Toronto Raptors: Top five performances from perfect Week 16

2. Fred VanVleet

Opponent: Brooklyn Nets

Stat line: 29 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 55 FG%

Fred VanVleet has been a beast for the Raptors this season. Ever since his breakout performance against the Milwaukee Bucks in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, VanVleet has looked like a different player. More aggressive with his shot and showing flashes of some much-improved playmaking and defending, Toronto’s undrafted “OG” is earning himself a lot of money with his play in 2019-20 (VanVleet will be a free agent this summer).

Without the services of Kyle Lowry against the Brooklyn Nets, VanVleet would take on a bigger role and be in charge of facilitating Toronto’s offence. For most of the first half, VanVleet deferred to his teammates, though, he was sure to sink a few long-distance shots to keep Brooklyn’s defence honest.

The second half was when the Nets made their push to get back in the game. VanVleet, in response, decided to be more aggressive on the offensive end which led to him dropping a cool 19-point half on Brooklyn. It was very Kyle Lowry’esq performance from Toronto’s other backcourt bulldog. This game was just another shining example of how deep Toronto’s roster runs. Every player knows it’s a next-man-up mentality that trams need to have if they’re going to win. Toronto has it.

VanVleet finished week 16 with averages of 19.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game and continues to play at a high level that, as stated earlier, is going to earn him a lot of money come summertime.