8:00 PM EST, TNT – Line: Toronto -4.5, Over/Under: 188.5
Though it may sound like hyperbole to describe this Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors as close, it completely appropriate for after four games it would be hard to imagine these two combatants sharing a smaller proximity. With a quartet of contests in the books, only five points separate these teams, as three of their four meetings have been decided in Overtime, including Miami’s 94-87 victory on Monday Night. In many ways that particular thriller served as a microcosm of a series that has oftentimes been difficult to watch, marred by poor shooting and a bevvy of injuries. However, this is the Playoffs, where the games typically get ugly as the longer a series goes on, and at this point that is precisely where the Heat (48-34, 1st in Southeast Division) and Raptors find themselves. And with that said, this is where the stars shine the brightest, which proved to be the difference as Eric Spoelstra’s charges shook off consecutive defeats thanks to the heroics of Dwyane Wade. Trailing by nine points late in the Fourth Quarter, Wade engineered a miraculous Miami comeback, sending the affair into an extra period, in which his team outscored the visitors 11-4. Throughout the night, it appeared that the 34-year old had found the Fountain of Youth, scoring thirty points on 13-of-24 shooting (54.2%), along with four rebounds, a pair of assists and a pair of steals. At one point, the twelve-time All-Star scored five consecutive points for Miami to bring them within a deuce from tying the game with under two minutes left to play. Through the series thus far, he has torched Toronto, averaging 27.3 points on 49.4% shooting from the field, including a timely 6-of-10 from downtown (60.0%), along with 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals. Furthermore, he’s made a good bit of history to boot, climbing the rungs of the all-time postseason scoring ladder, passing Magic Johnson for thirteenth on the list. And it’s a good thing he came to play, because for forty-eight minutes, the outlook was rather bleak for the Heat. The denizens of American Airlines Arena were absolutely dreadful from beyond the arc, becoming the first team in postseason history to go 1-of-15 from beyond the arc (6.7%) yet taste victory. However, what they did manage to do was relentlessly attack the basket. With Raptors’ big man Jonas Valanciunas out nursing a sprained ankle, it was clearly open season in the paint, as Spoelstra employed a very specific game plan centered on exposing said void. And throughout the night, the visiting side struggled to ward them off; the hosts owned a decisive 54-38 advantage in the painted area, with the likes of Goran Dragic and Joe Johnson scoring all but one of their ten field goals in the paint. Sooner or later though, Spoelstra and his Staff must devise a way to generate some more ball movement, which would go a long way towards inciting some more efficient offensive play. For example, Miami had registered a solid eleven assists through the first 15:24 of play, but over the next 18:26 failed at log a single helper. Or they could just keep putting the ball in the hands of Wade, because that seems to be working…
Meanwhile, it’s becoming a bit of broken record with the Raptors (56-26, 1st in Atlantic Division), who just can’t seem to get their offense going consistently to close out games. While Miami has led in the Fourth Quarter of all four of these contests, Toronto has nonetheless remained in striking distance on every occasion, yet the simple, undeniable difference here is the fact that while their opponent’s stars have shined like the brightest supernova, Dwayne Casey’s best have resembled cattle in the way of a tornado. It’s nigh impossible to win in the Playoffs when your stars don’t play well, and for the second consecutive postseason, the tandem of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are collectively laying an egg. The former’s struggles have been well-documented, particularly after getting fluid drained from his shooting elbow shortly before the conclusion of the campaign. The All-Star Point Guard actually received a number of Second and Third Place votes for MVP this season, which should provide an indication as to how good he can be. But through eleven outings in the Playoffs, one would never know; shooting a miserable 31.6% in the opening round against the Pacers was a major reason that they needed to close out the No. Seven Seed at Air Canada Centre in Game Seven, and through four games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the ninth-year veteran has managed to shoot a marginally better 35.4% from the field, his thirty-three points in Game Three be damned. Instead of building momentum, Lowry took several steps back fouling out late (on an offensive foul, no less) in the Fourth Quarter after scoring just ten points on a terrible 2-of-11 shooting from the floor (18.2%). And with his departure, the keys to the offense were left in the hands of DeRozan who has hardly made a case for himself as a Max Contract player in lieu of Free Agency this Summer. After establishing a wealth of career-highs this season, including scoring (23.5), three-point field goal percentage (33.8%), free-throws (555), and assists (4.0), the 26-year old has gone ridiculously cold, in a Winter is Coming kind of way that even the writers of Game of Thrones would find absurd. Against the Heat, DeRozan is averaging 17.5 points on 35.0% shooting from the field, along with 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steal. Making things worse is the fact that he hasn’t even attempted a three-pointer; all of this kid’s attempts are coming within the arc, which is very troublesome considering that Miami has been playing without the NBA’s leading shot-blocker Hassan Whiteside for over six quarters now. Furthermore, Lowry and DeRozan have shot a combined 33.1% overall, the worst field goal percentage for a starting backcourt in the Playoffs over the past twenty years. So yeah, they’ve bee pretty !@#$%^ bad. As a team, Toronto shot just 39.0% from the floor, including 6-of-20 from beyond the arc (30.0%), while mustering a meager twelve assists over fifty-three minutes of action. The lone good sign though has been the fact that the supporting cast has proven willing and capable of making plays, as the likes of DeMarre Carroll (13 points), Corey Joseph (14 points), Terrence Ross (13 points), and Bismack Biyombo (14 points) all played well throughout, with Joseph nearly saving them from Overtime as regulation expired. Usually it’s the supporting cast that has rise to the occasion and support the stars, but in this case, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan need to put on an Ice Cube record and Check Themselves.
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