Toronto Raptors vs. Miami Heat: NBA Cup Showdown in South Beach

The Raptors can spoil the Heat’s chances at the NBA Cup with a win in South Beach tonight.

The Toronto Raptors face the Miami Heat tonight in their first matchup of the season, which also marks the penultimate game for Toronto’s NBA Cup group play.

With the Raptors already eliminated from NBA Cup contention, the only goal tonight is picking up a second straight win on the road, and to play spoiler for Miami. A loss tonight would eliminate the Heat in what is their final group play game.

Now, wins on the road have been hard to come by this season for the Raptors. Wednesday night’s victory in New Orleans was the team’s first road win of the season, putting them at a 1-10 record away from home this season. The win over the Pelicans also marked Scottie Barnes’s fourth game back from his orbital fracture, and in every matchup since the All-Star’s return, he’s put up at least six assists.

Barnes has fit right back into the system, as if he hadn’t missed a game. He’s been a sight for sore eyes (pun intended), especially with the team experiencing another injury since his return. Gradey Dick looks set to miss his third consecutive matchup tonight, which is a shame for the second-year guard as he was in the midst of a potential Most Improved Player award type of season. Barnes and Barrett will have to collectively work together to replace Gradey’s production, already being down Immanuel Quickley as well, and especially facing off against a stingy defence in the Miami Heat.

Where to Watch:

TSN, 8 pm EST

Lineups:

Toronto: Davion Mitchell, RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl

Miami: Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Jimmy Butler, Haywood Highsmith, Jimmy Butler

Injuries:

Toronto: Gradey Dick — calf (OUT), Immanuel Quickley — elbow (OUT), Bruce Brown — knee (OUT), Kelly Olynyk — back (OUT)

Miami: Jimmy Butler — back (PROBABLE), Duncan Robinson — glute (PROBABLE), Terry Rozier — foot (PROBABLE), Kevin Love — back (QUESTIONABLE)

AD

********

Beyond the Arc Battle

The Raptors picked up the win against the Pelicans by raining down threes. Specifically, Ochai Agbaji and Jameson Battle were the ones who led the way, tying for the team lead of 24 points each. Can the team’s deep ball shooters stay hot? They may need to against the vaunted Miami Heat defence that is known to make scoring more difficult the closer you get to the rim.

Point Scottie

With at least six assists in each of his four outings since returning from injury, Scottie Barnes is still seeing the court just fine. Now missing both starting members of the backcourt, Barnes will have to continue taking the ball into his own hands to get his teammates some easy looks. Davion Mitchell and RJ Barrett will help him share the load, but Barnes is sometimes the lead ball handler even with both point guards available. He’ll need to keep it up to help the Raptors pick up another win tonight.

Home Sweet Home

Tonight is the final outing of a four game road trip the team has been on for a little over a week. They’ll return home to Scotiabank Arena on Sunday where they’ll face, guess who, the Miami Heat! A true home and home series, Toronto knows this is their last night sleeping in hotels before games for a number of weeks. With the return home imminent, and a long home stand to follow, the Raptors should be leaving it all on the court tonight, even if this one doesn’t mean too much in the long term.