Category Archives: Analysis

Raptors win Game 3 on strength of starters as Magic look for soft spots in their depth

Title:Raptors win Game 3 on strength of starters as Magic look for soft spots in their depth
Date: April 19, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I wrote about the Raptors’ starters dominating in Game 3 but the Magic finding some weaknesses to poke at in the second unit. Read an excerpt!

The Athletic Raptors Q and A

Title: The Athletic Raptors Q&A
Date: April 18, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: I hosted a live Raptors Q&A at The Athletic Toronto.
Read an excerpt!

Raptor Recalibration, Game 2: Managing Leonard’s foul trouble, shooting regression, heavier switching and more

Title: Raptor Recalibration, Game 2: Managing Leonard’s foul trouble, shooting regression, heavier switching and more
Date: April 17, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, my new playoff day-after playoff column looked at a Raptors bounce-back win against the Magic in Game 2, some minor adjustments, managing minutes through foul trouble, and more. Read an excerpt!

‘What are you gonna do? He was great’: Raptors make statement in Game 2 as Kawhi Leonard’s star shines brightest

Title: ‘What are you gonna do? He was great’: Raptors make statement in Game 2 as Kawhi Leonard’s star shines brightest
Date: April 16, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I wrote about the Raptors bouncing back in Game 2 against the Magic, evening the series and looking like the Playoff Raptors they initially expected. Read an excerpt!

How The D.J. Augustin Game unfolded, and halftime changes the Raptors made that could influence Game 2

Title: How The D.J. Augustin Game unfolded, and halftime changes the Raptors made that could influence Game 2
Date: April 15, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I broke down D.J. Augustin’s big Game 1 performance against the Raptors and how they may look to avoid a repeat. Read an excerpt!

Raptor Recalibration, Game 1: The final minute, the D.J. Augustin matchup, playoff interpretations and more

Title:Raptor Recalibration, Game 1: The final minute, the D.J. Augustin matchup, playoff interpretations and more
Date: April 14, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I introduced 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 loss to the Magic. Read an excerpt!

‘New’ Raptors suffer all-too-familiar loss in playoff opener, but Siakam offers chance for change

Title: ‘New’ Raptors suffer all-too-familiar loss in playoff opener, but Siakam offers chance for change
Date: April 13, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I wrote about the Raptors’ Game 1 performance being all too familiar but Pascal Siakam offering a glimpse of change to the narrative. Read an excerpt!

Murphy Mailbag: Playoff rotations, Kawhi Leonard’s future, Okada’s tights and much, much more

Title:Murphy Mailbag: Playoff rotations, Kawhi Leonard’s future, Okada’s tights and much, much more
Date: April 12, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic, I brought back the mailbag in excessive fashion, answering 40 questions about Raptors-Magic, playoff rotations, the future of a few Raptors, and a whole lot more. Read an excerpt!

Deep Dive Series Preview: How do the Raptors and Magic matchup? A study of playing styles, rotations and more

Title: Deep Dive Series Preview: How do the Raptors and Magic matchup? A study of playing styles, rotations and more
Date: April 11, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I performed a deep dive into the lineups, rotations, key matchups, playing styles and more for the first-round playoff series between the Raptors and Magic.
Read an excerpt!

Slimm Duck shines, Raptors turn in as positive a regular season finale as there is

Title: Slimm Duck shines, Raptors turn in as positive a regular season finale as there is
Date: April 9, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors’ closing out their season on a fun high note in a mostly meaningless game in Minnesota.
Read an excerpt!