Jonas Valanciunas is just about the least surprising player in the world. Much like the exhausting conversation about his role and fit within the team, Valanciunas the player hasn’t really changed in half a decade. Great rebounding, deadly efficient interior scoring, stodgy pick-and-roll defense, and kicking the piss out of Andre Drummond are kind of his bag, and the contents have remained mostly stagnant since the early days of his career.
Until Friday’s game against the Jazz, that is. While you could argue that JV’s had better performances in his career (pick any game he’s played against Detroit or the Clippers, for example), none of Valanciunas’ previous 405 NBA games featured as many shocking thrills as Friday’s 28-point, 14-rebound, four-block outburst.