Balling In The 6ix
By K.J
Balling In The 6ixJul 01, 2019
Rebuilding in a Post-Siakam era
Masai Ujiri has triggered the rebuild.
We're going to lose a lot this season - but we're going to look good doing it.
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Darko Ball Lifts Raptors in 2024
Darko. We love you. Darko. We do.
Darko Ball has proven that his system works - or at least entertains.
We know Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett work. And how about a shout out for Jontay Porter too?
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Farewell OG Anunoby, our London Prince
And welcome our Lord and Saviour Immanuel Quickley.
Bienvenidos to RJ Barrett, who crosses the border to the North.
Toronto is a-changing.
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Walking the (basket)ball into the (hoop) net
Pass, pass, ASSIST.
This team is 0.500 - but it's clicking! Toronto are looking like Wenger-era Arsenal.
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Darko's Toronto Revolution
Pass. Pass. Pass. But can we shoot?
The Toronto Raptors look fluid. Scottie Barnes looks AMAZING.
But this season is still middling, in every sense of the word.
Is Darko cooking?
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Dennis, Darko and Gradey Dick
Bye, VanVleet. Hello, Nowell.
Can Gradey Dick rise? Can Donnie Darko inject some optimism into this Toronto Raptors team?
DeRozan(s) dispel mediocre Raptors to NBA purgatory
Toronto Raptors lose. Season over. What more do you need to know?
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Perennial Mediocrity - is it time for Nick Nurse to go?
A lot has happened in the last two months with the Toronto Raptors - and then again, not much has changed.
Jakob Poeltl is balling, and Jeff Dowtin looks useful. Will Barton is still a work in progress.
Nick Nurse could leave at the end of the season - do the Front Office trust the process or move on?
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Raptors look to compete with Jakob Poeltl
No retool. No rebuild. No tank. We're COMPETING.
Well, it appears the Front Office wants to, anyway.
VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr and OG stayed. Pascal Siakam's bestie came in from the Spurs.
What happens now?
This is our bumper trade episode looking at everything around the trade deadline.
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Memo to Masai: Build Around Scottie
Scottie has that fourth quarter clutch gene.
Trade a piece, get back some picks and give Scottie more reps.
Also, the Raptors finally win a long road trip out West!
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Scottie 'Josh Allen' Barnes slows the Toronto Raptors Tank
This team is still confusing/ Are they good? Are they tanking?
Why did Nick Nurse call that timeout?
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To Tank or not to Tank? That is the question (for Masai Ujiri)
The Toronto Raptors are 20-24. Their ceiling is the Play-In.
Trading older players seems obvious - but for who? And how many?
Let's break down the team's ideal trade scenario as we approach the deadline.
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The Toronto Raptors are CONFUSING
Pascal Siakam hands out Christmas cheer, rescues Raptors from Tank
Malachi Flynn. Pascal Siakam. OG Anunoby. Scottie Barnes. Juan Hernangomez.
The saviours of the 2022/23 Toronto Raptors season.
No tank, baby!
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Should the Toronto Raptors TRADE Fred VanVleet?
Surely not - he's steady Freddy!
But does he fit into the longboi philosophy?
We talk VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr's bench resurgence and Scottie Barnes' firm talk with Masai Ujiri.
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Next man up! Depleted Toronto Raptors keep on truckin'
Next man up!
Juancho Hernangomez, Thad Young, Dalano Banton, and CHRIS BOUCHER - hold your heads high.
And we're high - on this Raptors team. The double teams look clean and the role players are showing up.
Now imagine this team with a fit-again Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes?
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Good, Honest .500 Basketball
With the Raptors 7-7, we're back. We wanted to take stock of Nick Nurse's opening games rather than predict the unknown.
Let's get into all things relating to Scottie Barnes, half-court offence struggles and Christian Koloko.
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Raptors finally run out of steam as Philadelphia resistance ends
Well. That's it for the Toronto Raptors this season.
What a year for this franchise. And what a bright future.
We break down Game 6 against the 76ers.
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Raptors stay alive in Game 5
The Toronto Raptors inch closer to the reverse sweep.
Meanwhile, 76ers fans are booing, Embiid is not 100% and Doc Rivers looks nervous.
Can they do it?
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Series doesn't start till Doc Rivers has a 3-1 lead, right?
