Gameday: Raptors @ Heat, April 14

Well, Raptors fans… There’s only one more game left.

While some fans might be thanking the man above that this dreadful season is coming to an end, I tend to lean on the sadder side of things knowing that there will not be any form of Toronto basketball until the summer.

Alas, this will be the second straight game these two Eastern Conference foes will duel, with the last coming on Friday when Miami drained 17 shots from downtown and handled Toronto by 22 points 125-103.

All 30 teams will be in action on the final regular season game day of the year, meaning this game will go at an extra early tip-off at 1:00 pm ET along with six other games.

Raptors Outlook: 25-56 | 12th in Eastern Conference

Raptors Previous Results

@ Miami L 125-103

@ Brooklyn L 106-102

vs Indiana L 140-123

vs Washington W 130-122

@ Milwaukee W 117-111

This game doesn’t mean much for Toronto.

The Raptors are locked into the sixth-worst record in the association. They’ll have a 45.8 percent chance of keeping their pick, a 37.2 percent chance of moving into the top four, and a nine percent shot at landing the always coveted No.1 overall selection. If it falls out of the top six which has a 54.2% chance of doing so, the pick will go to the San Antonio Spurs, via the Jakob Poeltl trade.

If you were wondering how bad this Raptors season has been, it’s been among the bottom five record-wise in history. The 2023-2024 season is locked into being the fifth-worst all-time, with the rest of the top five as follows:

4. 2002-2003 (24-58)

3. 2010-2011 (22-60)

2. 1995-1996 (21-61)

1. 1997-9918 (16-66)

Heat Outlook: 45-36 | 8th in Eastern Conference

Heat Previous Results

vs Toronto W 125-103

vs Dallas L 111-92

@ Atlanta W 117-111

@ Indiana L 117-115

@ Houston W 119-104

The Heat are the opposite of the Raptors in the fact that this game means quite a bit seeding-wise for Miami. The Heat can skip the play-in with a win, a Bucks win against the Magic, and one of these combos: Pacers win and Sixers loss, Pacers loss and Sixers win, and a Pacers loss and Sixers loss.

It will be interesting to see if it will be another score-by-committee approach for the Heat, as last game Miami had six different scorers in double figures, with Nikola Jovic leading the way with 22 points, five rebounds, and two assists.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 1:00 p.m. ET

Television: Sportsnet One

Radio: Sportsnet 590 The Fan