Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors went into a game against a quality Eastern Conference opponent with momentum for the first time in weeks. With the Atlanta Hawks going through some turbulent times, this seemed like an ideal team to try and get a fourth straight win against.
The first quarter, naturally, started with a 20-3 Atlanta run and a Scottie Barnes dunk standing as the only made shot from the field. VanVleet was 0-4 before taking a seat on the bench, but he didn’t play much better when he re-entered. VanVleet ended the first half scoreless on six attempts while allowing Dejounte Murray to coast to 18 points on 7-9 shooting.
VanVleet made just one of his nine shots from the field, even playing so poorly that he was riding the bench in the fourth quarter until Pascal Siakam fouled out. He mustered just three points. Barnes, on the other hand, was brilliant. Barnes ended up with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals in the 114-103 loss. His improved play has been a welcome sight.
Hopefully, this game serves as a harrowing, direct reminder to the Raptors’ coaching staff that the offense needs to run through Barnes as much as possible. VanVleet was ice cold all night long, but the fact that these performances seem familiar is highly concerning.
Ugly half for VanVleet, who's scoreless on 6 shots through 15 minutes, only has a couple assists and has been the primary defender on Dejounte Murray (18/5/5 on 7-9 FG). He went to the locker room briefly late in the 1st quarter - wonder if he's playing through something.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 15, 2023
Toronto Raptors: Fred VanVleet must let Scottie Barnes star on offense.
The numbers show that the Raptors consistently lose more games whenever VanVleet’s usage rate spikes. While he and the Raptors are likely expecting a positive regression to the mean coming at some point, he is still one of the worst shooters in the league halfway into the season. The improvement may not be in the cards.
VanVleet is still effective at gobbling up rebounds for a guard his size and making plays as a passer. In fact, he’s one of the best passers in basketball. Not only is his inefficiency taking opportunities away from Barnes and Gary Trent Jr, but he’s robbing the offense of his exceptional ability to find open players on quick passes.
No matter what happens with VanVleet, this season should be about ensuring that Barnes is equipped with all the tools necessary to become the team’s primary offensive option in the near future. Any game where VanVleet is dominating the ball and shooting from deep with impunity is simply not acceptable anymore.
With VanVleet and Trent having off nights, the Raptors are going guard-less with 4.5 minutes left and the Hawks up 10. Barnes-Anunoby-Siakam-Boucher-Achiuwa.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 15, 2023
Barnes will be prone to inconsistency, but any Raptors fan worth their salt would agree that letting Barnes take the lead in the name of development is better than what VanVleet is doing right now. Call it a changing of the guard if you want, but VanVleet can’t operate the offense like this when Barnes has a game like this.