Scottie Barnes returns from injury after winning ROTY.
The Toronto Raptors pull off a gutsy win to extend the series.
Joel Embiid is upset.
But the Raptors are alive and fighting.
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Raptors vs 76ers: Series doesn't start till someone loses at home, right?
We return to Toronto aggrieved, injured and demotivated. Can Nick Nurse and the Raptors turn this series around?
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Nick Nurse loses Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr and the Raptors' identity against the 76ers
Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong.
No Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr or Thaddeus Young for Game 2.
So how did the 76ers turn the narrative on its head in just 48 minutes?
KJ and Vural break it down - along with all the opening games in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
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Raptors vs 76ers Playoff Preview - how does Nick Nurse stop Joel Embiid?
Toronto Raptors vs Philafdelphia 76ers.
Philly are out for revenge after 2019 - but a young, spritely Toronto outfit won't go down easy.
Fill in your exclusive bracket now for a chance to win a shout-out on Balling In The 6ix:
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Nick Nurse's miracle Raptors defy the odds to clinch a Playoff berth
What a season. Whatever the Raptors do in the Playoffs, we can be proud.
Let's break down the emotional returns of Kyle Lowry and Danny Green in a 6-1 W streak to round off the regular NBA season for the Toronto Raptors.
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Raptors' Red Hot Basketball sets the Scotiabank Arena alight
Literally.
This team is coming together at the right time.
From Pascal Siakam to Armoni Brooks, there's strength in depth from 1 through 9 on the roster.
The Toronto Raptors are it, baby! Longboi season!
We break down a beautiful run of games for Nick Nurse's boys.
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Raptors finally have a LeBron stopper
FOUR huge Ws in a row over San Antonio, Phoenix, Denver and LeBron's Lakers.
This is the longboi philosophy manifesting itself. This is Nick Nurse basketball, everyone!
Listen in for an in-depth yet concise breakdown of a wonderful Raptors run.
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Malachi Flynn vs Goran Dragic
Both Flynn and Dragic have barely touched the hallowed Toronto Raptors court this season. And then they faced each other.
We talk thew two Ws against the Brooklyn Ws, the scheduled loss to Dwane Casey's Pistons and the worrying defeat to the Magic.
What is this team?!
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Masai Ujiri is the best GM in the League
The Goran Dragic for Thaddeus Young trade shows why.
KJ breaks down a truly remarkable, yet unremarkable, trade which helps Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors going forward.
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Nick Nurse's Toronto Raptors or the '96 Bulls?
The Toronto Raptors are looking sweet right now. 7-1 in 8 tough games against Eastern Conference teams is a wonderful platform to build on.
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Do Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet deserve to be All Stars?
Who deserves to start for each conference in this year's All-Star Game?
Do Freddy and Pascal both warrant a spot?
KJ and Vural talk LeBron, Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew 'K-Pop' Wiggins.
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Ten Days That Shook The Raptors Season - and showed why Toronto are a perennial .500 team
Freddy All Star!
Fred VanVleet is an All Star. Pascal Siakam is an All Star.
The Toronto Raptors are balling.
Life is good.
Find out why - listen now.
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The worst Toronto Raptors team EVER
We're not being dramatic. That lineup against the Cavs on Boxing Day was borderline G-League bar Yuta and maybe Boucher (debatable).
We've had five games in 19 days since the OKC loss - we rattle through them all, analysing and taking lessons from each.
Oh, and the CEO of Covid? If you're reading this, we just want to talk.
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Justin Champagnie can't win with these cats
It could have been the start of a dynasty, an unbeaten run.
But VanVleet didn't give Champagnie enough time to tip the ball in and make the game winner against the Thunder.
Still, 2-1 for the week is a vast improvement!
In a solo episode, KJ talks increased defensive chemistry, Siakam as a No1 option and the myth of Isaac Bonga.
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Yuta blocks, Scottie shoots, Raptors lose
Another dark week in a dark Toronto Raptors season.
Things can only go up...who's kidding.
Trust the process.
It's raining threes for the Raptors (opponents)
Well, the defence is still the same. Still working out Nick Nurse's system. Still missing rotations. And still losing games.
What's needed? A traditional big man to shore up the inside? Or simply more work on switching properly?
It's probably a mix of both.
KJ and Vural discuss the Toronto Raptors, Chris Boucher, Dalano Banton and the rise of the Dallas Mavericks.
