Mar 17, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (3) fouls against Miami Heat guard Ray Allen (34) at the Air Canada Centre. Miami defeated Toronto 108-91. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Miami’s multiple weapons were on full display during their fourth quarter onslaught. LeBron James gave the illusion of wanting to pour in another 3-ball from the top of the circle (as he did to close out the first half). Instead he dished hard no-look passes to Ray Allen twice and once to Shane Battier for corner 3-balls, all of which went splash. Allen entered the final quarter with four points, and exited it with 20.

The Raps needed to perform at a near-perfect level to defeat a Miami team currently playing on a higher plane than anyone else on the planet. While Amir Johnson was superb once again, and Rudy Gay contributed 27 points, the team couldn’t overcome deeply disappointing results from the starting backcourt. DeMar DeRozan, whose outside shooting has gone AWOL, was missing layups but recovered slightly in the second half to finish with 12 points on 17 shots. At least he made a few – Kyle Lowry was zero for seven. In fact, none of our three point guards could manage a bucket or a free throw. Alan Anderson also booked a donut. Our rookies were more than respectable. Jonas Valanciunas even was allowed to play in the final quarter, after Amir had to leave due to a bloody nose. JV missed only one shot, and hit all four free throws he tried, on his way to 18 points, matching Amir. Terrence Ross managed 12 points, but slipped a number of times for no apparent reason while handling the ball.

Miami reminds me of San Antonio; both teams carve up their opponents in a nearly surgical manner. The Heat pass with great precision and purpose, often leading to easy baskets.  Both teams scored 39 field goals, but the Raptors needed 27 more shots to do so. Miami took two more 3-ball tries than Toronto, and made 8 more. They also owned the charity stripe, taking 29 free throws to the home team’s 12. That’s not a gripe; the game was well-refereed, and many of the Raps’ fouls were of the “no easy basket for you, pal” kind.

Mar 17, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) steals the ball from Toronto Raptors center-forward Amir Johnson (15) as Miami Heat forward-center Chris Andersen (11) looks on at the Air Canada Centre. Miami defeated Toronto 108-91. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

If Miami doesn’t advance to the NBA finals, I’ll be astonished. They are the best team I’ve seen this year.

The Raps next see action on Wednesday in Charlotte.

Brian Boake is a co-editor for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada.

Mar 15, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) and Milwaukee Bucks guard Monta Ellis (11) chase a loose ball at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Summarizing the Heat in a few words is challenging, as they are so powerful. LeBron is having one of the greatest individual seasons in NBA history. Apart from his eye-popping offensive statistics, he is being mentioned as a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. Most analysts have already conceded him the Most Valuable Player trophy (me too, unless he has a severe dropoff in production while Kevin Durant continues to roll), but to win DPOY as well would be a huge coup. Dwyane Wade is having another stellar season, as is some Bosh guy. Miami’s second unit might start if they were in Charlotte or Detroit. Veterans like Ray Allan, still a feared 3-point bomber, glue guy Shane Battier, and interior force Chris Anderson can make life miserable.

I’m not doing 3 keys to victory for this game. I don’t want to write fatuous nonsense like “Stop LeBron!”, since I have no idea how to do that, nor does anyone else. The Raps are going to have to play their best game of the season; if we see the sputtering offense and silly turnovers we did against the Bobcats, there’s no chance. Jonas Valanciunas will have to stay in the game, and to do so will require him avoiding the reach-in fouls which have plagued him. Miami might be vulnerable to scoring from the centre spot, assuming we can get the ball inside safely.

Mar 13, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Heat forward Shane Battier (31) defends the shot of Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young (21) during the second quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Raps played this team very tough in Miami, losing in overtime. The Heat helped the Raps out on Friday night, handing the Milwaukee Bucks their third straight defeat. Despite the Raps’ record, there’s still a glimmer of hope for a playoff spot. Surely that’s sufficient motivation to turn in a great game.

While there’s little rationale for doing so, I’ll pick the Raps to stun Miami, and all of the NBA, by grabbing a 103-101 victory.

Brian Boake is a co-editor for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada.