It was just a couple weeks ago that the Toronto Raptors took a 17-point lead against the Charlotte Hornets, a 10-game winning streak on the line.
It has been a long two weeks.
The team is now on a losing streak. A loss against the Miami Heat would bring the streak to five games. Their halfcourt offense has gone from one of the league’s best to the worst, since a knee sprain knocked RJ Barrett out of the lineup. Jakob Poeltl has been plagued by back troubles which have hampered his performance.
The Raptors
are still showing flashes of the fun, selfless and intense defensive team that they’d been over the first month of the season, when they were second in the East. They looked pretty electric during the first frame of the NBA Cup quarter-final game against the New York Knicks. But injuries and fatigue from a jam-packed schedule have been too much to overcome.
Tonight, fresh off a few days’ rest, the Raptors travel to Miami to face the Heat, whose 14-11 record is nearly identical to the Raptors’ 15-11 mark. Here are the details for tonight’s game:
Where to watch
TSN, 7:30 pm ET
Probable starters
Toronto – Immanuel Quickley, Ja’Kobe Walter, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl
Miami – Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo
Injuries
Toronto – RJ Barrett (knee – OUT), Jamison Battle (knee – OUT)
Miami – Pelle Larson (ankle – OUT), Terry Rozier (not injury related – OUT), Kasparas Jakučionis (ankle – probable)
Rest up! The Heat are fast.
The Raptors played a stretch of five games across eight days, and it showed. Guys looked tired and, while there were still good bursts of play, the team has endured long stretches of lethargic offense, lacklustre defensive rebounding and even a number of missed layups during this recent period. The team has now had five days to rest, and their fresh legs will hopefully give them a renewed competitiveness even without the offensive creation of RJ Barrett. The rest couldn’t have come at a better time: Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has revamped the team to become an uber-fast-paced machine that currently leads the league in pace. The Raptors have stunned teams at times with their pace this season, pushing the ball even off opponents’ made baskets. But no team has pushed the pace this year more than the Heat.
5-game losing streak is inevitable
Both the Raptors and Heat are coming into this game on four-game losing streaks. One of these teams is leaving the Kaseya Center with a monkey off their back. The other team will have some soul-searching to do. The Heat have the advantage of missing zero core players – Tyler Herro is back in the lineup after missing a few weeks – while the Raptors are without Barrett.
Former Raptors include…
Norman Powell, the beloved Raptor and NBA Champion who, at least in my eyes, was traded far too soon. His Players’ Tribune article continues to have both a breaking and warming effect on my heart. Powell’s production has exploded in the last couple years, landing him on lists of potential first-time All-Stars. He’s averaging a team-leading 24.6 points per game on 50-43-86 shooting splits. The Clippers traded him for Bradley Beal and John Collins.
Davion Mitchell, the gritty defensive point guard who lost his job with the Raptors to Jamal Shead and was traded last season, but is thriving right now, averaging 9.8 points and, most strikingly, 7.8 assists per game.
