Miami Heat Take on Undefeated Raptors

The Miami Heat has won nine straight games at home against the Toronto Raptors, the team that continues its road trip through Florida on Sunday. Both teams are on the second night of back-to-back sets; the Heat won in Philadelphia while the Raptors defeated Orlando.

But this matchup has added significance to it as both teams are competing for a playoff positioning in a tight Eastern Conference.

The Raptors were the surprise of last season, trading away former star player Rudy Gay to save salary cap space and possibly “tank” away the season. Except they started winning and kept on doing so. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan played at an All-Star level and contributions from Amir Johnson, Terrance Ross and Jonas Valanciunas helped keep them in strong contention. They’ve improved in the offseason, adding some nice complementary players (Greg Stiemsma and Lou Williams among them) as well as re-signing Greivis Vasquez. They’re obviously a good, talented group but questions linger, particularly whether last year’s success was a fluke or the start of something special or if Lowry, playing on a contract year (even drawing interest from Miami as a free agent) could remain as productive.

Regardless, Miami has its own issues to deal with. While they wound up blowing out the 76ers on Saturday, Dwyane Wade was not effective, finishing with just 9 points on 4-of-18 shooting, while still contributing with 10 assists and 3 steals. He didn’t look hurt and his shots simply didn’t fall; look for him to be aggressive and try to counter Ross’ long-range shooting. Also, Josh McRoberts might be inserted in the starting lineup (in his second game back from injury)

The bright spots were the continued excellence of Chris Bosh (30 points) and Mario Chalmers, who has really embraced his role off the bench.

The Raptors are a tough matchup because of their inside-outside game. Valanciunas isn’t an elite player but he’s a solid rebounder, good scorer and could limit Miami’s effectiveness in the paint. Ross, DeRozan and Vasquez are all great shooters and Lowry is a load to handle. He’s a strong player who can use his speed effectively; watch for mismatches with Norris Cole, Chalmers and especially Shabazz Napier.

Various pundits have Miami and Toronto competing for similar playoff seeding (basically anywhere from third to eighth) in the Eastern Conference. While still early in the season, it’s a good matchup for both team to see how they stack up in the East and what their chances are to advance.

Tonight’s game tips off at 6 p.m. at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

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