Readers of Raptors Truth were well primed for the battle last night as the Heat rolled into Toronto in a key match up determining playoff or play in seeds. The pre-game article here dropped a key insight into how the Raptors plan to attack the rest of the NBA with an unconventional lineup this playoffs and pound it inside relentlessly. Spoelstra loves to play Zone against the Raptors…take away the paint and force them to shoot the lights out to win. He’s so good at it that Miami was the #1 defence in the paint up until the All Star break. After that break tho they’ve fallen quite a bit at protecting the paint however so the battle was on. While the win likely won’t mean much in final standings the Heat clearly could be in the play in tournament so this game was important.
The Heat came out flying despite their Hear and Soul Jimmy Butler not playing as Bam and Tyler and Victor were all on point early. The ageless Kevin Love blocked Jak at the rim on the first play and it energized the Heat. Nurse was forced to call a full timeout after only 4 mins with the Heat up 14-4 and the Raptors clearly shell shocked. Pascal missed a middy and Freddy missed a middy and 3 pointer as the guys looked a little off. The timeout worked as the Raptors reeled off 6 straight points and seriously up’d the defensive work. An extended back and forth battle without buckets happened when Precious came in early off the bench and finished off the last 4 mins of the 1st quarter with a ton of energy against his former team. Scottie was the tip of the spear tho as he was hitting short jumpers from all over to put the Raptors up by 1 point in a deflating finish for the Heat who put in so much effort to end up behind.
Dowtin came in to start the 2nd and played the first half of the quarter as the Raptor bench built up a small lead only to give it back up by the time several of the starters returned. It was a quality run for the G league star trying to break into the NBA with either the Raptors or someone else next year. The mostly starting group ground up the Heat for the rest of the quarter extending the lead with great inside short passes and soft hand finishes. The Raptors went 0 for 10 from deep to start the game and usually that means they’re losing but with their great interior attack and extra short passes they were actually still winning this game despite the poor deep shooting. Eventually they were due from long range and when a few Raptors stroked a couple the Heat were in a world of trouble still having found no way to stop the inside attack and now watching 3 pointers rain down on them. Let’s hand out some well deserved kudos to players that stepped up in a big game!
The Good
Scottie
22 points but it was the 12 assists that destroyed the Heat inside tonight. The vision this young man has is simply world class as he times his passes perfectly and has the patience to wait that 1/2 second longer to allow the play to develop for the open pass. It’s a beautiful thing watching him work at the top of the key because he can simply do anything he wants from there with his height, power and vision. Reminds me of an early Jokic offensively.
Tyler Herro
The definition of a walking bucket. This kid just exploded now that he’s a starter. I doubted the big contract and starting role…I was flat out wrong. Makes the tough shots with long defenders closing out on him as well. The 4 turnovers sure helped the Raptors survive his scoring tonight. I guess the Instagram swagger he carries is earned.
Pascal
0 for 5 from deep but everything else was working tonight. He just demands so much attention to even slow down it opens up a lot of opportunities for his friends. Defensively still struggling sadly but trying.
O.G.
4 for 9 from deep to drop 22 pts while defending whoever the Heat were trying to go to while he was out there. The effort this guy puts out on both sides of the ball…night in night out is second to none. I use to think Pascal was the engine of this team…now I’m thinking it just might be O.G. as Pascal’s D looks much weaker lately.
Bam Adebayo
Battled inside all night tough and didn’t get much help. Raptors were coming from all directions and Bam only has 2 arms even if they stretch out as long as your sofa almost. Proves that modern NBA teams simply can’t roll with one center even if he’s great because other teams simply have too much size driving to the Rack nowadays.
The Bad
Jak
2 points isn’t good enough for a starter no matter how good your D is. He was lucky Precious was bringing it tonight or his weak sauce finishes at the rim might have cost the Raptors tonight.
Eric Spoelstra
How does Gabe Vincent start over Kyle Freakin’ Lowry in a game in Toronto??? Seriously, put some respect on the man’s name! The Heat have mismanaged Kyle terribly this year. He’s an ultimate competitor if you take away his important role how can he get fired up to perform??? No Jimmy and you still don’t start Kyle??? The crowd reaction to his name as a starter was worth the price of admission. Seriously man, what are you thinking? It’s just a no brainer and Kyle doesn’t get into the game until the 2nd quarter? I know ‘Spo’ carries a huge reputation in the NBA but he’s clearly off his game this year. The problem in Miami isn’t simply lack of talent. Adam Silver should call up ‘Spo’ and let him know Fans are important in the NBA.
That was a bigger game than it might have seemed due to the standings. The Raptors are running their unconventional ‘1 Guard’ lineup into the playoffs and they successfully pounded it inside all night against a great ‘Zone’ and paint defending team. This is a MASSIVE issue for the Raptors heading into the play in and hopefully playoffs as every team will try to shut down the paint on them. As expected the Raptors 3 point shooting failed…but they still won easily! The key was Scottie’s passing as he brings that dynamic driving, great short range finishing but can be an elite passer as well. They didn’t even get a great game from Freddy or Jak as the Pick n Roll wasn’t happening but even that didn’t matter! The absolute weapon that Scottie Barnes can be is truly amazing.
We’ll play the remaining games but you now know the keys for this Raptors team heading into the playoffs. It’s NOT their 3 pt shooting…that will come and go (more go). It’s not Pacal…he’ll get his and create lots for his friends. It’s the interior points in the paint battle. To win the Raptors have to crush that with Jak PnR’s or Scottie serving it up on a platter. Defensively this Raptors team can hang with anyone. The question is can they score inside when the whole world knows that’s what they want to do. I’m anxious to find out! Bring on the important games!