It is often one step forward and one step back for Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas, quite literally.

At both ends of the floor the still-young seven-footer is still trying to master the subtleties and nuances of the game, a maddening and frustrating process that is painstaking for him and his teammates.

He has been much better of late, showing flashes of the instinctual play that could make him a dominant big man should he ever get the much-desired consistency he and his coaches crave.

Offensively, he is becoming far stronger and more decisive, not easily moved from his prime operating real estate that’s a step or two or three from the basket.

“He’s had good matchups and guys are finding him deep in the paint,” coach Dwane Casey said of the third-year centre’s offensive production of the past 10 days or so. “I think that’s the most important thing, he’s not getting pushed out to the logo (far outside the lane); he doing a great job of establishing post position offensively.”

That gives the hulking Valanciunas a far easier chance to score, it’s one step to the rim instead of three, a five-foot shot in the lane instead of an eight- or nine-foot toss that’s more line drive that silky soft touch. He can turn on the baseline and take a jump hook rather than hoisting a fallaway, off-balance shot; he becomes an exponentially greater threat.

But — and there’s always been a but with Valanciunas — finding that prime positioning, fighting for it in the wrestling matches that go on in the low post, is not something he’s done consistently. It’s only a matter of one or two steps, but those one or two metres can mean everything — that’s a point Casey continually hammers home.

“He’s got to meet us halfway and continue to get deep post position,” the coach said. “Guys have been giving it to him in the post once he’s in deep (but) we have a rule: if he gets pushed out to the logo, don’t give it to him.

“It’s a rule of our and makes him work to get deep position.”

Those proponents of “more touches for Valanciunas” should know that the Raptors agree — especially with a roster reduced by two through injury. But they aren’t going to force feed him the ball in positions that put him at a disadvantage.

“Now with Kyle (Lowry) being out, it’s going to be on him more, we’re going to need more of his scoring punch,” said Casey.

The other “but” with Valanciunas, the one that renders his offensive contributions often inconsequential, comes at the other end of the floor. He remains an inconsistent defender, not bad at protecting the rim against driving opponents but notoriously slow to react to pick and roll situations.

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Casey lauded him for some improvement (“he’s doing a better job staying up at the level of the screen, handling the pick and roll much better,” the coach said) but there remain far too many instances where he hangs back and opposing guards have easy shots.

Until he becomes more comfortable in those situations — especially late in close games when the Raptors need more adept defenders playing — Valanciunas will remain a bundle of unfulfilled promise; ifs and buts and potential.

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