The Toronto Raptors must put a very tough (and controversial) loss behind them as they look to get back to winning ways against the Miami Heat. One night prior the Raptors managed to rally back from a 12 point deficit in the fourth to take what looked like a win in Charlotte, until the referees bought it back adjudicating the Raptors to have already called a time out, the clock was not reset however and the game went to overtime where the Hornets ran out 10 point winners.
The Miami matchup will conclude a three game road trip which the Raptors will hope to gain at least one W from. Meanwhile the Miami Heat have won their last 3 and are another eastern playoff contender, most recently beating the Brooklyn Nets away. Recent wins include victories over the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies. The Heat have won 11 of their last 12 home games The teams met in Miami earlier this season and it was the Heat who used a strong 3rd quarter to come out 20 point winners.
The now 16-11 Raptors have spiralled down to sixth on the conference standings and will need to show resilience in this battle, once again facing a tough opponent on the road in a back to back game. Toronto will also go up against their former franchise player Chris Bosh, who left via free agency in 2010, DeMar DeRozan is the only current Raptor to have played alongside Bosh.
Cage’s Keys to the Game
Win the battle of the backcourt
Both teams rely heavily on their back court duo’s as the Raptors Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan go up against Miami’s Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade. In the last matchup between the sides Lowry and DeRozan combined for 9-30 on a dismal shooting night. The two will need to improve on that if they hope to get a win this time round. The Miami duo seem to cover for one another in that when one has a bad game the other steps up. Despite the overall strength of the Miami roster it is this backcourt that keeps the Heat ticking.
Watch the Paint
The Miami Heat are a strong inside team utilizing the height of Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, Hassan Whiteside and Justice Winslow. Again without Jonas Valanciunas or DeMarre Carroll the Raptors are going to have their hands full. Miami rank 6th in the league for points in the paint but the good news is Toronto rank 3rd defensively in that same area so it should be quite a battle. Chris Bosh poured in 23 points last time and Whiteside added 20 so it’s pivotal that this area is limited by the Raptors D.
Find range from outside
The Raptors have had a lot of success recently from driving to the basket but tonight they go up against Whiteside, who leads the league in blocks per game and had 6 last time out against the Raptors. In a situation like this the offence is better served finding range from outside. Lowry had an off night from deep against Charlotte – it will be a matter of getting it to go on what looks to be a tough night.
Raptors X-Factor: Luis Scola
The Argentinian will need to utilize his entire arsenal tonight coming up against the likes of Luol Deng and Chris Bosh. Defensively and on the glass Scola will need to play big and make life difficult for the Heat forwards. The Raptors were badly out rebounded by Miami last time around, and Bismack Biyombo is going to need all the help he can get on the boards.