TORONTO — If the Toronto Raptors are panicking after getting bombed out by the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of their second-round series — putting them on the brink of elimination in a playoff series for the first time since Game 7 against the 76ers last year — they sure don’t sound like it.
“Honestly, it wasn’t as crazy as it felt,” said Raptors guard Fred VanVleet Tuesday afternoon. “When you watch the film it’s pretty simple, you know, we miss a couple layups, they make a couple layups, we miss a three, they make a three, we go in soft and they go down and dunk it. It’s pretty simple stuff that we can fix and correct.
“We give them credit for playing a good game, but I don’t think they played outstanding, they didn’t play, like, out of the world. We just played like crap and they played good. It was that simple.”
An honest assessment from VanVleet of how his team performed in Game 5 and, yes, though there was a lot that went wrong Monday, it’s not like Toronto can’t clean things up, just because Game 6 comes with higher stakes.
“I mean, listen, I don’t think any assessment of that game would be wrong,” said VanVleet. “Like, you could pick your poison. There were holes all over the place, there’s bad play everywhere, so you can pick whatever you want, whether it was shot-making, bad defence, no effort, soft, not physical, you name it, it was about as bad as it gets for us.
“The good thing about it is it only counts for one and we’ve got to turn it around and play better tomorrow.”
Again, VanVleet was stating the obvious Tuesday, but his point is well made: The Raptors poisoned themselves in many areas in Game 5, but coming into Wednesday’s do-or-die Game 6, they do have an antidote to at least some of their ills.
Perhaps more frustrating than anything to watch in Toronto’s Game 5 debacle was just how lifeless the Raptors appeared to be after its disastrous 11-point first quarter. It’s one thing for a team’s offence to dry up, but what was absolutely unacceptable was the drop-off defensively in the aftermath.
The Raptors looked to lose their fighting spirit in that second quarter and they can’t afford to let that happen again. To do that, they need to find the fickle, undefined spark more commonly just called “energy.”
A stupidly obvious-sounding solution, we know, but it’s also difficult to pinpoint what it is exactly.
Is energy shot-making? The Raptors could certainly use some of that as they’ve only shot 30.9 per cent from three-point range in this series with the Celtics and a not-much-better 34.5 per on three-point looks that NBA.com defines as “open” and “wide open.”
“I don’t care how much you cheer and scream and run and play hard, you’re not making, shots none of that stuff matters. So, the shot-making kind of builds the energy for you and we’ve got to continue to step up and be confident and take and make those open looks.”
What about rim protection? Energy could manifest itself there as well and the Raptors have appeared to lack it. They went from being among the best teams at protecting the rim this season to suddenly looking pretty bad at it, allowing Boston to shoot 63.7 per cent on defended field goals attempt from six feet or less away from the basket so far this season.
A matter made even more problematic by the fact that Raptors sixth man, and key backup centre, Serge Ibaka was spotted in a walking boot on his left foot Tuesday and was listed as questionable ahead of Game 6 with a sprained left ankle.
Should Ibaka not be available, the Raptors will be without not just one of their only relatively consistent sources of offence in this series — he’s averaging 11.8 points per game on 51.2 per cent shooting from the field and 50 per cent shooting from three-point range — but also the Raptors’ best interior defender, as he’s defended more shots from the Celtics in this series from six feet or less than any other Raptor (27) and has defended them the best (only allowing 51.9 per cent of those attempts to score).
A Game 6 without Ibaka is, overall, very bad news for the Raptors, and if they’re forced to play without him they’ll need to find a way to replace the “energy” he brings to the team — the most likely candidates, according to Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, being Chris Boucher or Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
And, in general, as a reserve player, Ibaka is often asked to bring more oomph into the game, the same as any other bench player, and it’s another area where the Raptors can look to find more energy for themselves heading into Game 6
In this series, the Raptors’ bench has only averaged 26.4 points per game — an advantage over Boston’s reserves, for sure, but when you consider the fact that Norman Powell, the team’s fourth-leading scorer in the regular season, is only averaging 8.6 points per game on 35.7-per cent shooting off the bench in this series, that’s a significant drop-off in production from a source Nurse was likely banking on.
All of these issues that have plagued the Raptors in this second-round series can, in some form or fashion, come down to a lack of energy, as evidenced by some of the competitive games we’ve seen in this series and past ugly Raptors playoff losses.
“I think a lot of this game, in general, has to do with — you always hear me talking about (it) — with energy and rhythm,” said Nurse on Tuesday. “It’s kind of hard to explain how we don’t have a little bit more energy last night, and it’s even probably harder to explain how we don’t have it in Game 1 of the series, either, or really hard to explain how we don’t have it in Game 2 in Milwaukee last year, and Game 4 in Philly.
“The energy has gotta be there. I think when we do bring the energy, we’re right there, we’re super competitive, for sure, and look great.”
Added VanVleet: “We know that we have a chance, we know that we’re good enough to win and advance, but we’ve got to go out there and play and perform and prove it. Can’t just rest on our laurels and feel like we’re a championship team, you’ve got to go out there and perform like one every night.”
