Raptors’ VanVleet on point
Raptors’ VanVleet shakes off ailments and runs floor with Lowry taking the night off
Fred VanVleet is coming around.
The Toronto Raptors point guard has been battling a variety of minor ailments and, at times, has not looked like the player who was an NBA sixth man of the year finalist just one season ago.
But he was one of the best players on the floor in Memphis last Tuesday and shook off a slow, overaggressive start to Saturday’s 106-95 win at Cleveland, to finish with a decent night. While the Toronto offence didn’t run all that smoothly under VanVleet’s direction and there is work to be done on that front, it was good enough. More importantly for the team, VanVleet increasingly is starting to resemble his old self.
“He said he felt really good in the game at Memphis. For the first time all year felt like he could move,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse explained.
“(Against Cleveland) he was probably three or four blown layups away from having a great game. He got where he wanted to go a little more than he has been this year, which, he says (is because) he’s feeling better,” Nurse said.
Danny Green has enjoyed playing with VanVleet.
“You guys know Fred. He’s always very steady. Steady Freddy. Cool, calm, collected,” Green said.
“Runs the team very well. Did what he was supposed to do. Attacked the paint, made plays happen. Didn’t shoot as well as I’m sure as he wanted to but shot good enough. Hit some shots for us. Played good defence. Communicated. Did everything we needed.”
VanVleet’s strong defence against the Cavs also stood out to Nurse.
With fellow point guard Delon Wright turning in his worst performance in ages, and Kyle Lowry sitting out with a sore back, the Raptors needed everything they could get from VanVleet.
KYLE’S NIGHT OFF
This won’t be the last night off for Lowry this season. Lowry had not missed a game yet and Cleveland presented a good opportunity to let him rest, even if a sore back was the official reason.
Teams can’t just rest players on the road any more (they still can at home) under NBA regulations (Kawhi Leonard’s load management definition is acceptable to the league, even if he’s technically resting), so there has to be some kind of ailment. Lowry’s back has been a bit tender, but this would not have kept him out of any game of substance.
Leonard missed the team’s maestro.
“It was very difficult. He’s been our leader the whole year,” Leonard said after the game.
“It was just different because I didn’t know he wasn’t going to play until about 20 minutes before the game. I told him he should’ve let me know, could’ve laid down for an extra 20 minutes. Fred ( VanVleet) is doing a great job. He came in and stepped up and led us at that point guard position.”
VanVleet joked that he’s fine with Lowry sitting out, since it will allow him to shine, before getting more serious and describing Lowry’s value to the team.
CANUCK SHINING FOR CAVS
Cleveland is back to being a sad-sack team with LeBron James gone again, but at least Tristan Thompson is playing well.
Thompson, the Brampton, Ont., native, hauled in 19 rebounds, including seven offensive boards (more than Toronto had as a team), and scored 18 points against the Raptors. Nurse appeared to see it coming.
“This is a team that gets on the glass, namely that kid from Toronto, Tristan Thompson. He’s playing great,” Nurse had said before the game.
“He’s back to his highest level, maybe even exceeding it the way he’s rebounding, scoring, running. The thing about him, you talk about his rebounding all the time, ( because) he’s such a good rebounder, he’s kind of a complete player. He guards, he can switch, he’s a good screener, he’s a good passer out of the post and he can finish down there. He’s got some floaters and some jump hooks and some things he can do. Secondly, he seems to play really well against the Raptors for some reason,” Nurse said, with a smile.
Thompson’s now averaging five offensive rebounds a game, second only to Detroit’s Andre Drummond.