What’s that old saw about cutting off the head of the snake to kill it?
As the Raptors muddle through with a depleted roster missing about half its per-game scoring output, opponents are taking that saying to heart, doing all they can to limit the offensive options available to Fred VanVleet and figuring no one else from Toronto will step up and win a game.
It’s working.
Very, very well.
The Memphis Grizzlies were by far the most aggressive team in denying VanVleet the ball or shots or the ability to run the Raptors offence on Wednesday and the success they had will surely be mimicked by other opponents in the copycat world of the NBA.