Special: Blake Murphy Talking Raptors on Sportsnet by raptorsrepublic.com

Masai Ujiri introduced Drake to the #DrakeNight crowd as teenage girls screamed in the background.

Home, sweet home. Drake and his mom seemed to bring out the best of the Raps and everybody is feeling good. Especially Nick and Barry, who have dedicated an entire episode to the evening. In the fifth episode of Talking Raptors, the guys break down their thoughts on a victorious "Drake Night".

They discuss:

-Drake introducing the starting line up.

-The shirt and headband giveaway.

-The OVO uniforms

-The Hotline Bling Box

-Tom Cochrane sitting courtside?

 

-Iman Shumpert and his Hotline Bling Remix...

-The guys also take a quick look at social media madness and some nonsense happening around the league. All this and a bunch more.

 

We hoped you all enjoyed Drake Night. And we hope you enjoy this episode.

As always thanks for listening!

Drake In-Game Interview with Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong by raptorsrepublic.com

On this week's episode, hosts Blake Murphy and William Lou discuss the following topics:

James Johnson's "under utilized" non-mood

- Why doesn't he play?

- Why are his advanced numbers so good?

- Does he have a beef with Dwane Casey (hint: no)

- Should he play more? What role should he play?

Jonas Valanciunas's fractured metacarpal

- Can Bismack Biyombo handle the increased role?

- Will's wacky "Valanciunas is a platoon player" theory

- Innovative smallball lineups?

Dwane Casey's job security

- Blake and Will agree: He shouldn't be fired this season

- Blake says: Casey has his flaws, but you can't argue with the results

- Will says: "um" a lot, that Casey's flaws are somewhat glaring

Will and Zarar review a week that was salvaged by two wins at the Staples Cente. It's an hour-plus pod so there are too many topics to summarize, though let it be said that the Raptors iso-heavy offense has not gone unnoticed.

Part 1:

Roadtrip salvaged

Surprise win against Clippers - nervous with a 30 point lead

Luis Scola dominating Griffin

Cory Joseph'd Ding up everyone

Smaller lineup dominating Lakers until Casey helped out

Why fans are skeptical about the offense

Talent dictates matchups

Refs and GSW; CoryJo getting hosed

Playing JV and Scola vs GSW

DD on Gobert vs Ross on Faried

Terrence Ross vs Austin Rivers

JV injury - options without him

Bebe talk

Part 2:

Blake Murphy

Raptors 905 pick up first win

Scott Suggs - anyone with a half-chance of making the big team?

Bruno in the 905

Dwane Casey not influencing what the 905 are doing; contrasting to other clubs

The opportunity cost of retaining Dwane Casey

DeMar under a different coach

Part 3:

Cleveland preview - it's about what LeBron wants

Drake night; Will's sweater

Raps complaining to the refs

Raptors biggest rivals

Washington's new and improved

Phoenix preview; looking back on passing up on Brandon Knight

Sonny Weems

Raptors lack of backup SG

Who's worse - Bennett or Ross?

The Bucks

Well. The road was not kind to our beloved team. Are we panicking yet? No, but there are some consistent issues that are giving us all high levels of stress. Nick and Barry are back with episode 4 of Talking Raptors. The guys break down that stress and discuss what is needed to alleviate it.

This episode includes:

Raps vs. Refs.

4th quarter problems...Dwayne Casey problems.

Demar creating posters. (No photoshop needed)

BMO and that damn commercial.

Raptors 905.

OVO Christmas shopping.

 

The guys also check out whats going on around the league. They take a glance at some social media happenings and they introduce a brand new segment.

All this and much more.

Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy.

DeMar DeRozan assists us to wins and shoots us to losses. That's just one of the central themes in an absolutely jam-packed Raptors Weekly podcast with William Lou, Steve Gennaro, and Zarar Siddiqi.

Part 1 Highlights:

NYK, PHI, NOP, SAC review

DeRozan's shooting costing Sacramento game

Cory Joseph coming on strong

Patterson's not dead

Part 2 Highlights:

55 wins

Dwane Casey so far

Management of James Johnson and DeMarre Carroll

Norman Powell on the ascension, Ross going the other way

Part 3 Highlights

Schedule preview: GSW, UTA, LAL, LAC

Kobe a mess

D-League talk

Doc Rivers

Score App

Blake Murphy was at the ACC and filed this post-game audio from after the Raptors win over the Pelicans.

Well folks, it's been a pretty rough week that contained some pretty rough losses. The pop champagne start is a distant memory and the grind of the regular season is in full swing. Nick and Barry try to wrangle their thoughts and emotions on the third episode of Talking Raptors.

In this episode the guys discuss:

- Bad calls against us and how Coach Casey deals with things.

- Young Terrence, his thumb and his upcoming absence.

- The James Johnson revival and the problem with Patrick Patterson.

- Bebe crying for days and days.

- Jack Armstrong, Leo Rautins and respecting your elders.

- Cory "The Real 6 God" Joseph.

They guys also take a look around the league and do a little social media reporting. Also if you thought the Chuck Hayes minute was done, you clearly underestimated how insane of a show this is.

Let's keep our heads up, it's still early.

As always thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy the madness.

Lets go Raptors.