Gameday: Heat @ Raptors, February 21

In their first game post All-Star break, the Toronto Raptors are facing off against the visiting Miami Heat, as they look to start their second portion of the season off with a win. Toronto has most of their starters back outside of Jakob Poeltl who is still sidelined with a hip injury, so they will have the players necessary to win over Miami.

Miami was caught up in the Jimmy Butler trade saga for most of this season, but after moving on from star forward they still have plenty of talent on their roster, and are not a walk in the park matchup wise for Toronto.

Around this time of year is when teams really try to start positioning themselves for the best draft pick they can get. Fans will no doubt clamor for Toronto to lose games as they will be looking toward the future, but the players will no doubt try to win any game that they are on the floor for.

Raptors Outlook: 17-38 | 13th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 109.9 (26th) | Def rating: 115.8 (26th) | Net rating: -5.8 (26th)

Raptors Previous Results

Vs Cleveland L 131-108

@ Philadelphia W 106-103

@ Houston L 94-87

@ Oklahoma City L 121-109

vs Memphis L 138-107

Defensively, Miami’s frontcourt is stout, with Kel’El Ware and Bam Adebayo patrolling the paint, it will be tough to score at the rim consistently in the halfcourt. RJ Barrett is arguably the best driver on the team, and he gets a lot of his rim looks by cutting off the ball, behind the rim protectors, or just finding any opening in a defense to slice into. Adebayo likely gets the Barnes matchup, so Darko Rajakovic has to find a way to scheme Ware away from the rim a good amount, whether it be forcing him to switch onto the perimeter, or using delay actions, which he often does to draw him away from the paint. Ware is extremely athletic with a long wingspan so he will prove troublesome for Toronto around the rim on defense tonight.

Miami’s backcourt is very weak defensively as it features Tyler Herro and Ducan Robinson, two poor defenders. Immanuel Quickley needs to exploit their weaknesses at the point-of-attack and really use it to get himself good looks. Neither backcourt defender is adept at navigating screens, which Quickley can use to get himself pull-up three and mid-range looks. Even Quickley as a screener himself should open him up, especially his ghost screening ability.

Heat Outlook: 25-28 | 8th in Eastern Conference | Off rating: 111.2 (21st) | Def rating: 112.2 (10th) | Net rating: -0.9 (17th)

Cavaliers Previous Results

vs Dallas L 118-113

@ Oklahoma L 115-101

vs Boston L 103-85

@ Brooklyn L 102-86

@ Philadelphia W 108-101

Miami’s offense as a whole this season has been lackluster despite the All-Star level emergence from Herro. Herro is averaging a career high 23.9 points per game, and a career high 5.5 assists per game, really taking control of the primary ball handler duties for Miami while also averaging a career high in true shooting percentage at 60. Herro is a lethal shooter with a tight handle, and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra does a good job getting Herro downhill, whether it be from pindown screens, or dribble handoffs, and Herro has great touch both in the mid-range and behind the arc. Sticking with Herro through these actions will be imperative in slowing down his scoring. Adebayo on the other hand is having one of his worst seasons as a starter as he is averaging a mere 16.7 points per game on a putrid 54 true shooting percentage. Adebayo has not been the scoring threat that the NBA has known him to be, and his paint efficiency has really taken a noticeable drop. With this being said, Miami still has plenty of shooting, and a good amount of creation in their lineup, and without Poeltl manning the paint for them, Toronto will have their hands full with Ware in pick n’ roll actions.

This is a winnable game for Toronto, but they absolutely have to keep Miami off the glass, and keep Herro in check, while also taking advantage of Miami’s backcourt on defense.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. ET

Television: TSN

Radio: Sportsnet 590 The Fan