If all that ails the Raptors really is just an energy thing, then they’re going to need to conjure as much of it as they possibly can and channel it into as many facets of the game as they’re able to. If they do anything less, they’ll be facing a rather disappointing conclusion to what has been a season so full of promise.
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
MacKenzie Weegar wasn’t bitter or upset as he watched friends live out their dreams.
The Calgary Flames defenceman just hopes to experience the same feeling one day. He also knows the road leading to that moment, if it does arrive, will likely be long and winding — much like his own path.
A seventh-round pick by the Florida Panthers at the 2013 NHL draft, Weegar climbed the ranks to become an important piece of a roster that captured the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top regular-season club in 2021-22.
Two months later following a second-round playoff exit, he was traded to the Flames along with Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk. And less than two years after that, the Panthers were hoisting the Stanley Cup.
“Happy for the city and for the team,” Weegar said of Florida’s June victory over the Edmonton Oilers. “There was no bad taste in my mouth.”
His sole focus, he insists, is squarely on eventually getting the Flames to the same spot. The landscape, however, has changed drastically since Weegar committed to Calgary on an eight-year, US$50-million contract extension in October 2022.
Weegar has watched a list that includes goaltender Jacob Markstrom, defencemen Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov and forwards Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane shipped out of town since the start of last season — largely for picks, prospects and young players as part of a rebuild.
Despite that exodus, he remains committed to the Calgary project steered by general manager Craig Conroy.
“It’s easy to get out of all whack when you see guys trying to leave or wanting new contracts,” the 30-year-old from Ottawa said at last week’s NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas. “I just focus on where I am and where I want to be, and that’s Calgary.
“I believe in this team. The city has taken me in right away. I feel like I owe it to them to stick around and grind through these years and get a Stanley Cup.”
The hard-nosed blueliner certainly knows what it is to grind.
After winning the Memorial Cup alongside Nathan MacKinnon with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2013, Weegar toiled in the ECHL and American Hockey League for three seasons before making his NHL debut late in the 2016-17 campaign with the Panthers.
He would spend the next five years in South Florida as one of the players tasked with shifting an organizational culture that had experienced little success over the previous two decades.
“There’s always going to be a piece of my heart and loyalty to that team,” Weegar said. “But now I’m in a different situation … I compete against all 32 teams, not just Florida. There’s always a chip on my shoulder every single year.”
Weegar set career highs with 20 goals — eight was the most he had ever previously registered — and 52 points in 2023-24 as part of a breakout offensive performance.
“I think my buddies cared a lot more than I did,” he said with a smile. “All I hear is, ‘fantasy, fantasy, fantasy.'”
Weegar was actually more proud of his 200 blocked shots and 194 hits as he looks to help set a new Flames’ standard alongside Huberdeau, captain Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman and Rasmus Andersson for a franchise expected to have its new arena in time for the 2027-28 season.
“You have to build that culture and that belief in the locker room,” said Weegar, who pointed to 22-year-old centre Connor Zary as a player set to pop. “Those young guys are going to have to come into their own and be consistent every night … they’re the next generation.”
Weegar, however, isn’t punting on 2024-25. He pointed to the NHL’s parity and the fact a couple of teams surprise every season.
It’s the same approach that took him from the ECHL a decade ago to hockey’s premier pre-season event inside a swanky hotel on Sin City’s famed strip, where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the game’s best.
“From the outside — media and even friends and family — the expectations are probably a bit lower,” Weegar said of Calgary’s outlook. “But there’s no reason to think that we can’t make playoffs and we can’t be a good team (with) that underdog mentality.
“You never know.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept 17, 2024.
Jose Maria Celestino da Costa was named vice-president and head of soccer operations while Marianne Brooks was appointed vice-president of partnerships, Kelly Shouldice as vice-president of brand and content and Joyce Sou as vice-president of finance and business operations.
The new six-team women’s pro league is set to kick off in April.
“Their unique expertise and leadership are crucial as we lay the foundation for not just a successful league in Canada, but one that stands among the top sports leagues in the world,” NSL president Christina Litz said in a statement. “By investing in top-tier talent and infrastructure, the Northern Super League is committed to creating a league that will elevate the game and set new standards for women’s professional soccer globally.”
Da Costa will oversee all on-field matters, including officiating. His resume includes stints with Estoril Praia, a men’s first-division team in Portugal, and the Portuguese Soccer Federation, where he helped develop the Portuguese women’s league.
Brooks spent a decade with Canucks Sports & Entertainment, working in “partnership sales and retention efforts” for the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Warriors, and Rogers Arena. Most recently, she served as senior director of account management at StellarAlgo, a software company that helps pro sports teams connect with their fans
Shouldice has worked for Corus Entertainment, the Canadian Football League, and most recently as vice-president of Content and Communications at True North Sports & Entertainment, where she managed original content as well as business and hockey communications.
Sou, who was involved in the league’s initial launch, will oversee financial planning, analysis and the league’s expansion strategy in her new role.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
