The Toronto Raptors knew they had something special in Fred VanVleet for years, but his ability couldn’t be truly unlocked until Kyle Lowry parted ways with the team and vacated the starting point guard role. VanVleet has assumed his role, and the early returns are fantastic.
VanVleet was an All-Star for the first time in his career, setting a new personal best mark in points per game and ranking near the top of the league in 3-pointers made, steals, and deflections. The Raptors wouldn’t have won anything close to 48 games without him.
Though the Raptors and VanVleet have agreed on the fact that playing him close to 40 minutes every night is not a sustainable way to conduct this team. This could lead to a dip in his statistics, but not the impact he will have on a given game or this season as a whole.
VanVleet has always preached the value of striving for constant self-improvement, and he could take some extra steps forward this season if he gets into a groove early on. VanVleet should start 2022-23 with these three goals in mind as he prepares to lead the Raptors once again.
3 goals for Raptors PG Fred VanVleet in 2022-23.
3. Improve finishing at the rim.
While it’s difficult to be a truly effective scorer close to the basket at VanVleet’s size, the lack of an awesome interior game is what limited him to a sub-40% field goal percentage in Tampa. He won’t make All-Star teams regularly if he continues to be a one-dimensional scorer.
VanVleet shot right around 46% in the paint and 45% at the rim, which is well below the league average. VanVleet’s 20 points per game came mostly from beyond the 3-point line, so the fact he was able to be that effective while being somewhat predictable in his attack style is even more impressive in retrospect.
Toronto Raptors: Fred VanVleet needs to be better inside.
VanVleet has a solid midrange game that could be utilized a bit more this season, and he remains one of the best in the league at passing the ball to the perimeter after knifing through the lane. We just need to see an iota of added consistency.
Even if his shot attempts per game shrink ever so slightly, VanVleet will be able to replicate his points per game numbers if he can be a bit more efficient in the paint. Considering how VanVleet has proved doubters wrong at quite literally every juncture in his career, silencing those who doubt his scoring versatility will be a piece of cake.
2. Average seven assists per game.
The Raptors can count on VanVleet to go for 20 points every night with regularity, but they also need to make sure their four other starters are all being taken care of and given enough shots. To ensure that both of these objectives are met, VanVleet may need to take on a larger role as a passer and distributor this season.
VanVleet has averaged more than six assists per game in each of the last three seasons, though he may need to step things up this season. We know he’s one of the most creative passers in the league, and we are also aware of the fact rising star Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, and Gary Trent Jr. need shot attempts.
Put two and two together.
Fred VanVleet must lead the Raptors in assists.
VanVleet recorded eight or more assists in a game 23 times last season, including an absurd 17-assist performance early in the season against the Bulls. Kyle Lowry averaged just under eight assists per game as the lead point guard in Nick Nurse’s offense, so this scheme can produce gaudy box score numbers.
If there is one thing that can be a major handicap of Nurse’s offense, there are times when ball movement stops and the half-court offense turns into iso-ball. If this coaching staff wants to break those tendencies, they must enable VanVleet to become a master disher surrounded by an armada of capable scorers.
1. Make an All-Star team
VanVleet became the first undrafted player in over a decade to earn the very exclusive All-Star nomination. Making the team two years in a row might be too tall a task for VanVleet in the eyes of some, as the competition in the division has gotten much more robust in the offseason.
Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray were two All-Stars from the Western Conference that arrived via trades. In Brooklyn, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving will be fully healthy, making it more challenging for VanVleet to break through. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? Not at all.
Will Toronto Raptors PG Fred VanVleet make two All-Star games?
VanVleet’s best bet for inclusion in this game is to either break the box score with some crooked numbers the NBA is not used to seeing from him or helping the Raptors become such a dominant team that their success is impossible to ignore. The latter is how Lowry piled up All-Star appearance after All-Star appearance.
Even though he made last year’s showcase by the skin of his teeth, VanVleet’s inclusion put the NBA world on notice and proved once and for all that few across the game can match his combination of dominant defense and timely shot-making. Doing it again would make him a bona fide star in this league.