VanVleet's valuable two-way game a boon for Raptors in NBA Finals - Sportsnet.ca

OAKLAND — Through two games of the NBA Finals, the Toronto Raptors are led by Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam in scoring and field goals, both attempted and made. As it should be. Leonard’s an absurd talent and his team’s best pure player. Siakam’s an emerging star who has looked fresher than just about anyone to take the floor in this series. Get those guys the ball.

But do you know who’s third? Is it Kyle Lowry, pulling up from distance and driving into defenders looking for fouls on his way to paint? Is it Marc Gasol, who can operate in the post or stretch the floor out to the three-point line? Is it Danny Green, hoisting threes and trying to capitalize on mismatches against Steph Curry in the post? Is it Serge Ibaka, who the Raptors purposefully try to feed early in his shifts to get him going, whether with post opportunities, pick-and-pops, or looks from beyond the arc?

None of the above. It’s Fred VanVleet who has been the third offensive option for the Raptors in these NBA Finals, scoring 32 points over the first two games on 48 per cent (12-of-25) shooting. The same Fred VanVleet who was essentially played off the floor by the length of the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. The same Fred VanVleet who at one point in these playoffs went 7-of-44 from the field over a 10-game stretch.

He’s been absolutely critical, and although he doesn’t start the game on the floor, he rarely leaves it once he checks in late in the first quarter. VanVleet played 33 minutes in Game 1, and 38 in Game 2, logging a marathon, 21-minute shift to finish the game. Kyle Lowry’s foul trouble certainly had something to do with that. But it’s worth noting VanVleet played the full fourth quarter in Game 1 as well, so he may have been destined to serve that extended stretch whether Lowry was close to fouling out or not.

“I’m not complaining, man. I come off the bench — I want to play as much as I possibly can,” VanVleet said Tuesday, as the Raptors gathered at Oracle Arena for a final run prior to Wednesday’s Game 3. “There’s times when I get tired, there’s times when it’s tough. But you’ve just got to push through it. I’m not looking for any excuses. Just got to continue to keep grinding, pushing away.”

And it’s more of a grind for VanVleet than it would be for most. He’s spent the majority of his series guarding Curry, which means chasing one of the game’s best shooters, and one of its most elusive athletes off the ball, all over the floor as he dodges, ducks, dips, dives, and dodges his way around an endless array of screens and obstacles provided by his teammates.

That Curry’s been held to 40 per cent shooting over those two games — he’s averaged 48 per cent shooting over the last six seasons and 45 per cent in the playoffs — speaks to both the difficulty of VanVleet’s task and the success he’s having. A lot of players would be happy shooting 40 per cent. But that VanVleet and the Raptors have held Curry to two below-average shooting nights constitutes a minor achievement.

Here — via NBA.com match-up data, which isn’t perfect but is the best we have — is how Curry’s fared when guarded by different Raptors so far in the series (PTS DIFF refers to Curry’s points per 100 possessions in that matchup compared to his season average):

Defender	Possessions	TOV	FGM	FGA	FG%	PTS	PTS DIFF
Fred VanVleet	71	2	2	10	20%	13	-19.1
Danny Green	34	1	1	3	33%	3	-28.5
Kyle Lowry	22	0	4	7	57%	12	17.2
Pascal Siakam	14	0	3	5	60%	12	48.3
Kawhi Leonard	14	0	2	6	33%	8	19.8

That’s why VanVleet’s played so much — he’s been Toronto’s best defender on the opposition’s best scorer. Meanwhile, he’s chipped in double-digit point totals in each of those two games on 48 per cent (12-of-25) shooting, turning the ball over only three times despite being fourth on his team in usage and touches. As long as Leonard wears the same uniform as him, it’s going to be near impossible for VanVleet to ever be the best two-way player on his team. But through two games of the Finals, you can make a case he’s been the second-best.

“He’s working really hard on defense, too, guarding Curry,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said after Game 2. “He was running the team, he was making really quick decisions off the pick-and-roll. He had some good looks. He probably hadn’t played that many straight minutes in a while. I think he had a couple there late and he was probably a little tired, but he kept taking them and stepping into them. But 17 points from him is great and running the team the way he did is great.”

Midway through Game 2, when Nurse emerged from his laboratory like a guitar-playing Victor Frankestein with an idea to run a box-and-one defence, VanVleet’s number was the first he drew on his board. He’d have to blanket Curry like he was a defensive back chasing around a wide receiver. The rest of Toronto’s defenders would remain at their stations.

And when you’re asked to play a box-and-one defence, the and-one end of the equation is not the assignment you want from a workload perspective. Particularly when you’ve already played more than a half hour of basketball off the bench. But VanVleet took to the challenge, racing around the court in pursuit of Curry, who was doing everything he could to shake free.

Incredibly, it worked, as the Warriors went on a five-minute stretch without a basket against the creative look. Curry didn’t even make an attempt in the fourth quarter as VanVleet clung to his hip.

“Guarding Steph is not easy,” VanVleet said Tuesday, matter-of-factly. “Each play feels like its 24 seconds long because their guys are just moving and cutting and everybody’s in sync. They’re all moving in unison. So, it’s definitely tough to guard.”

And as the series wears on, and the Warriors accumulate more and more film of the way VanVleet’s guarding Curry, it’s not going to get any easier.

“Yeah, I see them trying to find different ways to kind of get me off [Curry] a little bit. They’re sending a lot more back picks and stuff like that,” VanVleet said. “They’re making adjustments, as they should, and as they will. And we’ve got to continue to try to make our adjustments.”

Of course, the most crucial adjustment for the Raptors in Game 3 will be winning rather than losing. And if he keeps up his current workload, VanVleet’s play will be a significant factor in whether or not Toronto’s successful. He’s gone from the end of the bench in the second round to a starring role in the NBA Finals, carrying a starter’s workload without having his name announced before tip-off.

Surely, as his season extends into its ninth month, VanVleet must be feeling the toll if it. He’s currently carrying a massive assignment defensively and operating as his team’s third scoring option. Where does he feel it most? Is it physical? Is it mental? Is it the emotion of it all?

“I think it’s a combination of all those things. Mentally, you’re pretty locked in because it’s the Finals. It’s what you dream of. This is what you want to do. So, you’re not drained there. Physically, it’s just bumps and bruises that you take along the season,” VanVleet said, before pausing for a moment. “But what else would you rather be doing?”

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https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/vanvleets-valuable-two-way-game-boon-raptors-nba-finals/

2019-06-05 02:12:00Z
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