VanVleet strength is knowing his place
Backup guard understands the need to support starters as he finds his niche on floor
Good teams need players who are self-assured, self-confident but they also need them to be self-aware and that might be the most important character trait of many possessed by Raptors guard Fred VanVleet.
Yes, he is strong and tough and his shooting is above average at the moment but the 23-year-old’s knowledge of where he fits, what his job entails and his willingness to, as they say, stay in his lane sets him apart.
He knows what he doesn’t know and that’s an important attribute for any young athlete on any team in any sport.
“I know what he knows and he also knows what he doesn’t know and he doesn’t try to do what he can’t do, and you trust that,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said Sunday afternoon. “He understands the offence inside and out, he goes and talks to the other players, even the starters. Whether it’s Kyle (Lowry) or DeMar (DeRozan), he’ll talk to them about what’s going on and what he sees, (offer) suggestions. With that information, that knowledge he’s an old head, an old soul (and) you have trust in him.”
VanVleet, who has become an invaluable piece for the Raptors with Delon Wright on the shelf with a shoulder injury, realizes that the trust level his teammates have in him will grow the more he plays, but only if he plays well. He can’t take over games, he can’t take away from what Lowry and DeRozan do, but he knows enough to augment it.
“Of course, those guys are starting to trust me more and more each game,” he said. “I got to earn it, I have to make the right plays. I just want to make their jobs easier, there is so much pressure on them offensively. And defensively I can take some of the onus off them as well.”
Casey has been using VanVleet increasingly more in a game-finishing lineup with Lowry and DeRozan as a third guard to run the offence and let the other two play off the ball. VanVleet knows his role is as a facilitator and doesn’t do too much, he also
“He knows what he doesn’t know and he doesn’t try to do what he can’t do, and you trust that.” DWANE CASEY ON GUARD FRED VANVLEET
realizes his responsibilities as a defender are to ease the load on the all-star duo. VanVleet’s toughness and ability to defend either guard spot is a versatility the Raptors need.
“Those guys aren’t resting, but if they’re not guarding a primary scorer it’ll save just a little bit and maybe that will help down the stretch,” VanVleet said. “Those are things you have to earn and it takes time and I’m just trying to have the same approach every time.”
If there’s one thing Casey would like, it would be for VanVleet to be even more assertive than he already is. But that’s something that comes with time and with a comfort level that more experience will bring.
“I got upset with him the other night because, at the end of the game, DeMar was handling the ball and that’s why he’s in there . . . to handle the ball more,” the coach said.
“He’s got to go out there and get it, put those other guys in their place and that’s very difficult to do, too, for a young player, to tell a veteran where to go, what to do, (say) ‘Give me the ball.’ But that’s what he does.
“Delon is gaining that personality but Fred has it, he just had a couple of instances the other night were he didn’t do it.”