The Raptors Have Found the Answer to Playing Without Fred VanVleet: Go Big

The Toronto Raptors done away with a traditional point guard when Fred VanVleet sits and handing the reins over to Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam

Aaron Rose | Jan 6, 2022

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Let's get one thing clear: The Toronto Raptors are nothing without Fred VanVleet.

Is VanVleet the best player in the NBA? No. Not even close. But few players in the league are as valuable to their team as Toronto's 6-foot-nothing point guard is to the Raptors.

Take, for example, VanVleet's on-off numbers. The Raptors are +38 for the season, outscoring teams by 1.1 points per game. With VanVleet on the court, that number jumps to +160 for the year or +5 points per game. Without him, the Raptors crater. They're -122 for the season when he sits, getting outscored by 3.5 points per game.

The majority of those minutes without VanVleet this season have come with one of Toronto's two young guards Dalano Banton or Malachi Flynn running the point. But after an impressive start to the season for Banton, things have gone off the rails for the two. The Raptors have been outscored by 19.5 points per 100 possessions when Toronto hands the reins over to Banton or Flynn, per Cleaning the Glass.

Yikes.

So the Raptors have decided to innovate. They've done away with anything resembling a traditional point guard when VanVleet sits and instead decided to just throw talent on the court to see what happens, handing the 'point guard' position over to Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam.

"We're still pretty experimental." Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday. "I think there's a lot of learning to be done there."

So far, the lineups have been a success. In 33 non-garbage time minutes without VanVleet since Toronto debuted the all-forward lineup against the New York Knicks last Sunday, the Raptors have outscored their opponents by 24 points. They've done it by shooting 50% from the floor, holding their opponent to 37% shooting, and outrebounding teams 35 to 24.

"I think it gives us a lot of flexibility, we’re able to switch one through five," Precious Achiuwa said Wednesday. "Guys are about the same size, about the same wingspan or whatever the case may be, just being able to switch on hand-offs, pick-and-rolls, whatever the case may be, and just playing out the offense, scramble, run around, get rebounds."

The key to the success of those lineups is Barnes and Siakam's ability to play whatever we call the point guard position these days. It's a spot that requires an ability to lead and organize players on the court, Nurse said of the modern point guard.

“For me, growing up and playing point guard it was just like making sure we get a good shot .... and organizing and quarterbacking the floor," VanVleet said. "So that’s a learning experience for anybody, especially (Siakam and Barnes), but other than that, all those guys can playmake so you just put the playmakers out there and let them figure it out."

Siakam is certainly developing that sense, more so than Barnes who has long considered himself a guard. The 27-year-old has transformed himself from a rim-running big who averaged 0.3 assists per game when he broke into the NBA to one of the league's premier dual-threat forwards, averaging nearly 25 points, seven assists, and 11 rebounds per game since returning from COVID-19.

So while it may not look conventional without VanVleet on the floor, that's fine by Nurse and the Raptors. This season has always been about tinkering and figuring out what works, and right now, big ball is working.

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