Firstly, I would like to apologize for any missed coverage as of late. I personally lost power for around 4 days due to the ice storm, and was missing WiFi until now. The rest of our writers did a good job of holding down the fort, and things should be back to normal now.
Despite the lack of power, I didn’t miss any games and watched our Toronto Raptors beat down team after team after team after team after team. It has been a delight to watch. They have taken down the Indiana Pacers and the OKC Thunder, as crazy as that is. Tonight, however they face a Miami Heat team that seems to have their number. The Raptors have never beaten the Heat in the LeBron James era, and they hope to change that tonight and win their sixth straight game. Tyler Hansbrough is questionable.
Here are the Cage’s 5 Keys to the Game
1. Slow down the train
LeBron James is without a doubt the best player in the world, and basically unstoppable. While you can’t do too much when he’s attacking the rim, giving him jumpers while allowing him to score is fine. Limiting his ability to takeover and create plays for his team is what will need to be done to slow down the Heat offense.
2. Look inside
The Raps have out-muscled the Heat inside before, however Dwane Casey has always seemed to switch to small-ball to match the Heat as opposed to forcing the Heat to match them. The Raps will need to set the tone in this one.
3. Perimeter defense
Terrence Ross will probably be guarding LeBron to start. While Ross has been terrific defensively as of late, I’m not sure he has the length to guard LBJ. DeMar DeRozan on the other hand will be stuck with Dwyane Wade who has cooked DD in the past. Holding the fort up front will be vital in this one.
4. Turnovers
Miami thrives in fast-break situations, and the Raps have lost games in the past to the Heat due to runs sparked by Raptor turnovers.
5. Close strong
The Raps have been killing in in the 4th quarter as of late, as crazy as that is. More than likely, this game will within reach going into the fourth (as they have been in the past vs Miami), the key will be that clutch factor.
X-Factor – Jonas Valanciunas
Nobody on the Heat has the size to guard Valanciunas. Chris Bosh? C’mon now. The Raps need to look for JV early and often, and he will really need to exploit the Heat inside for the Raps to have a chance. This should be a good one, folks.
