Blake Murphy Sports Writing

I kind of can’t believe we’re actually getting it. The Toronto Raptors against the Boston Celtics in a playoff series.

It feels like it’s been a very long time coming, or at least a very long time that we (I?) have been clamoring for it. These have been two of the best regular season teams in the Eastern Conference for about half a decade, and while the Raptors have the leg up with six of the last seven Atlantic Division titles and the 2019 NBA championship, there’s always felt like unfinished business here. Two teams occupying the same tier year after year, two eager and vocal fan bases ready for a slander war and a wealth of storyline and matchup intricacies that could play out. And perhaps most importantly, two of the maybe six teams who have a legitimate claim to be title contenders in Orlando.

I really can’t wait.

The Athletic will have Jay King, Jared Weiss, Eric Koreen and me, Blake Murphy, covering while safely distanced at home, a setup that we believe will still allow us to take you through all the ins and outs of the series.

Yesterday, we took a deep analytical dive into the series. Eric wrote about the Raptors considering moving their talk into more serious action. Jared wrote about talk of a possible Game 1 boycott. Today, Jared and I take a look at some of the key plot points and most important matchups for Raptors-Celtics.