The stages Fred VanVleet went through while recovering from COVID-19 were difficult — his body had to no longer be sore, his fever had to abate, there were tests to pass and benchmarks to reach before he could be cleared to resume action on the court.
They were made even harder by the anguish he felt watching the Raptors lose game after game after game after game after game.
“I thought it was just a missed opportunity for our ball club, for our franchise, for our team, for a lot of guys on the roster, but it’s understandable,” VanVleet said.