The Toronto Raptors, off to their best start since 2008-09, travel to beautiful South Beach with a date against the unbeaten Miami Heat Sunday night (6:00 p.m. EST) at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Toronto (2-0) is finishing a back-to-back after last evening’s 108-95 victory over the Orlando Magic. DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors in scoring with 26 points and eight rebounds while Kyle Lowry added 21 points and five assists.
Miami (2-0), led by All-Star Chris Bosh, reeled off two convincing wins over the Washington Wizards and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat are leaders in the Eastern Conference and will attempt to extend their winning streak against Toronto to an impressive 16 games. The last time Toronto beat the Heat? January 27, 2010. Fan favourites Marco Bellinelli, Hedo Turkoglu, Andrea Bargnani, Jarrett Jack and Sonny Weems were key components in that tilt. Wikileaks and European austerity measures were beginning to make headlines. Safe to say it’s been quite some time.
Cage’s Keys to the Game:
Contain four time Most Valuable Player and two time NBA Champion LeBron James
Oops, silly me. Forgot about that memorable letter in the summer of 2014. What’s this of another “Big Three” in Ohio?
Share the Wealth:
Toronto had another balanced night offensively against Orlando as five starters finished with 10+ points. The aforementioned DeRozan and Lowry generated the bulk of the scoring while Amir Johnson, Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 14 points and 10 points respectively. In the season opener against the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto had seven players in double digits, including Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez. It’s still early but offensive symmetry and depth seems to be a competitive advantage for the Raptors. Let’s hope the formula is echoed tonight against the Heat.
Get Physical with Bosh:
In light of LeBron’s exodus to Cleveland, Bosh is now the de facto scorer for Miami. Not surprisingly, he’s been quite effective thus far. The former Raptor is returning to his former role as an offensive ace, averaging 28 points, 11.5 rebounds on .514 shooting. This is the Bosh circa 2007/2008/2009/2010 when he punished opponents with outside shooting, free throw attempts and elite rebounding. Valanciunas and Johnson need to get scrappy against the nine time NBA All-Star and force him to the basket. Left unguarded, the mobile and athletic Bosh will make 16-18 footers with ease and can also hurt you from downtown, hitting at a .556 % clip. Expect the 30-year-old to play with a chip on his shoulder against his former squad.
Attack the Glass:
Boy, the Heat sure do miss King James and the 6.9 rebounds per game he provided last year. Miami ranks near the bottom in rebounds averaging 39.5 per contest, good for 23rd overall in the association. They have struggled especially with defensive rebounding early on and face a Raptors team that is superior in most rebounding categories including differential, percentage and opponent offensive boards. The frontline of Bosh, Luol Deng, and Josh McRoberts isn’t overly intimidating defensively and Toronto needs to assert their dominance and capitalize on second chance scoring opportunities.
X-Factor: Greivis Vasquez
An off the grid pick, but Vasquez can get hot at any time. The Venezuelan had an efficient night against the Atlanta Hawks scoring 12 points with three assists but struggled mightily last night in Orlando (6 points on .111 % shooting. Look for the former assist leader to have an increased role in tonight’s match and to size up point guard Mario Chalmers.
