Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Title: Raptor Recalibration, Game 6: Reverting to bad habits, Embiid’s non-scoring dominance and more
Date: May 10, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, my playoff day-after playoff column looked at a blowout Game 6 loss that saw the Raptors revert to a bunch of bad habits and put themselves in a Game 7 scenario they could have avoided. Read an excerpt!

Title: Murphy Mini-Mailbag: Talking through it as a Game 7 looms for Raptors and 76ers
Date: May 9, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I answered some reader questions after the Raptors dropped an ugly Game 6 to the 76ers, trying to help settle anxieties ahead of Game 7. Read an excerpt!

Title: Raptor Recalibration, Game 5: Getting the little things right, shooting regression, targeting Redick and more
Date: May 8, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, my playoff day-after playoff column looked at a blowout Game 5 victory for the Raptors that gives them two chances now to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Read an excerpt!

Title: ‘Being who I am, not thinking about being injured’: Pascal Siakam’s resurgent Game 5 lifts Raptors
Date: May 7, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I wrote about Pascal Siakam bouncing back and fighting through a calf injury to help lift the Raptors in Game 5 against the 76ers. Read an excerpt!

Title: How the Raptors are trying to guard J.J. Redick and why Joel Embiid complicates it
Date: May 7, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I wrote about how the Raptors are trying to handle a difficult J.J. Redick matchup and why Joel Embiid’s presence makes a certain two-man game so hard to handle. Read an excerpt!

Title: Raptor Recalibration, Game 4: Going big, fluid transition defence, McCaw minutes and more
Date: May 6, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, my playoff day-after playoff column looked at a tense Game 4 bounce-back for the Raptors that saw them upsize their lineup against the 76ers. Read an excerpt!

Title: As Raptors and 76ers embroil in one of the tensest games imaginable, Kawhi Leonard reaches rarefied clutch status
Date: May 5, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I wrote about an intense Game 4 between the Raptors and 76ers and tried to contextualize the tension and Kawhi Leonard’s clutch play statistically. Read an excerpt!