'Not the biggest fan but we're in it': Fred VanVleet on the play-in tournament

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet discusses the win vs. the Wizards, how the play-in tournament has impacted the NBA and more.

Video Transcript

- --with Scottie, O.G., and the three reserves on the floor to start the fourth.

FRED VANVLEET: Yeah, it was big. They just got control of the game again. Washington came out hot and we came out slow in the third, but they were able to pick it back up and just got to have an answer. So we had a couple of answers tonight and were able to get out of here with a win.

- What do you think hurt you guys defensively in the third that maybe was fixed or addressed in the fourth?

FRED VANVLEET: Just any combination of not playing hard and taking bad shots is usually not good for the team, so bad combo there. But we got to eliminate those lapses, we've had less and less of them over the course of the last couple of weeks, but just picked a bad time to come out flat and they came out hit a couple of 3's, and that's the NBA now you take three or four possessions, and it could swing either way. So they just came out hot from 3 and we weren't really playing hard or sharp enough, and they made their run, but we were able to get control of it again.

- It's 2 good games now or two straight games. I think you had 37 tonight in the first 38 against Detroit, so I mean, what kind of focus are you guys being on the floor, off the 10?

FRED VANVLEET: Yeah. Just having more energy, and more pace, and just playing with more speed, and understanding that, when we get off to a good starts, usually bodes well for us. So I think it's important to come out and swing first, and we've been doing that over the last couple of games. Obviously, it helps when O.G. is as hot as he is, and we've been moving the ball and making shots, but our defensive intensity was great in the first as well, causing turnover. I think we had 15 deflections in the first quarter. So it was a good start for us.

- What do you appreciate most about what Jeff does up there?

FRED VANVLEET: He's just another guy who is a connector, and organizer, and he's just a leader, and you know he's one of those traditional floor general type of guys who can get you into sets, and get guys in the right spots, and he can defend. So we need that, we need more of that. And any time his number is called, he's ready to go. So he's in there working his butt off every day. And if, you know-- whenever he gets his opportunities, he's out there, and he's producing at a pretty high level, and you give him the ball you make some shots too. So Jeff has been great for us and whenever his number's been called.

- Where does that come from for a guy that doesn't have a ton of reps at the NBA level? Is that basketball IQ? Because it does seem like there's like a steadiness to him you don't really see from others.

FRED VANVLEET: I just think it's something that you have or you don't have. And he's always had it from-- I think the first time I've seen him play was at Rhode Island, and he looked the exact same. You know what I mean? So he does it. He did it in college. He's been doing it in the G League and he does it when he plays with us. So the more minutes and the more comfortable he gets, so he'll get an even better understanding of what we need at times. I've been on him about fouling the jump shooters a little bit but he doesn't want anybody to score on him. He's got that type of pride defensively. So he's been great and we need him to continue to contribute for us off the bench.

- This season for you could almost divide into a bunch of different seasons just in terms of role, it's changed a lot for you. But a lot of the catch metrics say it's been your best offensive season of your career. Why do you think both of those things can be true at the same time?

FRED VANVLEET: Well, I think you've got to understand the position that I'm in, and being the leader of the team, whatever the team is doing, it's going to fall on me. So I was not playing well to my standard at a time where we needed to win and we were losing, and so you look at that and it's a pretty easy 2 plus 2 equals 4 there, but again, there's always more than what meets the eye and so me, just being who I am and being consistent every day knowing that it's going to balance out at some point, just staying true to myself and true to the work. Just-- I'm trying to be more flexible and do whatever the team needs, and as of late the ball's been going in but early on not so much. So we're in the position now we need to win all these games and that's really all I'm focused on.

- You've never been a really high volume pick and roll point guard until you came here, and now you're one of the highest volume pick and roll guys in the league since he's been here, and it's been just the engine of the offense. How does that feel to sort of pick that up immediately and dominate with it?

FRED VANVLEET: I mean, that's what I've done my whole life. Again, I just-- coming into the NBA, I'm going to do whatever they ask me to do to get on the floor, and first and foremost that was to play defense and shoot open 3's, and so as your role develops and you grow as a player and there's more opportunity, then great. Once Kyle left, we went kind of more small and there wasn't as many pick and roll opportunities with a traditional five, so you find ways to try to be successful. And then we got Jak, who's one of the-- looking like one of the best [? bigs ?] in the league as of late. So just try to find ways to be effective and I feel very comfortable in pick and roll situations, and you know I think it's look well-- look good for our team and something that we can continue to work on going forward.

- How do you think that play in tournament has changed the way teams act this time of year over the past couple of days?

FRED VANVLEET: Yeah, it's crazy. I just had a real conversation about it. I'll probably have a better answer for you after the season. I think right now just trying to lock in, so-- what's in front of us and just stay in the moment, and stay focused. I think that you look at it and there's a team at 12th or a team in 13th, who's one game back from 10th, and then you're looking at it like that's a real spot in the playoffs. And so I think it just stretches the realm of reality of what a team is, and it can create unrealistic situations for a lot of teams. I think for us, a team that's been talented and kind of underperformed for the majority of the year, I think we feel really good about getting in and getting to our spot, and making some noise. But again, you still got to get in, right? So it varies from team to team. I think anything that revolves around business, or ratings, or however even a plan was borne out of COVID, there's always going to be unexpected consequences on all sides. And you know I think you're seeing teams work through it, but again,-- what are we? 9 to 8 or something like that. So we've got a couple of games. A couple of weeks left to try to get as many as we can get and see where we're at the end, and fight for our lives really towards the end of season.

- Do you remember your first reaction to when it was announced? Did you like it or generally or just said, whatever let's see what happened?

FRED VANVLEET: I really don't remember. I think it was more so like trying to figure out how to get those teams in-- to the bubble, and I won't go too far in, but there were certain teams that needed to be in for ratings or whatever, and it made sense-- it made more sense at that time because we had a whole portion of the season that hadn't been finished. So again, I'm very like strict on basketball purity and rule, so I'm not the biggest fan of it, but we're in it. So we got to take advantage of it this year.

- Fred this team has kind of struggled on getting back to 500. You've had at least five opportunities this season to hit that 500 mark and right now, you're one game below 500 again. Is that something you guys think about your actual record in that sense and is that kind of has that been a hurdle to get over, or do you think it's just kind of the consequences of just random [? blood, ?] or bad luck, or whatever?

FRED VANVLEET: Yeah, probably a little bit of both. I mean, I don't put much into it. I don't-- I think, again, there's only so much that I can say is my words carry more weight now, but like, you are who you are at a certain point, you know what I mean? And so we got to get out of that, and we have to grow out of that, and this is a great chance for us to do that going forward. It's the perfect time to gear up and ramp up for the playoffs, so we can make a push here. We got Miami who's ahead of us. That would be a good win and you just keep building from there, but I think just staying focused, like I said earlier, staying focused on the moment, and trying to get better each day. Today, it was a good day, tomorrow, we need another one, and Tuesday is another jump for us. So we just got to keep working.

- So you've had multiple stretches in the game, especially in the first half where you completely altered and shifted the momentum. What are you seeing in The Wizard's defense that allowed you to be able to find those holes and do what you did?

FRED VANVLEET: I think in the first quarter was more just getting deflections and steals and trying to get us out in transition. And then the second quarter got shook loose for a couple of buckets and transition 3 there. So again, just trying to be as aggressive as possible. Help our team create some cushion and it's winning time. So just sort of have a feel for the game, take what the defense gives, and understanding they play a little drop, and they got play too big. So kind of slow getting back in transition, we got better take advantage of that and that's really what I was focused on. Thanks, guys.

- Thank you.