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Toronto Raptors Analysis: Why can't Nick Nurse's team defend anymore?
The Raptors' defensive scheme has been heralded in weeks gone by - but it's under threat.
Conceding easy buckets to teams like the Pistons has seen calls for a return to a more traditional system.
But a few tweaks and we'll be the peskiest team in the East.
Join KJ for a special analysis of the Toronto Raptors' defensive issues.
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Scottie Barnes for MVP
The Toronto Raptors have shocked us all.
They are now 6-3, having won five in a row after a patchy start.
We break down the first nine games, Nick Nurse's new style of play and the genius of the Front Office.
Did we mention how good Scottie Barnes has looked?
We also look at the imperious Chicago Bulls - could Derozan finally win it all this year?
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Toronto Raptors 2021/22 Preview - A Great Bunch of 6'9 Lads
The Raptors are back in Toronto. How sweet does that sound.
They bring with them several new young stars, a couple of wily veterans and some cautious optimism.
This is your Toronto Raptors 2021/22 Season Preview.
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The Life and Times of Kyle Lowry
Balling In The 6ix pays tribute to the Toronto Raptors legend.
Give that man a statue and hang the jersey in the rafters.
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Analysing Scottie Barnes: Why Masai Ujiri passed up on Jalen Suggs for the Florida State defensive machine
Draft Night was a surprise for many Toronto fans, many of whom had been expecting Evan Mobley or Jalen Suggs to be making their way to the 6ix. Maybe Jonathan Kuminga for a left-field choice.
But alas, it is Scottie Barnes who is now a Raptor.
We dissect his many strengths and glaring weaknesses in this week's episode, as well as looking at how he will fit into the lineup for next season.
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Can Masai Ujiri replicate the Phoenix Suns' miraculous recovery?
As they go 2-0 up in the NBA Finals, it's easy to forget that the Suns finished 19-63 just two seasons ago.
We break down how they turned it around - and whether the Toronto Raptors can do the same.
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Who should the Toronto Raptors draft with the No.4 pick?
Draft day is in a month - and the Raptors, miraculously, have the No.4 pick.
But who of Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green or Josh Giddey should Masai and the Front Office take a look at?
We break down the choices for YOU.
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Forget LeFlop - how can the Lakers stop Devin Booker wreaking havoc?
SOLO episode from Vural - he dives deep into the Lakers-Suns opener, as well as analysing the 76ers against the Wizards.
The Toronto Raptors may be resting at home instead of taking part, but we'll still bring you content - especially if former Raptors/Raptor killers are involved.
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Goodbye, Tampa Bay Raptors - the Season from Hell is finally over
It's over. It's finally over.
The Toronto Raptors finish 27-45 after 72 away games in the US.
It's been a difficult one, ending with seven straight Ls.
We talk through the final few Toronto games and look at the Play-In matchups in both conferences.
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Credit: TSN for opening commentary
Toronto are the best worst team of all-time!
We're with you, Fred VanVleet.
The Toronto Raptors are FINALLY out of the Play-Off and Play-In races.
We're still bringing you the best content and analysis, though!
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Play-In Stonks
10 games to go. Can the Raptors pull off a miracle and make the NBA Play-offs?!
We talk through the last few games, including finally having two mobile centres.
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Why the NBA needs a promotion and relegation sysem - to stop tanking!
We may have called for the Toronto Raptors to embrace the competitive tank, but the whole idea of not performing to win is unsportsmanlike.
In a special episode (in light of the failed European Super League), we talk:
- The difference between European leagues and American competition
- Whether the G-League can be used as a competitive second tier
- Why teams should always play to win
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Toronto could blunder their way into the Playoffs
Can the Toronto Raptors even tank right? They're just half a game behind 10th place in the Eastern Conference, having won three of their last five.
In a solo episode, KJ talks:
:: Khem Birch and Freddie Gillespie
:: Valuable minutes for Malachi Flynn and Yuta Watanabe
:: Why Nick Nurse should keep unleashing the fringe players
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The Book of Norman Powell
It's a fitting goodbye to a Raptors cult hero.
We look at Norman Powell's upbringing, high school, college, D-League and NBA journey.
Norman Powell at Toronto (2015-2021).
NBA Champion x 1 (2019).
In our hearts x 1 (2021- )
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