Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Title: Raptor Recalibration, Game 1: Siakam as ‘The Guy,’ key stats, adjustments, more!
Date: August 18, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I reintroduced a new playoff day-after column where I’ll look at key plays, statistical trends, matchups and more from the Raptors’ playoff run. The first looks at a Game 1 victory over the Nets. Read an excerpt!

Title: Fred VanVleet’s near-perfect first half, all-out effort lifts Raptors in Game 1
Date: August 17, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about Fred VanVleet lifting the Raptors with maybe the best game of his career in Game 1 against the Nets. Read an excerpt!

Title: Raptors mailbag: What constitutes a playoff success? And is Pascal Siakam ready?
Date: August 16, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I opened up the mailbag for a big Q&A session ahead of the Raptors playoff run. Read an excerpt!

Title: Deep Dive Series Preview: How the Raptors and Nets match up
Date: August 15, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I went deep breaking down the Raptors-Nets first-round series with analytics, rotations, matchups, shot spectrums, and more. Read an excerpt!

Title: Raptors Report Card: Top marks for Kyle Lowry, Nick Nurse, Paul Watson and more
Date: August 14, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors’ bench beating the Nuggets in the season finale, and Eric Koreen and I handed out player grades for the season. Read an excerpt!

Title: Dissecting the Raptors-76ers season series and potential playoff implications
Date: August 13, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I broke down the Raptors’ season series with the 76ers and what can be taken from that series for the playoffs. Read an excerpt!

Title: Adrian Griffin, bench help Raptors secure best regular-season win percentage
Date: August 12, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors locking up their best regular season ever with a fill-in coach and their third-string players. Read an excerpt!