@FlameRaptorRaven

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Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 8: Mr. VanVleet is his Dad’s Name

As I’m sure you can imagine, I had a lot of options in mind for the Raptors. Could’ve gone the easy route with Kawhi, the eternally underrated 2020 Raptors or even gone back to the Vince Carter Raptors (sorry Bosh). I do want to stay in 2019, but focus on a storyline that I think people have forgotten. The 2019 Raptors have seemingly become the gold standard of ‘THAT GUY played on that team?!’ conversations. It seems like every non-veteran from that team is doing great things with a new team. OG just became a Knicks legend, Siakam was the 2nd best player on the 2025 Pacers, Norman Powell became an all-star and finally, our main character, Fred VanVleet became a $100M player with the Rockets. VanVleet was an undrafted prospect out of Wichita State, but quickly established himself as a valuable contributor for the Raptors. On the Raptors’ iconic Bench Mob of 2018, VanVleet may have been the most important member. He was a finalist for 6th man of the year award, ultimately finishing 3rd despite averaging just 9 points per game. His combination of shooting, playmaking and defence made him a vital cog in the Raptors’ machine. When the Kawhi trade happened, everyone said the Raptors would only have him for 1 year, if he played at all. This put a ton of pressure on the entire Raptors squad, especially the younger players. They better be ready or risk being responsible for blowing the all-in push. Fortunately, everyone stepped up to the challenge, including VanVleet. With 7 extra minutes, he stepped up his scoring to 11 points per game while retaining his great playmaking and defense with only a slight drop in efficiency. VanVleet was never gonna start with Kyle Lowry healthy, but his role in ensuring the bench guys didn’t miss a step was vital. Come playoff time though and he felt off a cliff. Through the first 2 rounds, Fred VanVleet was averaging 4.2 points per game on horrific 28% shooting, including 20% from 3. He didn’t score more than 5 points in any game of Toronto’s 2nd round series against Philly. He was looking like a massive disappointment, until something happened. On May 20th, 2019, Fred VanVleet’s first son (2nd child) Fred VanVleet Jr. was born. Prior to attending the birth, Fred had played 3 games in the conference finals against Milwaukee and continued struggling. He averaged 3.3 points per game on 20% shooting and 18% from 3. He returned to the Raptors for game 4 and something clicked. Whether the birth of his son inspired him to step up his game or stepping away from the game cleared his mind, Fred VanVleet became a new man. From game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals to Game 6 of the NBA finals, he averaged 15 points per game on 51% shooting from the field and 53% from 3. In game 5 against Milwaukee, VanVleet set a career high (at the time) in 3s with 7 as he helped the Raptors take down Milwaukee and later Golden State to win the Finals. As if that wasn’t good enough, he hit THE 3-pointer to give Toronto the lead late in game 6 against the Warriors that ultimately won the championship. He went from someone potentially holding back the Raptors, to being one of the key performers down the stretch after his son was born. I’m sure there are other reasons why VanVleet turned it around, but the numbers sync up too perfectly to ignore his son’s birth as a reason why. VanVleet even said as much after game 4 against Milwaukee. Regardless of its actual impact, Fred VanVleet Sr. and Jr. became Larry O’Brien Legends forever in the summer of 2019.

Raptors

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Belgium Waffles

Belgium is home to lots of things, my favorite formula one race track, good food, and an amazing national team. In WCQ Belgium had 5 wins and 3 draws. They scored 29 goals and conceded 7. Kevin De Bruyne scored 6 of those 29 goals. They tend to play a 4-2-3-1 and love holding the ball and dominating possession. They have a strong midfield with depth all around, super star quality, and dynamic wide players. Belgium does not necessarily have a set weakness other than not being a very fast team and historically struggling against the top teams in the world. You can rely on them beating smaller teams. If they get upset and ruin your RateGame pickems don’t be saying “Landon! You said that they won’t lose to smaller teams!!!” Sorry bud but go ask the team why they lost. I like Belgium a lot, I think they’re a great team. Doku on the left wing will certainly be someone to watch out for. He can blow by you and wipe a cross in. The right winger Lukébakio is very similar to Doku, just a straight baller. You have Kevin De Bruyne up top as well. If you pay attention to soccer/football you may have heard the Kevin De Bruyne song. If not I’ll put it in the comments. You’ll probably be hearing it chanted when he’s scores. You also have Lukaku coming off the bench, he’s a goal scorer. Onana and Tielemans will be reliable midfields that will give you length and are simply put “good at what they do.” They do have a young defensive unit that lacks big moment experience. Sitting in group G with Iran, Egypt, and Tim Paynes New Zealand they are the mega favorites to top this group. I have them getting all nine points and walking into the knockouts. When they get to the knockouts they could play France, if that happens Belgium might be done. France is an entirely different animal compared to some of these teams. I think Belgium can make a deep run, if not it’s just another World Cup and another let down. Thank you to everyone who reads these and shows support to them. I’m not the best writer and I get lazy and make mistakes so thanks for barring with me! I’ll keep on doing these every now and then till every team has played or I run out of teams to make. Thanks again.

@chilly

On this day in 2012, Adam Henrique sent the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Adam Henrique scored the series-winning overtime goal for the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. His goal eliminated the New York Rangers, sending the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals. They would eventually go on to lose to the LA Kings in Game 6. More on the goal, Ilya Kovalchuk jammed the puck through Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The puck squeaked loose behind Lundqvist and sat on the goal line, where Henrique was there to tap it in and get the Devils the W.

@zach

Toronto Unveils the Raptors: Today in Sports History

On May 22nd, 1994, the Toronto Raptors’ name and logo were officially revealed. The expansion to Toronto was formalized the previous November, with the NBA awarding its 28th team to a group headed by Toronto businessman John Bitove for a then-record expansion fee of $125 million USD. Initially, the plan was to revive the Toronto Huskies name from their brief stint in the NBA during the 1946-47 season, but it was realized that making a Huskies logo could lead to confusion with the Minnesota Timberwolves. As a result, a nationwide contest ensued for the team’s name and colors. Over 2,000 entries were narrowed down to ten potential names: Beavers, Bobcats, Dragons, Grizzlies, Hogs, Raptors, Scorpions, T-Rex, Tarantulas, and Terriers. The final choice of Raptors was influenced by the blockbuster 1993 movie Jurassic Park. The team's logo and first general manager, Isiah Thomas, were revealed at a press conference.