Takeaways as the Toronto Raptors lose heat against the Miami Heat

Switching things up

What has worked so well in the past is the fluidity that comes with the Raptors’ ability to run the offense. But that seemed to be missing throughout the game. As the Raptors hit rough patches they let it ride out for too long before trying a play to open up an easy bucket.

The team is going to need to regain their ability to switch the offense when needed as soon as possible. While shorthanded they lose a lot of their ball movement and offensive talent but there remain a lot of tools at their disposal.

Ibaka was having a great night when he got to his spot and when working down low when switched onto a smaller defender. This, along with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s ability to post up against his defender in the post, should be exploited as much as possible to get the offense rolling during a drought.

Hesitations were only holding back the Raptors. There were too many drop pass scenarios in the low-post when looking to open up a shot around the rim instead of taking the three-to-four foot floaters that were available many times off the pass. When a shot from that range is open there is a need to take it early in the game to force the defender to contest the next time it is used. But the Raptors kept looking to make an extra pass which resulted in turnovers or poor opportunities.