Things didn’t go well for the Raptors in Washington, and after dropping two games, they’re left looking for answers to solve the problems posed by a talented, if inconsistent, Wizards team. The Wizards were able to create space for their own stars while closing off the space afforded to the Raptors, limiting their role players and using that to control the game. They forced frequent Toronto turnovers and took advantage on the other end of the floor, which culminated in a fourth quarter in game 4 when the Raptors simply stopped moving on offense, either the ball or players away from it, and it looked like the offense of old had returned, when it was simply a matter of whether or not Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan could beat the defensive looks in front of them, by themselves, to put points on the board.
There has been plenty of introspection since then, asking whether the Raptors had abandoned their culture change in favor of regression to more comfortable habits, asking whether the role players had absconded their responsibility to hold up their end of the bargain and take the shots offered, and asking whether Dwane Casey’s rotations were to blame, keeping Jonas Valanciunas, one of the team’s most potent weapons on the bench while the team floundered. All of these are good questions, and certainly things the team should address. There is definitely a question with JV whether the team should be as concerned about his foul trouble as they appear to be given that they don’t intend for him to be closing out games, and also aren’t playing him enough minutes for him to be at risk of fouling out, generally speaking. Perhaps playing him for those six fouls would provide additional value on the offensive end and help the Raptors build leads before they eventually go away from the Lithuanian center to close out games, anyways.
Truth to be told, however, there’s simply a piece missing that the team hasn’t yet dealt with. Fred VanVleet has logged just three ineffective minutes in the series, after injuring his shoulder in the closing minutes of the final game of the season, and it’s not clear yet when he’ll return to action. VanVleet has indicated his desire to be in uniform alongside his teammates, helping them to get past this series and move on in the playoffs, and the team could certainly use his presence.
At the beginning of the season, it seemed clear that the Raptors needed their young bench guys to step up and be a presence on the team, and that group answered the bell, being the best bench in the league and forming one of the top 5-man units overall, frequently running opponents off the court in second and fourth quarters, and affording the team’s stars plenty of rest throughout the regular season, allowing Casey to keep their minutes lower than seasons past. They did it through hard-nosed defense as a group, an impressive transition attack, and a team-based offensive approach that emphasized taking what the defense offered and using their chemistry to find looks. Despite none of the five members being elite shot creators, the penetrating attack of VanVleet and Delon Wright allowed them to open up seams, and Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl in the frontcourt were able to use those openings to score in the interior, while CJ Miles provided an outside shooting threat that teams had to acknowledge.
In the playoffs, however, that group just hasn’t been the same without VanVleet, who was often regarded as one of the most expendable at the beginning of the year. The point guard from Wichita State went undrafted two summers ago, in the draft where Poeltl and Siakam were selected in the first round, and was signed after the draft by the Raptors, although he spent most of his first season with the Raptors 905 where he helped them capture the G-League championship, playing just 294 NBA minutes during the season, and his rookie campaign numbers were unimpressive, as he wasn’t quite able to find his footing in the league. It seemed early on this year, as well, he would be the third string point guard behind Lowry and Wright, with Wright taking the lion’s share of the backup minutes through the first stretch of the season before missing 12 games with an injury, which gave Fred the opening he needed to establish himself as a key contributor. Once Wright returned, and with OG Anunoby then cemented in the starting lineup, it became clear that Norman Powell was the odd man out in the rotation, relegated to the 11th man as Wright and VanVleet became the backcourt for the second unit for the team.
Still, though, Fred probably doesn’t get enough credit for the degree to which he was the heart of the unit, and that’s become clear more and more as the playoffs build on. The bench frequently looks lost not just when they’re out there without one of the franchise’s All-Stars, but also when they’re alongside DeMar DeRozan as well. In those lineups they looked to VanVleet to provide the constant steady hand, to be the player who balanced things out on both ends of the floor, both with his constant defensive intensity that helps to raise the level of those around him when the team faced lulls, but also through his attention to detail on the offensive end, rarely forcing anything, but also keeping the players around him involved. The four other members of the Raptors bench need that, because despite being a group full of talent, they aren’t one that can simply manufacture offense with ease, they need to create holes in the defense first that they can then attack, and VanVleet is one of the best on the roster at finding those opportunities. As well, when Fred is on the floor with DeMar, he provides that needed steadiness again. DeRozan has a tendency when he’s out there with limited offensive players to try to shoulder the entire load himself, and it helps to have another ball handler alongside him who can ensure that the attack retains balance and is harder for the defense to mitigate.
There’s a reason that they call him Steady Freddy, and hopefully he is able to return soon. But until he does, perhaps the rest of the Raptors ballhandlers need to look to his play, and try to emulate him, because the team, and especially the bench, sorely misses his presence. It’s not a stretch to say he was one of the three or four most important players the organization had this season, something that no one foresaw coming into the year, and it’s hard to replace a player who brings so much to the table while taking nothing away from those around him. The Raptors need to find a way to weather the storm though, at least until Fred can return and right the ship.
