James Johnson! Utilized!
The Miami Heat are in town as the Toronto Raptors come back off the road for a two-game weekend stint, and Johnson is coming along with them. That’s exciting! DeMar DeRozan even mentioned at shootaround that Johnson used to guard him in practices, so it’ll be fun to see them match up in a game. Plus, maybe he’ll have his hair on point for the occasion?
What will DeRozan remember most about James Johnson's Raptors tenures? "His red hair"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) November 4, 2016
Less exciting is that this is also a rematch from the second round of the playoffs last year, but it doesn’t really feel the same without Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson.
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. on Sportsnet One and TSN 1050.
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I couldn’t lock down any bloggers from the Heat side to answer questions, so I’m going to do a quick Q&A with myself.
So, how’s Miami treating James Johnson?
Well, they’re paying him $4 million in a place without state income tax, so they’re treating him pretty well. They’re also giving Johnson the role he’s long desired, utilizing him as the first forward off the bench and putting the ball in his hands with the second unit. The results have been mixed so far – he’s shooting 23.8 percent – but it seems like a pretty decent landing spot for Johnson, especially on a one-year deal. There’s a chance that later in the season, Johnson’s tasked with providing some veteran perspective and steadiness as the team tears things down. I guess it’s possible he could be dealt as part of said tear-down, too, providing a team with a big body and some defense on an expiring deal.
Wait, a tear-down?
I mean, I think so, right? The Heat aren’t going to be competitive, and there’s no clear path back to relevance with what’s on the roster, especially when they’re out some draft assets moving forward. Wouldn’t it make more sense to sell off Goran Dragic and maybe even Hassan Whiteside, ship out the short-term deals for whatever they can get, and free the kids up for even bigger roles? I think even though he hates losing, Pat Riley probably has enough perspective to realize his lot with this crew.
Hassan Whiteside against Jonas Valanciunas should be fun now that both are healthy again, right?
Absolutely. This is kind of the marquee matchup to look forward to in this one, and you’ll surely remember that Valanciunas was getting the better of that battle in the playoffs. Whiteside is off to a great start to the season, averaging 19.8 points, 13.8 rebounds, and three blocks. That’s a great follow-up to the sizable contract he got this offseason, however small a sample, and has to be encouraging for any Heat fans who talked themselves into that deal with some trepidation. It’s a major test for Valanciunas, too, to see if he can continue his own hot start.
Whiteside’s a bigger problem outside of the one-on-one, though, no?
In terms of who has to gameplan more for the other, yeah, Whiteside is probably a bigger tactic-changer. In the postseason, the Raptors experimented with Nashing the pick-and-roll to try to pull Whiteside away from the rim, and that stands to be the strategy again, at least when Valanciunas isn’t also on the floor. Nashing, or midgeting, involves
“Whiteside, you know, some guys like that, that’s great at blocking shots that’s big like Whiteside, you want to get them away from the rim,” Cory Joseph explained in training camp. “So whenever you got a chance to maybe drag them away from the paint area, you try to do that. So that was definitely an emphasis that series.”
The Raptors’ guards have done it a little bit more than usual already this year, and it’s a major strength of Fred VanVleet, should he somehow find his way into the game.
“Obviously being a smaller guard, you gotta have different tricks and things,” VanVleet said during the preseason. “But for me, I’m just a guy who likes to get in the paint. As a defense, you try to keep people out of the paint. So offensively, trying to get in the paint and create havoc, and find guys open shots, that’s just a tool you can use as a smaller guy, getting up under the rim and dragging it out.”
Keep an eye out for Kyle Lowry, Joseph, and VanVleet to drive into the paint and come out the other side, looking to draw the switch and pull Whiteside away, or, if he declines to follow, pulling up for a quick jumper just outside the paint.
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Raptors updates
Hey, so, the Raptors don’t have any lingering injuries to keep updating. Awesome! That also means, though, that Lucas Nogueira is officially third on the depth chart at center, and will likely stay there until Jakob Poeltl stumbles, if he does so at all. You need your big-man depth on-hand for a matchup like Hassan Whiteside, but Nogueira’s probably only going to be called on if someone’s in foul trouble right now.
Don’t be surprised if the Raptors play small a lot here, too – the Heat have stuck to a nine-man rotation that generally includes only less traditional power forwards, perhaps allowing the Raptors to get Norman Powell and Terrence Ross the appropriate run while shifting DeMarre Carroll up a spot.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Fred VanVleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross
PF: Patrick Patterson, Pascal Siakam, Bruno Caboclo
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Jakob Poeltl, Lucas Nogueira
OUT: Delon Wright, Jared Sullinger
Heat updates
Miami could get a big boost tonight with the return of Josh Richardson, who is yet to play as he recovers from offseason knee surgery. He participated in contact drills on Thursday, so he’s nearing a return, but he’s officially questionable. Wayne Ellington, meanwhile, is doubtful thanks to a quad injury, and Josh McRoberts is questionable with a foot issue.
PG: Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson
SG: Dion Waiters, Rodney McGruder
SF: Justise Winslow, James Johnson
PF: Luke Babbitt, Derrick Williams
C: Hassan Whiteside, Willie Reed, Udonis Haslem
TBD: Josh Richardson, Wayne Ellington, Josh McRoberts
OUT: Chris Bosh
The line
The Raptors are 7.5-point favorites at home, which feels about right. There’s a nice opportunity here to continue the hot start – which ranks the Raptors fifth in net rating when adjusting for quality of opponent and location of games – and jump out to a 4-1 mark, with another home game Sunday. Things are basically going to plan, with a bad quarter here and there, and on paper the Raptors should be able to take care of the Heat. Watch out for that James Johnson Revenge Game, though, and obviously the status of the three injured Heat player throws a bit of a wrench into a prediction. Please don’t ruin my Friday night, guys.
Raptors 101, Heat 92
