Miami Heat at Raptors: Preview & 3 keys to victory
By Brian Boake
A hot Miami Heat squad faces the Raptors tonight. Can the home wins continue?
The Miami Heat should have fallen out of the Eastern Conference playoff race given the prolonged sidelining of Chris Bosh. However, they have received some fine play from creaky Dwyane Wade and revitalized Goran Dragic in the backcourt, added gunner Joe Johnson for (virtually) free, and are a formidable opponent.
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We haven’t seen a win-now starting lineup like this one in ages. Dragic is the youngster, and he’s nearly 30! Luol Deng turns 31 in April, Amar’e Stoudemire is 33, Wade and Johnson are 34…remarkable. Yet they are leading a 38-27 team comfortably ensconced in fourth, and tapping on the shoulders of the third-place Boston Celtics.
The Heat picked up Johnson, the man who hurt the Toronto Raptors so badly as a Brooklyn Net two playoffs ago, from the waiver wire after Brooklyn threw in the towel on this season. He hasn’t lost his shooting touch, helping the Heat to five straight wins before they fell to Milwaukee. Johnson is 11 for 17 from beyond the arc as a Heat [20-second timeout: This team is still officially the HEAT, but no one spells it that way except their website. I think it’s silly to have named a team after a weather condition, and sillier to spell it HEAT. I’m happy to join the no-caps crowd. Heat it is.]
Dragic was the subject of grumbling earlier this season, but no one’s complaining now. He’s led them to six wins in their past seven games, either by scoring or handing out dimes.
I’m tempted to call Deng a glue guy, but he’s so much more than that. He’s the epitome of tough, savvy, consistent play and has been since he first stepped on an NBA court 11 years ago.
Stoudemire will likely get the fewest minutes. His career has looked over several times due to injury, but he’s always bounced back. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra (who’s never been given his due in spite of his excellent record) keeps the phenomenal Hassan Whiteside on the bench, but not for long. You can’t keep a double-double guy like him sitting. Whiteside compiles eye-popping stats on a regular basis. A sample: on Feb. 20 against the Wizards, Whiteside, in 29 minutes, produced 25 points and 23 rebounds. He’s blocked 13 shots in the last 3 games.
Wade will be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. He still gets to the basket with relative ease, or stops to drain a step-back jumper. The only thing he can no longer provide is deep shooting.
The Miami rotation players are nothing special. Gerald Green is a coach killer; he’ll get you 12 points one night, and none the next. Josh McRoberts has hardly been on the floor lately – are they hiding an injury? If he’s fit to play, he can defend any big man, and is a useful pick-&-pass man on offense. Swingman Justise Winslow was Miami’s lottery selection last June. He’s not a Rookie of the Year contender, but he’s versatile and smart, and I like his chances of being an impact player in a few seasons.
There you have it: Miami’s veterans against Toronto’s (relative) youth. If they are going to win, the Raptors will need to…:
- …keep the Heat on the perimeter. Miami’s 33% success rate from beyond the arc is better than only one team, the Lakers. Not surprisingly, the Heat are near the bottom in attempts.
- …not force shots. DeMar DeRozan has become ball-happy lately, but hoping to be bailed out by the refs following a contested shot won’t work against this team. Miami commits the third-fewest fouls in the NBA.
- …not be afraid of Whiteside. Yes, he’s a shot-blocker, but he’s foul-prone. When he’s on the floor, he can dominate the boards like few others, so sit him down.
It’s another playoff preview game, and the Raptors have been poor against teams on the second night of back to backs. Oh well, let’s stick with our guys. In a tough one, we call Toronto 98-Miami 95.