John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Fred VanVleet Shows All-Star Skills as Raptors Winning Streak Continues vs. Bulls
It's a good thing Fred VanVleet is a procrastinator.
Normally the Toronto Raptors' 27-year-old guard would be spending his All-Star break on a beach somewhere hot. It had been his plan last year before he came down with COVID-19 and was forced into isolation for two weeks. This year, though, he decided to wait before making plans.
"I’m going somewhere regardless I can guarantee you that and it won’t be a Toronto beach," VanVleet joked prior to Thursday's announcement.
Hopefully, VanVleet and his family enjoy the southern shores of beautiful Lake Erie because the Raptors' 6-foot-1 lead guard will be heading to Cleveland later this month for his first NBA All-Star Game.
The news broke just moments before tip-off of Toronto's 127-120 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls. VanVleet found out when the crowd erupted during pre-game warmups. Once the chanting began, he knew what it meant.
"Just proud, humbled, and honored to be selected first and foremost," VanVleet said post-game. "To be recognized like that is a special moment for me and my family and all the people that have been part of the journey along the way."
VanVleet's mind immediately went to his children. He's not sure they'll fully grasp what the honor means, but they're certainly excited for a trip to Cleveland, he said.
The brief moment of reflection was quickly interrupted by Pascal Siakam who was among the first to run over and congratulate VanVleet whose moment was only slightly dampened by Siakam being left off the team.
Moments later, DeMar DeRozan came over with a big brother hug for his former teammate.
"Some of these things, man, you couldn't write a better story for me personally," VanVleet said. "Just the way I feel coming up under DeMar and Kyle (Lowry) and being able to share the floor with DeMar."
Drake and his son, Adonis, capped off the congratulations with a hug and some props pre-game.
It was an honor certainly well deserved for VanVleet whose story has been nothing short of remarkable. He became the first undrafted player to earn an All-Star Game nod since Ben Wallace in 2006 and just the fourth undrafted player of the modern era.
"I think he really truly deserved it not only for what he's done this year, I know that's what the award is specifically for, but for historically what he's done on top of that," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "Man, it's an awesome achievement. I mean, it's an incredible, incredible story that just keeps getting better."
Against the Bulls, VanVleet overcame a dreadful shooting start to do what he's done all season. He nailed big-time shots in the second half, stepping up when the Raptors needed buckets with deep threes and nifty kick-out passes on dribble penetration to find open shooters. After scoring 14 of his 21 points in the second half, he capped off the night with a cross-court pass in overtime to find Gary Trent Jr. above the break for a dagger three-pointer to put Toronto up five.
Siakam Responds to Snub
Siakam may not have shown any All-Star Game disappointment pre-game, but his performance on the court certainly looked like he had something to prove.
He continues to play the best basketball of his career by attacking teams in all aspects of the game. He started things off with a driving floater and his killer step-back jumper, then got to his playmaking ways with a sneaky feed inside to OG Anunoby and a lob over the top of Chicago's front defender and into the hands of Precious Achiuwa for an easy dunk.
In the fourth, he nailed a step-back jumper over Nikola Vucevic to put Toronto up five and then locked down DeRozan at the other end, forcing the former Raptor into a tough mid-range attempt.
"I don't know if you can keep him out of the game with the way he's been playing," VanVleet said of possibly getting Siakam in as an injury replacement.
Siakam finished the night with three assists shy of a triple-double with an All-Star worthy 25 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.
Barnes Plays Hero
Scottie Barnes had a tip-in putback off a VanVleet miss to force overtime with less than a second to go in regulation then battled Vucevic in the paint for a clutch isolation layup to put Toronto up for good.
"He probably made his toughest finish of the year," Nurse said of Barnes' bucket over Vucevic. "If he starts doing that a little more often then I can see another 8-10 points in his game because he really took that down in there with assertiveness, used his strength and height, and made a really tough basket."
VanVleet's Prayers
Back in 2016 when VanVleet was trying to make a name for himself as an undrafted rookie, he said he used to pray every night hoping that someone would notice his skill.
"Like every night. Just pouring out everything I got during practice and workouts and things like that and just praying that somebody was seeing it," he said. "It’s not really about praying that I’ve done my job, it’s more so for the recognition because I’ve always believed in myself but I’ve never had someone else believe in me like this.
"That’s the part that makes me nervous, that’s the part that gives me butterflies, I was nervous all day today because I never know how somebody else is going to perceive it."
Birch Returns
Khem Birch made his return from nose surgery against the Bulls wearing a clear facemask to protect his nose. He missed 10 straight games and grabbed a quick offensive board upon checking in the second quarter. That, however, was just about the extent of his impact in five minutes played.
Up Next: Atlanta Hawks
The Raptors will conclude this four-games-in-five-nights stretch on Friday night when the Atlanta Hawks come to town for the second night of a back-to-back.
