Who should be in the Toronto Raptors final rotation spot?
Fred VanVleet
It’s been a rough old postseason for our boy Fred.
Last season, VanVleet came into the playoffs injured, and we were left to rue his presence throughout another sweep.
This season, VanVleet was looking sharp and better than ever before in the final stretch of the regular season. Averaging 12.5 points and 5.6 assists per game on 42-percent shooting from three, Fred looked revitalized and was on course to be a big factor for the Raptors in the postseason.
Instead, what we have is a completely insolvent Fred VanVleet, one whose presence on the court has hampered the Raptors to the point of being benched for much of Game 4.
Overall, the Sixers are not a good matchup for VanVleet, even if he has been a little better defensively than public belief.
His diminutive size doesn’t stack up well against the Sixers long, and rangy wings, like Mike Scott and James Ennis. In the whole of the series, VanVleet has only made one field-goal, coming against J.J. Redick.
Other than that, VanVleet is scoreless through the series but for one made free-throw. But there’s still room for Fred in the rotation.
It relies on him playing exclusively off the ball, though.
As an off-the-ball, spot up shooter, VanVleet can excel. The Raptors need his ability to stretch the court, whether he takes the shot or not. Even if the three-pointer isn’t falling, the Sixers still need to take VanVleet seriously as a shooter.
On the ball, VanVleet is guilty of running down the clock, dribbling aimlessly into traffic or trying to force a shot. Unless he’s guarded by J.J. Redick, any Sixer that guards him has a clear height advantage over him and can keep Fred quiet all night.