In the few minutes the media saw the Raptors working on halfcourt offensive sets Tuesday afternoon the one glaringly apparent fact was that Jonas Valanciunas loves to play basketball.

He wanted in every drill, set screens, got rebounds, took shots and was having a ball.

Imagine how he’ll feel Wednesday night in Auburn Hills, Mich.

After a minor setback thanks to a strained calf that sidelined him for a week of training camp, Valanciunas is expected in the lineup when the Raptors face the Detroit Pistons in their second exhibition game.

“We’re going to throw him out there,” coach Dwane Casey said after Valanciunas went through a full three-hour contact practice at the Air Canada Centre.

“We’re going to see how his body feels (Wednesday) after going through (Tuesday) and then we’ll make the decision. Well see how he reacts but we’re anticipating looking at him (against the Pistons).”

No one wants to see Valanciunas play more than the 7-foot Lithuanian centre himself. He’s been working diligently on the side under the auspices of director of sports science Alex McKechnie since he suffered the injury before camp began and he even tried to sneak into a few full speed drills during a week of work in Halifax.

He was caught and sent back to the sidelines to work individually but it does speak to his eagerness to get on the court for real, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates.

“Jonas does a lot,” said guard John Lucas III. “I don’t know if a lot of people know his game yet but he can knock down a 15-footer, he’s athletic, he just plays hard.

“Every time he gets the ball in the paint, he’s trying to dunk it so it’s either going to be a dunk or a foul. If you’ve got a big doing that, there’s no telling what else he can do.

“He still has a lot more in the bag, at the end of the day, we’re still trying to ease him into it. He’s trying to go full speed and we’re like, slow down big fella, we’ve got a long season.”

Long season or not, the Raptors are eager to see how Valanciunas’s exuberance on the practice court carries over to a game — even if it is just an exhibition.Casey didn’t say how much Valanciunas will play, if he does; he just wants to see something and let the 20-year-old to start his indoctrination into the NBA style of play.

“He looks good, he’s got active, active hands, he’s long, not afraid of contact, he’ll hit you first,” said Casey. “Again, we want to work with him to make sure he makes the right decisions, when to screen, when to hit people so he doesn’t get the cheap fouls.”

If Valanciunas does appreciate a more physical style of play, he’s sure to get it at times against the Pistons. They may not be the Bad Boys of a bygone era but they are putting together a roster that’s at least mildly nasty with the likes Greg Monroe, Jason Maxiell and rookie Andre Drummond.

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The Raptors will be facing a team diametrically different than the three-point happy, move-all-the-time Real Madrid squad Toronto beat on Monday.

“That (physical play) is what he likes, he’s used to that, he wants to play that way,” Casey said of Valanciunas.

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