Fred VanVleet Continues to Show His Value As Raptors Knock off Rockets

The Toronto Raptors have seen Fred VanVleet return to his early 2022 form with another big-time performance Friday night against the Houston Rockets

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Fred VanVleet came into the season determined to do things differently this year. 

Last season hadn't ended the way VanVleet or the Toronto Raptors would have hoped. He pushed himself to the point of breaking and it had proved costly. He broke down in the playoffs, unable to finish Toronto's first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. In his eyes, he'd peaked too early. After an All-Star-worthy first half of last season, VanVleet fell off precipitously. It couldn't be the same.

At 28 years old, VanVleet changed his body over the summer. He wouldn't go into details early in the year but he made it clear he wanted to peak at the right time. With playoff aspirations on the horizon, VanVleet wanted to be ready not for September or October but for April, May, and June.

Toronto won't make it that far this season. Even with Friday's 118-111 victory over the Hoston Rockets, the Raptors remain closer to the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes than a serious playoff team. But VanVleet has shown lately that his early season struggles may in fact have been more of a blip than some long-term concern. If a second-half peak is what Toronto's lead guard wanted this season, so far he's showing it.

VanVleet has been everything Toronto could have hoped for the better part of the past two months. Since December 7, he came into Friday night averaging 21.8 points and 6.7 assists per game with a True Shooting percentage (a stat that accounts for three-pointers being worth more than two-pointers as well as free-throw attempts) of 57.1%. Those numbers are virtually identical to VanVleet's All-Star-worthy numbers from last season in which he averaged 21.6 points and seven assists with a TS% of 57.2% through the first 50 games of last year.

Against Houston, nothing changed. He kept Toronto's offense going early while the defense struggled to provide much resistance to the Rockets' transition attack. He worked the pick-and-roll with Precious Achiuwa for a pull-up three in the first quarter before getting downhill and finding Scottie Barnes for a kick-out three. Later, VanVleet nailed a circus layup through contact for an And-1, dropping 15 points in the first half. 

What a finish 👀 @FredVanVleet pic.twitter.com/KLEAlFCN7R

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 4, 2023

It should have been enough for the Raptors to jump ahead early but Houston punished Toronto inside, scoring 34 points in the paint before the first-half buzzer. At one point Eric Gordon even beat Barnes off the dribble for an easy bucket at the rim.

Even with the defense struggling, Gary Trent Jr. kept Toronto around in the second. He nailed six straight shots including back-to-back threes, for 15 of his 29 points in the second quarter alone, putting the Raptors up seven heading into the break.

That's when VanVleet and the Raptors took over. After toying with the tanking Rockets for the better part of the first 24 minutes, VanVleet had enough. He nailed a trio of three-pointers to open the second half, leading Toronto with 16 of his game-high 31 in the third quarter, and pushing the Raptors' lead to 19 from which they never looked back.

What the next week holds for VanVleet and the Raptors is anyone's guess. Changes are almost certainly coming for this roster and VanVleet is one to keep an eye on. He's bounced back from a disastrous start to the season and returned to his All-Star form. Between his leadership, championship experience, and borderline All-Star-caliber play of late, there's value to be had either for Toronto or somewhere else.

Up Next: Memphis Grizzlies

The Raptors will wrap up their West Coast trip Sunday night when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies at 6 p.m. ET.