Lucas Nogueira: Tallies seven points in 25 minutes Tuesday

After he was deployed almost exclusively as a backup to starting center Jonas
Valanciunas earlier in the season, Nogueira has seen his court time expand since
the first half of January while picking up extra minutes at power forward.
Patrick Patterson’s (knee) injury woes along with coach Dwane Casey’s
unwillingness to hand Jared Sullinger extended playing time has worked to
Nogueira’s benefit, but it might not be long before he settles back in at center
permanently. The Raptors acquired Serge Ibaka on Tuesday and expect to have him
available for Wednesday’s tilt with the Hornets. While Ibaka isn’t a lock to
start or play major minutes in his first game with his new team, it won’t be
long before he takes on a regular 30-minute role with the top unit, resulting in
less time at power forward for Nogueira and Patterson.