VanVleet to wear mouthpiece for Game 5 following blow to eye, chipped tooth

Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet will be donning a mouthpiece for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night after taking an elbow to the face from Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston on Friday.

Having never worn one before, VanVleet isn't looking forward to the experience.

"I hate wearing mouthpieces," VanVleet said, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "You know, I'm a gambler, so I gambled and sometimes it comes back to bite you on the butt. But all kids out there, you should wear mouthpieces.

"It was a weird play, and I took an unfortunate shot. And so now I will be wearing a mouthpiece for as long as I can manage it. I'll probably throw it at some point during the game, but I'm going to try."

It was early in the fourth quarter of Game 4 at Oracle Arena when Livingston flailed his left arm back after getting fouled and struck VanVleet, who chipped his tooth and got cut under his right eye as a result. He required seven stitches to close the wound and eventually made his way back to the bench.

"I got back home, went to the hospital, got a CT scan to make sure that no bones were broken in my face," VanVleet said. "Then [I] went and made a visit to the dentist, and went home and went to sleep.

"I'm not going to smile for you, though. But I'm back to normal, so that was a good moment, and now I'm back."

VanVleet will be in the rotation for Toronto on Monday after passing the concussion protocol, and will keep the team's medical staff in the loop should he have any further issues due to his injury.

The 25-year-old backup is averaging 12.8 points, three rebounds, three assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 45.2 percent from the field against the Warriors in The Finals.