Raptors Reasonabalists

Blake and Eric react to the first two games and news surrounding the return of the NBA, including the Raptors win vs. the Lakers, Fred VanVleet’s career game against the Heat, and the health protocols. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric dive into the Raptors restart of the re-seeded remaining regular season games in the bubble, how an Ibaka-Gasol pairing will look, and OG Anunoby's role. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake is joined by William Lou of Yahoo Sports to touch on which players need to develop and improve during the relaunch of the NBA season. Plus they discuss the Raptors hiring of Vice President of Culture and Inclusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric get into the early bubble news surrounding the Raptors, including players availabilities and coach press conferences. The guys also open up for questions from fans on covering games remotely, neutral site advantages, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric and Blake are joined by Raptors 905 guard Tyler Ennis to discuss the recent season and the development of Oshae Brissett. The guys also break down the Raptors' half-court offense struggles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric discuss the Raptors’ schedule of the remaining regular season games. Plus, they dive into whether or not Toronto will hold onto the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric is joined by The Toronto Star's Doug Smith, author of 'We The North: 25 Years of the Toronto Raptors'. They touch on the legacy of Rob Babcock, Vince Carter and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric open up for questions on Twitter, including topics on finishing the season, Black Lives Matter movement, and the players' relationship with Adam Silver. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric welcome in Matt Devlin, Raptors TV play-by-play broadcaster, to look back at the one-year anniversary of the 2019 NBA Finals, and his final call as the clock hit 0:00. Plus, they discuss the NBA's 'Return to Play' plan and how that affects the Raptors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric collect their thoughts after an important week of news surrounding the protests worldwide following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. The guys briefly discuss the NBA's return to play plan before welcoming in Raptors 905 assistant coach Charles Kissi. In addition to Charles' work with youth basketball and a Master's degree in education, Charles was also a former officer with Toronto Police Services. He joins to provide his unique perspective on the conversation happening in Canada and the U.S. about systemic racism, and how it extends to the rest of society, including law enforcement and education. Charles discusses his reaction to the George Floyd murder and how biases make their way into the police force, the role of police in modern society and calls for a change in methods, as well as his thoughts on ways to improve relationships between local police communities, and what led him to get into law enforcement after growing up in Regent Park. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap

Blake and Eric discuss the NBA and NBPA's continuing efforts to frame a proposed return to play plan, including potential playoff formats and how they would impact the Raptors path to the Finals, as well as what questions remain about player safety and possible timelines to resume. Plus, Raptors 905 head coach Jama Mahlalela returns to provide insight into the Raptors pre-draft preparations in the absence of regular pre-draft workouts, an update on Oshae Brissett and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric discuss the latest surrounding the NBA's efforts to return to play and how travel restrictions could impact the Raptors, then bring in this week's guest, Sacramento Kings assistant and player development coach Rico Hines, who works with several NBA players including Pascal Siakam. Rico chats about how much he's been in touch with players since the NBA postponed its season, his work with Pascal Siakam and the improvements he's made transitioning into a larger role, as well as Rico's approach to player development and the success story of Paul Watson Jr., who signed a two-way deal with the Raptors in January after impressing with Raptors 905. Plus, Eric recaps his chat with Doug Christie about his battles with Michael Jordan in the 90s, and the guys imagine Dennis Rodman's WCW stunt happening today. Start your free trial at The Athletic by going to theathletic.com/wethe6. Right now, our listeners get 40% off an annual subscription. Follow Blake on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC Follow Eric on Twit

