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Raptors' VanVleet calls for baseline cameras to be moved after collision

Rick Madonik / Toronto Star / Getty

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet escaped Tuesday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans without a serious injury, but his third-quarter collision with a cameraperson had him calling for changes after the game.

"I hope that's not a finable comment, it's just how many times does it have to happen before we think about doing something else?" VanVleet said when asked about tweaking his ankle in the collision, according to The Athletic's Blake Murphy. "The NBA is so good at being proactive to help us out. It's happened to me at least four or five times in the last two years. This is probably the worst."

VanVleet, who left the game briefly for treatment after running into the photographer, is not the first player to raise concerns about the placement of courtside cameras. During the 2015 Finals, LeBron James ran headfirst into a camera, leading the league to restrict the number of photographers on the baseline and create escape lanes between the marked boxes they're supposed to stay inside.

VanVleet said regulations could go further.

"Sometimes they sneak their feet out (of the lines)," he said. "We've got good enough cameras. It doesn't happen to the point where it's every day, but it happens way too much."

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