Jonas Valanciunas is just finding ways to score. (USATSI)
Jonas Valanciunas is just finding ways to score. (USATSI)

When it comes to highly regarded young athletes, we tend to not have much patience as sports fans. Just look at how much criticism Bryce Harper has received for only being one of the best 21-and-under players in major-league history and not an immediate MVP candidate.

We're not immune to it in the NBA, and Jonas Valanciunas is a good example of that. Valanciunas turns 23 in about a month, and will finish this regular season with more than 6,000 career NBA minutes played, including the playoffs. At an age when the vast majority of professional athletes are still in college or trying to prove they are worthy of a shot as a pro, Valanciunas is putting the finishing touches on his second straight season as the starting center on a playoff team.

And yet, in the Fantasy world, Valanciunas has been viewed as something of a disappointment over the last two seasons. Granted, you don't get any extra Fantasy points for youth, but Valanciunas might not get enough credit for the steady progression he has made in his three NBA seasons. And he may have a huge breakout waiting in him if a few things break right.

How high can he go?

Valanciunas is already an extremely skilled offensive big man, perhaps more so than he gets credit for. Though his per-game numbers don't really show it, he has made a leap offensively this season. Valanciunas' scoring has only increased from 11.3 to 12.1 points per game, but that doesn't tell the whole story; he is averaging 16.6 points per-36 minutes, with a 62.2 True Shooting percentage, up from 14.5 and 57.9 percent last season.

He is drawing more free throws, attempting more of his shots within 3 feet of the rim and turning the ball over significantly less this season, the latter of which continues a trend that runs through each of his seasons in the league.

For such a young player, Valanciunas is already a very skilled post-up player. 34.2 percent of his offensive possessions end in post-ups, according to Stats.NBA.com, the 12th-highest rank in the league. And he scores on 51.7 percent of those possessions the second-highest mark those 12 players. Additionally, Valanciunas ranks in the 78th percentile in scoring efficiency as the roll man in pick-and-rolls, a good sign that he has already mastered the two key components of offense for a big man.

Valanciunas could stand to improve his passing (3.1 percent assist rate) and doesn't consistently have much range beyond 10 feet, but we're clearly just nitpicking there. The things you want a center to do well in 2015 -- cut off the ball, finish at the rim, run pick and rolls, post up  -- he's already got in his toolbox.

And Eric Koreen of the National Post wrote this very week that Valanciunas has made advances as a passer when teams send doubles, a sight we're seeing much more lately. The team had made a point of not passing Valanciunas the ball until he has established deep post position, and he has responded by dishing out 10 assists in the last seven games; he's making opponents pay in more than one way now.

"He's recognizing where the help (defender is coming from). But what helps him to see better and for them to really clearly make a decision is when you get deep in the paint," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "If you're really out there, (perimeter defenders on the opposition) can kind of be in between (and play both (the shot and the pass). If you get two feet in the paint, they've got to make a decision whether to come in. It's clear for him to either make a pass out or make the play."

The biggest thing he needs to do to take the next step into elite Fantasy territory is increase his playing time, as he has fallen to 26.3 minutes per game, down from 28.2 a year ago. It is easy to pinpoint why, too: Valanciunas just can't defend at a high enough level yet.

Defend the rim

Valanciunas rates out as a decent rim protector this season, saving 1.3 points per-36 minutes, according to NylonCalculus.com's rim protection data (which takes data from NBA.com's SportsVU tracking data. That mark puts Valanciunas between Ian Mahinmi and Timofey Mozgov, not bad company to keep in the least.

However, he hasn't appeared to make a measurable impact on the team's defense overall. With Valanciunas on the floor, Raptors opponents are scoring 106.0 points per 100 possessions, compared to 105.0 overall. That difference isn't huge, but it indicates that, for all of his size, rim protection and rebounding, Valanciunas just isn't a game-changing defender. Still, there are some positive signs you can point to, if you choose to look. 

When Valanciunas is on the floor, 29.8 percent of the opponents' field-goal attempts come within 3 feet of the rim, and they shoot 60.7 percent on those attempts, per NBAWowy.com. When he is off the floor, those numbers jump to 32.6 and 64.9 percent, respectively. In fact, the biggest difference in the Raptors defense when Valanciunas is off the floor might not be something he has much to do with: Raptors' opponents shoot 33.5 percent from 3-point range, compared to 36.1 percent when he is on the floor. 

They probably do need him to take a step forward, especially since much of their offense runs through Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan anyways. At this point in the team's development cycle, Valanciunas is a third or even fourth option offensively, even if he could probably handle more. Until they prove willing to change his role, Valanciunas will need to improve his defense to earn more playing time. 

The good news is, Valanciunas is still so young, he almost has to get better by default. He isn't so slow that he is hopeless, like Enes Kanter, and he has the size to defend the rim at a high level, as he has shown in flashes. There is a skill set to work with here, at least. He ranks just 46th among centers in ESPN.com's Real Plus-Minus stat on defense, but isn't quite a net-negative; he comes right in between Al Jefferson and Brook Lopez, which could be good comps for him down the road. Neither of those players is a defensive stalwart, but their offense is so good, you live with what they give back on the other end.

Unlike so many young big men, Valanciunas already has one half of the court figured out. You can already rely on him as an offensive hub for stretches, and he has the type of malleable game that can fit well with different lineups. He can run the pick and roll with Lowry, cut off the ball when DeRozan draws defenders on a drive, or kick out to a spotting up Patrick Patterson when the team goes four-out and posts him up. There's a lot to like about where his game is right now on offense.

If he can take that next step forward on defense -- or gets a coach who is willing to trust him more despite his flaws -- Valanciunas could be a true Fantasy difference maker. After seeming to stall a bit in his development this season, he might be the perfect post-hype sleeper heading into his fourth NBA season.