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TSN Raptors Reporter

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SAN FRANCISCO – By the time the Raptors pulled away in the dying moments of their crucial Game 3 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, Fred VanVleet was gassed and even a bit banged up.

Toronto’s backup point guard had just logged 23 straight minutes and would have played the entire second half if not for 52 seconds of garbage time to close things out. He spent most of his night chasing around one of the toughest and most unique covers the game has ever seen.

Without his two all-star teammates, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, Steph Curry had to be spectacular to give his team a chance, and he was. The two-time NBA MVP scored a playoff career-high of 47 points. Only seven players have ever scored more in a Finals game. However, as crazy as it sounds, the carnage could have been even worse.

Giving up at least three inches in the matchup, VanVleet – generously listed at six-feet – was glued to the Warriors superstar. He was physical, fought through screens, crowded him and closely contested his jumpers. Widely regarded as one of the craftiest scorers in league history, Curry never stops moving and so neither did VanVleet.

When he finally got a chance to catch his breath, he could feel it.

“I was kind of limping around for most of that second half so I wasn’t exerting as much energy as I have in the past,” he said the following afternoon. “But it’s the Finals, man. I can rest in two weeks. After this series is over I’ll go home and relax and put my feet up and have a couple drinks and play with my kids. But for now, I’ll play 48 if I have to and fatigue is not an option.”

His efforts did not go unnoticed.

“Fred has a heart that I don’t know how it fits in his chest. He has a huge heart,” Marc Gasol said after Wednesday’s 123-109 win gave the Raptors a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals. “He fights, he’s scrappy, he’s steady. One heck of a player.”

“Favourite player right there in the NBA for me,” said Pascal Siakam, who VanVleet called his favourite player a few days prior. “I don’t know if he likes that [nickname], but Steady Freddie, you know? He’s always calm, always cool, too cool for school. That’s my guy.”

For VanVleet, this past month has been a whirlwind, personally and professionally. It started with the point guard mired in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career.

Through Toronto’s first 15 playoff games, VanVleet had totalled 60 points on an abysmal 20-for-78 (26 per cent) shooting. Then, coinciding with the birth of his son, Fred Jr. just before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Milwaukee, he turned it around. He’s scored in double figures in six games since, totalling 91 points on 33-of-58 (57 per cent) shooting.

Indeed, VanVleet is in a groove offensively. On Wednesday, he hit three of his six three-point attempts, including the dagger – a 28-feet heave at the end of the shot clock to put Toronto up by 13 points with 99 seconds remaining. Just a few weeks ago he couldn’t buy a bucket, now he can’t miss. That’s just the nature of the game, sometimes.

However, what’s keeping him on the floor in this championship series is his defence, more than anything else. Through three games, it’s become pretty clear: VanVleet is Nick Nurse’s preferred Curry stopper.

Even with Danny Green shooting the ball well in Game 3, and doing a fine job on Curry himself, Nurse opened the second half with VanVleet in his place, hoping to get the most out of that matchup.

VanVleet served as the primary defender on Curry for 31 of his 33 minutes – almost three-quarters of the time Steph was on the floor. Here’s how Curry fared against him and the two other Raptors players he saw most often.

Curry vs. VanVleet: 11 points on 30 possessions.
Curry vs. Kyle Lowry: 17 points on 25 possessions.
Curry vs. Green: 12 points on 18 possessions.

This is how those matchups have looked over the course of the series.

Curry vs. VanVleet: 24 points on 33 per cent shooting in 101 possessions.
Curry vs. Lowry: 29 points on 59 per cent shooting in 47 possessions.
Curry vs. Green: 15 points on 33 per cent shooting in 52 possessions.

While Green has had some success, VanVleet has challenged Curry over a significantly larger sample size. In fact, his defence on Curry has been among the very best in the NBA this year.

Of the 11 players that have guarded Curry for at least 100 possessions over the regular season and playoffs, only two – Chris Paul and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – have given up fewer points per possession than VanVleet. Including the one regular season meeting they faced off – the Raptors’ Dec. 12 win at Golden State – Curry has scored just 28 points on 140 possessions against VanVleet.

“There are guys in this league that are very hard to guard; he’s one of them,” VanVleet said. “He’s an elite offensive player and one of the top players of all time.”

Many have made the connection between the birth of VanVleet’s son and his inspired play, and why not? It’s a fun story, even if it’s a bit of a reach. VanVleet mostly laughs it off.

“I wish I could go back in time and not tell anyone that I had a kid so I could get all the glory for turning around my performance,” he joked.

There actually might be something to it. When you’re in a slump, even for a player with VanVleet’s self-confidence, it weighs on you. It’s in your head. It’s something you think about. Perhaps having his first son and his second child in less than two years helped take his mind off basketball.

“Becoming a parent has been the greatest thing that’s happened to me in my 25 years,” he said. “To two [kids] under [the age of] two has been an experience, to say the least, and it just gives you perspective on life. I think that I had a great perspective regardless before I had kids, but to have two young ones that kind of washes away everything else that’s going on. When I come home they don’t care about what happened – 0-for-7, or we lost, or [I scored] 25 points. My daughter doesn’t care – she’s crying, she wants to cry. The newborn definitely doesn’t give a damn about anything other than eating and sleeping and pooping.”

The more likely explanation is that VanVleet is a good, smart basketball player who works and plays hard and it was only a matter of time before the on-court product reflected that again.

“He’s always calm,” Siakam said. “It’s crazy. I always look at him when I’m kind of rattled and I’m mad at myself about things. I just look at him and he’s always calm. He always has that same demeanour. We always have the eye contact where it’s like he tells me to relax. Fred is that type of player you love to have on your team. The energy that he brings to the team, his defence and then the three-point shooting, it’s awesome.”

A year ago around this time, VanVleet was nursing a significant shoulder injury he sustained in the final game of the regular season. His breakout sophomore campaign didn’t end the way he hoped it would, missing all but three minutes of Toronto’s first five playoff games before returning at limited capacity.

Now, here he is, playing a pivotal role for a Raptors team that’s two wins away from winning the NBA championship. Even with Thompson returning to Golden State's lineup for Friday's Game 4, he could be hobbled by his hamstring injury and Durant remains out indefinitely. The Warriors will still need to lean on Curry and VanVleet appears to be Toronto's best bet to slow him down, or at least make him work.

Whether he ends up getting that ring or not, VanVleet will have one hell of a year to reflect when it’s finally time to put those feet up.

“I’m just happy for him,” Siakam said. “On the biggest stage, being able to show up like he’s doing. He’s amazing and I’m proud of him.”

“It’s big,” said VanVleet. “That’s all you can ask for, especially as a role player, is to have an impact and put your imprint on the game. Last year was my first real postseason, I didn’t play much as a rookie, so to be hurt, to be injured and then to be swept by Cleveland was not [a] great experience. Then with the ups and downs [this] playoffs, and now to be here in the Finals is unbelievable. It’s what you ask for, it’s what you work hard for and that’s all you can do is try to put your imprint on the game and help your team win.”