Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet revealed that energy deflating plays have been the biggest challenge for the Raptors this season.
The Raptors haven’t gotten off to the start they expected following a conference semifinals exit in the 2020 NBA playoffs. Toronto currently sits at the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference—five games below .500.
VanVleet said that the difference between winning teams and losing teams isn’t much and that the team’s biggest challenge has been “deflating plays,” per Sportsnet. VanVleet described these plays as simple mistakes that have a domino effect on the team, such as getting their opponent into the bonus early in the quarter, via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.
FVV: "The difference between a winning team & losing team is not as big a gap as you would think. Not 1 time this year have we been in a game where it feels unfathomable that we could win. It's just the little things we have to do at a higher level. That's what makes a good team"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 30, 2021
VanVleet added that the Raptors make the little plays to win games but don't do those things at a high enough level. The latest example of doing the “little things” while falling short came against the Sacramento Kings—a team against which they’ve already mounted a comeback victory two weeks ago.
The Raptors saw themselves climbing from behind in yet another game, only this time the game didn’t end with a Toronto triumph and optimism in the aftermath of the victory. In this go-around, the Raptors came back from 18 points thanks to some listless stretches of defense and strong performances from Pascal Siakam and VanVleet. Toronto also saw strong outings from Yuta Watanabe and DeAndre' Bembry, but the more losses Toronto piles up, the less patience the Raptors can have for spotty breakout nights.
Still, the Raptors did do enough to make it a real game down the stretch. They cut the deficit to 13 entering the fourth. They drew as close as one point deep into the final frame. They had multiple decent chances down four, opting twice for a quicker, easier 2-pointer as the game shrunk around them. But in the fourth, it was the Kings who were able to string together successful possessions. The Raptors finished the game with stagnant offensive possessions and a technical foul to seal the game for the Kings—a deflating play to end the game.
The Raptors will have to find a way to string together winning possessions early and make those little plays at a high level in order to make a push at one of the qualifying seeds.
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