the London Games.

The Rebuilding Phase

The 20-year-old is a major part of Toronto’s rebuilding process and the club hopes he’s ready to make the leap to the NBA.  “I am ready for this,” Valanciunas recently told reporters. “My life will change … I think that really, I am ready. “I want to handle matters,” he recently told reporters. “It’s necessary to get acclimatized, and find a home. I want a clear head start when it’s time to prepare for the season.”

Looking back

The Raptors improved in their second season since Chris Bosh left for Miami but there is still a lot of work to be done. Toronto finished 23-43 in last-year’s shortened season, missing out on the playoffs once again. The Raptors’ big issue was on offence. They finished 28th in the NBA averaging only 90.7 points per game. As long as Valanciunas is healthy, he could give the offence a significant boost.

He didn’t get much of an opportunity to showcase his talents at the Olympics, averaging about four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes per game. He won’t have to worry about minutes in Toronto if he can crack the starting lineup. The Raptors desperately need an inside presence to compliment Andrea Bargnani, who averaged 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds last year, but missed half the season with his own calf injury.

The buzz around Valanciunas’ arrival in Toronto is understandable, although fans may have to wait a while before he becomes a major part of the team. He certainly has the skill set, but he’s raw and it will take him a while to get accustomed to the daily grind of NBA life.