A pair of teams from the Eastern Conference tangle on the hardwood in search of a victory down in South Beach. The Toronto Raptors are on the road as they close an early, not to mention rare, two-game set with the Miami Heat Monday night. These teams met on Saturday night in Miami, with the Heat earning their first win of the season by picking up a 112-109 victory to draw first blood in the season series. The Raptors did cover the line as a 3.5-point underdog in the contest. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Heat own a 59-38 advantage and have taken the last two meetings after Saturday’s win. Will the Heat sweep the two-game set or can the Raptors split the series?
Toronto dropped their second straight as they were unable to come up with the victory on the road against the Heat in the opening game of this two-game set. The Raptors fell to 1-2 on the season and entered Sunday two games behind the Celtics for the top spot in the division. In Saturday’s game, Toronto trailed most of the way as they were down five after the opening quarter, by 21 at the half and by 24 three minutes into the second half before rallying to make a game of it. The Raptors cut the deficit to nine after three quarters but couldn’t get closer than three down the stretch, with that coming in the final minute. Toronto shot 42.5% from the field, including 14 of 39 from beyond the arc, and lost the rebounding battle 44-37 in the contest. Pascal Siakam (eight rebounds, nine assists) and Gary Trent Jr. each finished with 23 points to lead the way in the loss.
On the season, Toron to stands 26th in scoring offense as they put up an average of 107.3 points per game this season. The Raptors are tied for 27th in rebounding with 39.7 boards a night while they are 21st by dishing out an average of 22.7 assists a night. Toronto stands 7th in scoring defense as they allow an average of 108.7 points a night. OG Anunoby is fourth on the team with an average of 13.7 points plus seven rebounds per game. Scottie Barnes (14.3 points, four rebounds), Fred VanVleet (13.3 points, eight assists), Gary Trent Jr. (18.7 points) and Precious Achiuwa (10.7 points, 7.3 rebounds) are solid offensive options this season. Pascal Siakam contributes a team-leading 27.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and seven assists per contest this season. Christian Koloko, Thaddeus Young, Malachi Flynn, Juancho Hernangomez and Dalano Banton are all looked at to help Nick Nurse’s squad. The Raptors are tied for 21st in the league in field goal perce ntage as they shoot 44.4% from the floor as a team. Toronto stands 16th by knocking down 12.7 three-pointers a night while they are tied for 8th in three-point field goal percentage as they sink 39.2% of their attempts on the season. Chris Boucher (hamstring) and Otto Porter Jr. (hamstring) have yet to suit up this season so keep an eye out for potential return dates for them.
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