With Cavs looming, does Miami Heat vs. Toronto Raptors even matter?

For whoever wins this Miami Heat-Toronto Raptors series, they have a Cleveland Cavaliers juggernaut waiting for them in the Eastern Conference Finals.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers sweeping the Atlanta Hawks and finding their way, does it even who wins between the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors? Wes Goldberg and Chris Posada dig into that question in Goldie vs CPo.

Wes Goldberg: Tracy McGrady made news this week by saying the NBA is watered down and, while I strongly disagree with him, his point is true for the Eastern Conference.

The Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Atlanta Hawks and weren’t even polite about it. They’ve reached another level by figuring out how to use Kevin Love and spreading the floor with three-point shooting, and are by far the best team in the East.

There was a time not too long ago when Miami Heat fans dreamt of a conference finals match-up against the Cavs and were able to make a case about why the Heat could beat them. But now Miami is down 3-2 against the Toronto Raptors, are facing injuries to Hassan Whiteside and Luol Deng, and will be playing for its season Friday night.

So, after watching five games of this dragged-through-the-mud series between the Heat and Raptors, do you think the team that comes out of this thing has a chance against LeBron James’ Cavs in the next round?

Chris Posada: McGrady played during the worst period in NBA history, so his opinion on this matter should be taken with a major grain of salt.

I also disagree with the Eastern Conference being watered down. Yes, the conference has one team that looks head and shoulders about the rest. I can make the same argument for the West, even though they have three teams that are clearly above the rest, is there anything else there that impresses you? But the two-six seeds in the East are, for the most part, on equal footing with each other, and I would take them in a series over the four-eight seeds in the West.

Back to the Cavs, if they’re going to shoot 50% from three every series, like they did against Atlanta, they’re winning the NBA title. I’m going to guess that they don’t do that, so I don’t expect them roll over everyone.

Except for Miami and Toronto. Both these teams are breaking down, and there’s still a game, maybe two, to go. We’re almost to the point that we could see a Dorell vs. Delon Wright matchup in a pivotal second round matchup! It’s the NBA on ESPN!

But if Miami doesn’t have Whiteside and/or Deng, they have no chance against Cleveland, let alone winning on Friday. Yet the Raptors still won’t have Jonas Valanciunas, and still have a banged up DeMarre Carroll and DeMar Derozan, so who knows? But neither team has a chance of beating the Cavs under these circumstances.

I hate this series, Wes. Why can’t we have nice things?

Goldberg: I mean, Goran Dragic can’t even have nice teeth without taking an elbow to the face sooooo…

What should be the expectations for Heat fans now? Without Chris Bosh out and Whiteside and Deng injured, what more can we expect out of this team? Considering we’re just a year removed from the NBA Draft lottery, is a second round defeat all that bad?

I don’t mean to sound like I’m giving up here, but are our expectations too high? This team is clearly broken, having to trot out lineups with Deng and Justise Winslow at center and, like you said, Dorell Wright sounds like a good idea.

I say let’s enjoy this, whatever this is. Dwyane Wade going nuts and showing he’s not dead yet, Udonis Haslem playing heavy playoff minutes for perhaps the last time of his career and the Heat showing a ton of fight, a pair of rookies making major contributions. These games feel like a pile of ruins that perhaps something beautiful can spring from next season.

This series isn’t over, but the next series already is.

Posada: I’d say it has exceeded expectations. To go from the Lottery to a division title and a 3-seed is tremendous. By the way, you can say what you want about the value of divisions in today’s NBA, but the Heat have made the playoffs 19 times in their 28-year history, winning their division 12 times! That’s incredible no matter what you think. To win another one two years removed from losing a franchise altering talent speaks volumes.

If Whiteside and Deng miss Friday’s game, they would have lost three of their original five starters at the worst time. Besides, each game of this series, while not stylish and pleasing, has been a dog fight in every way, with every game going down to the final minute. A bounce of a ball, a wide-open jumper falling and any of the results could go the opposite way. I’ll say this, it’s a lot better going out this way than what happened to the Hawks.

If they end up losing, the franchise and their fans should keep their heads up high, as this has been a great season to be a part of, with young up-and-coming players making big impacts, and a franchise icon doing everything in his power to will this team to one more series victory.

But if Miami can somehow win out, maybe they face a steamroller in Cleveland. Whether that series is over or not can’t take away from the thrill ride that this season has been. Heat would be playing with house money, though. Crazier things have happened.

Goldberg: Even though we say all of this and try to maintain perspective, I’m still going to be super stressed out watching every game, however many we have left.