In their second to last game this season the Toronto Raptors are heading to Miami to face off against the 8th seeded Heat. Miami is currently fighting for their play-off spot and could use all the wins they can get. Toronto has been out of the playoff race for months now but we can still expect a fairly competitive game from both sides.
Toronto may have trouble dealing with Bam Adebayo’s size on the inside, and his speed as well. Kelly Olynyk will likely draw the Adebayo matchup and it’s asking a lot for Olynyk to handle Adebayo. Miami likes to run their offense through Adebayo with Dribble Handoffs to Miami’s shooters and ball handlers and defending DHO actions require cohesion on defense. Tyler Herro returned recently and he should be high up on Toronto’s scouting report.
Herro is a main piece of these DHO actions and the options he has out of them are wide ranging. Herro, or other ball handlers can use the DHO to get downhill and to the basket, to free themselves for a middy, or free themselves for a three, or hit Adebayo on the subsequent roll. Herro and Adebayo have developed a chemistry on these actions which makes them even tougher to guard.
Jimmy Butler is also a matchup headache for Toronto in this game because of his uncanny ability to get around the rim and score. Butler is a great inside scorer who plays a lot bigger than he is, he plays well in the post and uses shot fakes and good footwork to get to his spots and score. RJ Barrett will likely draw this matchup and it’ll be a tough task to keep the Miami star in check.
Miami’s backcourt defense isn’t the best and that will be the path for Toronto to create good looks against this team. With Adebayo patrolling the paint it will be tough to score there. Immanuel Quickley should be able to create well against whomever starts in the backcourt for Miami. Miami’s bench unit also isn’t the strongest, although Toronto’s isn’t strong at the moment either. Still though, when Miami begins to bring their bench unit in, that will provide another opportunity for Toronto to create some easy looks. Players like Kevin Love and Patty Mills are on Miami’s bench, two players who are not good defenders.
At this stage in the season you just want to see a fun game, win or loss.
Game Info
Tip-Off: 8:00 pm EDT | TV: TSN 4, 5 | Radio: TSN Radio 1050
Heat Lineup
PG: Delon Wright, Patty Mills
SG: Tyler Herro,
SF: Jimmy Butler, Jaime Jasquez Jr.
PF: Nikola Jovic, Caleb Martin
C: Bam Adebayo, Kevin Love
Raptors Lineup
DJ Carton (ankle), Chris Boucher (knee), Scottie Barnes (hand) and Jakob Poeltl (hand) also remain out. Gary Trent Jr and Bruce Brown are questionable. Jontay Porter is out.
PG: Immanuel Quickley,
SG: Gradey Dick, Javon Freeman-Liberty
SF: RJ Barrett, Jordan Nwora, Garrett Temple
PF: Ochai Agbaji, Jalen McDaniels
C: Kelly Olynyk, Malik Williams
Miami is favored by a staggering 13 points. O/U is 215
