It was a night of old school meets new school, and the result for the Toronto Raptors was picturesque.

On one side of things, it was probably the most complete game Fred VanVleet has ever played as he emulated the ghosts of Raptors legends past. On the other, it was a team comprised of mostly young players—Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby, Dalano Banton, and, yes, even Precious Achiuwa—continuing to figure themselves and each other out.

With their 109-100 victory over the Washington Wizards, the Raptors have now won five straight early in the season and remain undefeated (4-0) on the road.

“I’m not taking this for granted,” VanVleet told reporters postgame. “Did you watch us last year? I’m not taking any of this for granted.”

Here are three key takeaways from another wildly impressive performance:

Raptors Takeaways vs. Wizards

3. Fred VanVleet, Maestro

Better than his 54-point game when he simply went supernova, VanVleet didn’t just torch the Wizards for 33 points, three rebounds, and six dimes on 69.4 percent true shooting. He also established himself as the singular commanding force for 43 minutes, snatching control of the entire game and tuning it to his liking.

In the days of old, when Kyle Lowry was still a Raptor, these sorts of performances weren’t so uncommon. He would suddenly be laying down jurisdiction on every angle of every possession. He would play the game as though he were conducting a basketball symphony, each dribble and pass charge a note in an ever-lilting orchestra.

He was a maestro.

And now, for the first time in his career, so was VanVleet.

“It’s been an adjustment,” VanVleet said of often being the team’s lone floor general. “It’s not good or bad, it’s just been different. Some nights it’s frustrating, some nights I feel good, but it’s just a learning curve and I played next to a Hall of Famer for five years—me and him had great chemistry offensively. I probably miss Kyle [Lowry] on defense more than offense to be honest with you, but just trying to find the flow and learn my guys.”

From start to finish, VanVleet oversaw his own musical masterpiece—of a different tenor than Lowry’s, but in a similar vein—comprised mainly of undeniably stoic defense, his magnum opus in the pick-and-roll, and an opportunistic-turned-ferocious midrange game that would’ve made DeMar DeRozan and Kawhi Leonard blush.

The Raptors ultimately outscored the Wizards 28-12 in the midrange, with VanVleet providing 12 of those points. Whether it was fabricating space for himself out of a pick-and-roll or cutting across the lane for a fallaway with a defender in his face, VanVleet once again found a level of comfort within the arc that’s becoming a staple for him this season–something that will, if it continues, open the door for him to morph into a true three-level scoring threat.

“We’ve put in considerable work [on our half-court offense],” head coach Nick Nurse said. “But it always helps when you’ve got a guy like Fred [VanVleet] that can control the tempo. He’s making some good play calls, he’s obviously scoring but he’s also finding some people, too. He’s found some short rolls to Khem [Birch], he found some slap cutters, he found a kick-out three here and there.”

Even when the Wizards got wise and began to trap VanVleet out of the pick-and-roll, he reacted as any star would: he kept his dribble alive and waited patiently for a passing window to the open man to present itself.

Indeed, this was a performance that will outlive its billing, and it may just be the genesis of the next phase of VanVleet’s stellar career.

“He’s a great leader, he’s a great player,” Svi Mykhailiuk said. “So obviously everybody trusts him and we trust him and he makes the game easier for everybody.”

2. Precious Achiuwa the passer

It would be irresponsible to suggest that Achiuwa is having a great start to the season. He hasn’t, and Wednesday night’s performance against the Wizards wasn’t particularly potent, either.

However, it was absolutely his best passing game of the season. He racked up four assists and should’ve had more. Right from the get-go, VanVleet began looking for him coming out of the pick-and-roll. Achiuwa (who has perhaps understated dishing instincts as the 22-year-old raw talent that he is) spent most of his catches on the roll recognizing the defenders in front of him ready to converge, kicking the ball out to a perimeter shooter for a good look.

Now, his reaction time was often a beat slower than one might like, and his passes weren’t always directly on-target, but the process (and sometimes results!) were there. In those situations, he was reading the plays in front of him and firing the ball to the correct spots.

Achiuwa is evidently making tangible efforts all around to shift more towards what the Raptors need him to be. He spent less time pushing the ball directly into traffic with blinders on against the Wizards, instead passing it off and trusting his teammates would find him again later in the possession.

Even if the rest of his game hasn’t yet translated into what it could be, these are things that should be recognized and applauded.

1. Team victory

While this was certainly VanVleet’s night, the Raptors as a whole played well. They were a cohesive unit for most of the night, playing consistently solid defense and finding all of the choice spots on offense.

Four of the five starters dropped 15-plus points, and the team shot a collective 40 percent (10-25) from downtown. They kept even with the Wizards in almost every statistical category, save for the aforementioned midrange points, which they dominated.

“I feel like everybody’s engaged, everybody’s helping each other,” Mykhailiuk said. “I feel like that’s the main thing, why we can play aggressive—because we know our team is behind us, gonna have our back, and we just rotate to whatever we’re doing. I feel like it’s a team effort and I feel like everybody’s playing for each other. That’s what has to happen to make it look good.”

Khem Birch and Banton were, once again, welcome sparks off the bench. Birch provided his usual calming, steady presence and finished as a +10 (second only to VanVleet), while Banton generated not only that familiar change of pace when he initiated possessions but also scored a couple of timely buckets (including one highly impressive straight-line drive).

With three rotation players sitting on the sidelines, the string of performances this team has put together to kick off the 2021-22 season has been, in a word, electric.