Ranking all 4 potential Raptors first round playoff opponents
By Mike Luciano
2. Miami Heat
The Raptors have hung with the heat in both home and road matchups, for which they should be commended due to their roster deficiencies. Even with Lowry sitting out, Miami is capable of throwing All-Stars like Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler out on the floor at any given time.
While the Heat don’t have that one superstar that takes over games, that might make them tougher to defend. When any one of either Butler, Adebayo, or Sixth Man of the Year favorite Tyler Herro can come into the game and drop 30 points, Miami can adapt to Toronto’s scheme.
The Miami Heat could cause problems for the Toronto Raptors.
While the Raptors have taken two of three from the Heat this season, one of those wins was a triple-overtime thriller and the other was a victory in which the bench outside of Achiuwa scored just four points. It’s highly unlikely Toronto will be able to replicate those feats in the postseason.
The Heat might not be entering the postseason as harmoniously as a No. 1 seed normally might, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a formidable foe. Lowry breaking Toronto’s heart in the postseason would be an absolute crushing scenario that the Raptors must avoid.