Blake and Eric welcome Kevin Harlan, longtime broadcaster for the NBA on TNT, CBS and Westwood One to re-live the Raptors dramatic Game 7 win over the Sixers a year ago, and his call of Kawhi Leonard's game-winning buzzer beater (13:00). Kevin details his own recollection of the game (16:17), as well as the moments building up to the call (19:12), and where the shot sits in NBA history (25:24). Plus, Blake and Eric discuss the Raptors opening up their practice facility in a limited capacity, and if it means the NBA is any closer to a return to play. Start your free trial at The Athletic by going to theathletic.com/wethe6. Right now, our listeners get 40% off an annual subscription. Follow Blake on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC Follow Eric on Twitter: @ekoreen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric sort through the final results from The Athletic's Raptors Fan Survey and discuss their takeaways from some of the data. Is Kyle Lowry the greatest Raptor of all-time? What does Masai Ujiri's future hold? Should the Raptors (eventually) retire Vince Carter’s jersey? How good can OG Anunoby become? Favourite title run game? The guys dig into all of those questions, and much more. Take a deeper look into the Raptors Fan Survey results here: https://theathletic.com/1787611/2020/05/04/raptors-fan-survey-results-masais-future-carters-jersey-and-the-groat Start your free trial at The Athletic by going to theathletic.com/wethe6. Right now, our listeners get 40% off an annual subscription. Follow Blake on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC Follow Eric on Twitter: @ekoreen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric discuss the reaction to the latest episode of The Last Dance, including Serge Ibaka's request to be excused for Paris Fashion Week, and Nick Nurse's connection to Phil Jackson. The guys discuss the NBA targeting early May to allow limited workouts and the opening of individual practice facilities and Canadian early-entry candidates for the 2020 Draft, before welcoming Ethan Sherwood Strauss from The Athletic to chat about his new book, The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty. Ethan gets into some of the parallels between the Raptors and Warriors, Nick Nurse's willingness to experiment and which coach it reminds him of, and his thoughts on Draymond Green's comments about Kevin Durant's injury in the 2019 NBA Finals. You can get a copy of Ethan's book, 'The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty' here: https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/ethan-sherwood-strauss/the-victory-machine/9781541736214 Start your free trial at The Athletic b

Blake and Eric chat about their reaction to ESPN's Michael Jordan documentary series and their thoughts on the first two episodes, as well as some notable Raptors nuggets from the time period. With The Athletic putting out staff picks for the 2019-20 NBA awards, the guys discuss which Raptors players factored into the voting process. Is Terence Davis in the All-Rookie conversation? Could Pascal Siakam make a case to win the NBA's most improved player award for a second straight year? Plus, the guys debate the Raptors most valuable defensive player over the last year, discuss the chances of a member of the Raptors making an All-NBA team, and Nick Nurse as the frontrunner for NBA Coach of the Year. Start your free trial at The Athletic by going to theathletic.com/wethe6. Right now, our listeners get 40% off an annual subscription. Follow Blake on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC Follow Eric on Twitter: @ekoreen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Start your free trial at The Athletic by going to theathletic.com/wethe6. Right now, our listeners get 40% off an annual subscription. Follow Blake on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC Follow Eric on Twitter: @ekoreen  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Start your free trial at The Athletic by going to theathletic.com/wethe6. Right now, our listeners get 40% off an annual subscription. Follow Blake on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC Follow Eric on Twitter: @ekoreen  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Eric welcome a special guest this week: Raptors TV and radio analyst Jack Armstrong. Jack joins the show to chat about what he's been up to since the NBA postponed its season, re-lives some of the most vivid memories from the Raptors NBA Finals run with the games being rebroadcast, and weighs in on how this year's team was trending sans-Kawhi Leonard before another playoff run was put on hold. Plus, Eric updates the results of his controversial CanRock bracket, and offers a preview of his upcoming piece on the best Raptors by jersey number. Start your free trial at The Athletic by going to theathletic.com/wethe6. Right now, our listeners get 40% off an annual subscription. Follow Blake on Twitter @BlakeMurphyODC Follow Eric on Twitter: @ekoreen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With little news happening around the Raptors, Blake and Eric chat with Bleacher Report's Yaron Weitzman about his new book 'Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports', as part of an upcoming series on the Raptors biggest rivals in the Eastern Conference. Yaron discusses the recent controversy surrounding the Sixers ownership, then details some of the research that went into writing the book, including the Sixers lack of cooperation, how Sam Hinkie alienated himself from the rest of the NBA, how the Raptors Game 7 win over Philadelphia shaped the team's current trajectory, and the rise and fall of Bryan Colangelo as Sixers president of basketball operations. For more info on Yaron's book, Tanking To the Top, visit: https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/yaron-weitzman/tanking-to-the-top/9781538749746/ Start your free trial at The Athletic by going to theathletic.com/wethe6. Right now, our listeners get 40% off an annual subscript