Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Title: Raptors Mailbag: Free agents, 2021 scenarios, Toronto as a destination and more
Date: April 27, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I opened up the mailbag to answer questions about how the hiatus could impact free agent decisions, weighing 2020 against 2021, who the next man up developmentally could be for the Raptors, and more. Read an excerpt!

Title: Awards Watch: All-NBA teams, Pascal Siakam’s contract escalator and Kyle Lowry
Date: April 20, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the All-NBA cases for Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry, and what inclusion could mean for them. Read an excerpt!

Title: Awards Watch: Terence Davis II and how All-Rookie cases are evaluated
Date: April 15, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about Terence Davis’ rookie season, a top-10 one among freshman that may not land him on the All-Rookie team because of how rookies tend to be evaluated. Read an excerpt!

Title: Introducing the ‘He Shoulda Played More’ Toronto Raptors all-stars
Date: April 13, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, Eric Koreen and I teamed up to draft our respective all-time Raptors rosters and put them head-to-head in a playoff series. Read an excerpt!

Title: How the Raptors’ talent identification and player development sets them apart
Date: April 8, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about how the Raptors have leveraged their talent identification and player development strengths to create a sustained model of success. Read an excerpt!

Title: Introducing the ‘He Shoulda Played More’ Toronto Raptors all-stars
Date: April 3, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, Eric Koreen and I teamed up to highlight the players in Raptors history who were done the most playing time injustice in the eyes of fans (or us). Read an excerpt!

Title: Nick Nurse, Raptors trying to remain productive with season on hold
Date: April 3, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about how Nick Nurse and the Raptors are trying to stay productive while separated and while basketball isn’t a top priority. Read an excerpt!

Title: Re-examining Pascal Siakam’s 2019-20 usage jump through precedent and context
Date: April 2, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I took a deeper look at Pascal Siakam’s growth in his fourth season and how he compares to others who have undergone major usage spikes. Read an excerpt!

Title: The dreadful history of the Toronto Raptors’ starting small forward position
Date: March 31, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I revisited the cursed history of Raptors starting small forwards. Read an excerpt!

Title: The Athletic Raptors Q&A
Date: March 24, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: I co-hosted a live Raptors Q&A at The Athletic Toronto.
Read an excerpt!