Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Quick Reaction: Raptors 108, Heat 94

DeMar DeRozan huge as Raptors beat Heat in Miami.

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Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

DeMar DeRozan huge as Raptors beat Heat in Miami.


Toronto Raptors108Final
Recap | Box Score		94Miami Heat
Luis Scola, PF 27 MIN | 9-16 FG | 1-2 3FG | 1-1 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 20 PTS | -2 +/-

Has nobody on the Heat heard about Scola? They were running at him at his jumpers, falling on his fakes, not boxing him out on his runs, and paid the price. The wily vet was all over the place with his bag of tricks. He’s hitting a career-high 41% from three, while being a career 25% three-point shooter. Explain that one.

James Johnson, PF 32 MIN | 5-9 FG | 1-2 3FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 13 PTS | +12 +/-

Aaahhhh. I feel good when he has a good game, as I feel it vindicates those of us who cry for him to play more. He was playmaking, posting up, and driving at will against Miami’s wings. His defense is sometimes too help-cognizant which sometimes ends up with him getting burned by his check. I can live with that, because more often than not, he increases the intelligence level on the floor.

Bismack Biyombo, C 34 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 3FG | 1-2 FT | 15 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | +12 +/-

Earned the Raptors a bunch of extra possessions, and as expected, finished a couple, and even more unexpectedly, blew chances that should’ve been points. He is as-advertised in every single game he plays. Miami wasn’t doubling the guard when he set the screen which was a bit of a shock, so him being on the floor didn’t actually hurt our offense until late in the game where it dawned on Miami that he doesn’t play offense. Supplied great rim-protection all evening and gave Whiteside something to think about.

Kyle Lowry, PG 38 MIN | 8-18 FG | 1-4 3FG | 4-4 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 4 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 21 PTS | +17 +/-

Burned way too frequently by Dragic and Co. Too much gambling, and the positions he’s adapting at the three-point line when checking players is making decisions for the offensive player very easy. Did score two big buckets down the stretch.

DeMar DeRozan, SG 40 MIN | 10-17 FG | 0-1 3FG | 10-13 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 30 PTS | +12 +/-

An efficient DeRozan is a beautiful thing. His mid-range game was on-point, and the way he navigated screens to find himself that soft pocket of space to hit that jumper was great – both against the rookie Winslow, and against Deng. He carried the load during times when the Raptors were on the ropes, like in that third quarter when the comeback started. Huge, take a bow.

Patrick Patterson, PF 24 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +18 +/-

Spent most of the game catching the ball at the wing, holding it for 1 second, and passing it to the guy standing next to him. Did come up with a huge offensive rebound and score at the end, which redeemed his game.

Terrence Ross, SF 25 MIN | 6-9 FG | 5-8 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 17 PTS | +4 +/-

Woah, where…where did that come from? His confidence level was higher than his Instagram follower count, and his first two shots were without hesitation and when they went him, bigged him up a little bit. Hit two big threes in transition, which is where Joseph loves to find him. Question is, can he keep it up for more than a couple games.

Cory Joseph, PG 20 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | +2 +/-

Good finds in transition, but got killed defensively by Dragic at times, and was largely ineffective because every time he drove, Miami didn’t really send help because they don’t need to with Hassan Whiteside manning the paint.

Dwane Casey

Great timeout at the beginning of the third to kickstart the comeback. Excellent call on starting Johnson against Deng. Both key moves that got us the win – offense looked great, defense stepped up with some deflections in the fourth.

Five Things We Saw

  1. Miami started the third on a 9-2 run to assume an 11 point lead. The Raptors looked to be on the ropes and Casey called a timeout which led to a 17-2 Raptors run. That was it.
  2. Raptors were +4 on the glass against and largely kept Whiteside at bay. The guy did get a couple blocks, but wasn’t the defensive force that he’s been at times this season, and the continually aggressive Raptors guards have to be credited for that. And Biyombo as well.
  3. Miami has their own version of TJ Ross – Gerald Green. He hit some unbelievable shots which I assume were all fluke.
  4. Raptors shot 51% and got any shot they wanted on offense. It came down to whether they were going to get the defensive stops down the stretch, and they did. Like this one:

  5. Some of the ball movement today was sublime:

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