Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Reaction: Heat 100, Raptors 85

The Heat won three out of four quarters to take this one, but the Raptors were always in it until the fourth.

Miami Heat100Final
Recap | Box Score
85Toronto Raptors
Amir Johnson, PF 31 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 5 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | -6

This man cannot get into foul trouble, even if it’s Miami. He’s far too valuable, and the 4th foul that took him out early in the second half was the turning point in the game.

Rudy Gay, SF 42 MIN | 11-23 FG | 6-7 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 29 PTS | -19

Somehow topped his performance against the Clippers, but couldn’t hold the fort in the 3rd quarter as Miami took advantage of Raptor foul trouble. He’s clearly a very talented player as long as he attacks the rim consistently. His defense against Lebron was eye-opening. Makes one wonder whether he was dogging it in Memphis.

Aaron Gray, C 23 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-4 FT | 12 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | -9

Continues to wipe the glass clean, but not much else. Still a better option then Valunciunas right now, but defensively could not handle the quickness of the Miami attack. Surprise.

Kyle Lowry, PG 31 MIN | 3-7 FG | 3-4 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 10 PTS | -16

Can’t blame him for that 4th foul against Wade, but when John Lucas is your back-up, you just don’t take yourself out of the game like that. Needed to be more aggressive in the 4th when he got back. It’s possible that he’s deferring more to get Rudy Gay involved in the offence, but there has to be more balance to his game.

DeMar DeRozan, SG 44 MIN | 6-17 FG | 14-14 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 27 PTS | -21

Great offensive game marred by some really questionable shot selection late in the game. Isn’t this why we got Rudy Gay, so that we don’t have to see DeMar take prayers from dreaded “deep two” territory?

Jonas Valanciunas, C 5 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -3

Sorry, he may be the one of the Raptor darlings but he was not ready for this game, or specifically one Chris Andersen, who gave Miami some key second-chance opportunities in the second half.

John Lucas, PG 17 MIN | 1-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +1

The Raptors went from having the best back-up in the league to perhaps the worst. It’s hard to name someone who is worse.

Alan Anderson, SG 33 MIN | 1-7 FG | 2-3 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 4 PTS | -1

Over matched by a Miami squad that negates his quickness. He did pull back on the shot attempts, but that’s what he does. The Raptors lost a great 3pt shooter in Calderon so his shooting is probably valued by Casey.

Terrence Ross, SG 14 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | -1

Coach Casey drew up a play for a Ross 3, and it was quite clear that he was covered when he got the ball, but Terrence felt he needed to take the shot anyway. That’s not sound judgement.

Dwane Casey

This team lost a lot of depth. They have a better starting 5, and when they run into a situation like they did early in the second half with foul trouble, Jack was right. They had to take the risk and run with their horses. The “book” is a guide, not a manual. Sometimes coaches need to improvise and coach didn’t do that today. His job became much easier with the trade, so the mistakes will be judged more harshly.

Three Things We Saw

  1. As mentioned above, Rudy Gay had to be dogging it just a tad in Memphis. The ease with which he scored against one of the best defensive teams in the league tells you that he has no business shooting around 40% like he did with his former team this year.
  2. Another note about Gay. Yes this trade was universally panned by the media, but especially by the “advanced stat” community, which some of us at RR also followers of. It will be an interesting case study to see if Gay actually makes this team better, would leave more than a few heads scratching, to be sure.
  3. Enjoy the Superbowl! Go Niners!