NBA Knowledge
Miami-Toronto
Toronto tied game dramatically at end of regulation, then lost in OT as Dragic had 26 points for Heat, which was -9 in 12:00 he was off floor. Miami lost four of last six games with Toronto, losing three of last four games in Canada, losing by 8ot-20-10 points. Home side won seven of last ten series games. Heat lost three of last five road games; five of their last six games stayed under total, as have seven of last nine Raptor tilts. Toronto won three of last four home games. Toronto was -16 in 12:00 without Valanciunas on floor, +10 when he was playingr.
Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 26-18, Over: 13-31
Second round: Favorites: 5-2, over: 4-3
Armadillosports.com
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors
NBA oddsmakers have made Toronto Raptors a 4.5 point home favorite for game-two. Tough sell going with Toronto. Raptors have a 3-7 against the spread skid versus Heat. Additionally, Raptors are a money burning 4-14-1 against the betting line in post season which includes 2-7-1 ATS off a loss overall, 1-5-1 ATS as home chalk off a defeat the previous effort.
Thursday's NBA Playoffs Betting Preview
By Covers.com
Once again there is only one game on the NBA Playoff schedule and it's Game 2 between the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors. We break down all the action so you can cap the game like a pro.
Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors (-4.5, 188)
The Toronto Raptors have been waiting for their All-Star backcourt to step up in the postseason, and aside from one moment in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, they are still waiting. The Raptors will try to get more out of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and even the series when they host the Miami Heat in Game 2 on Thursday.
DeRozan shot 31.9 percent from the floor in a seven-game victory over the Indiana Pacers in the first round and went 9-of-22 from the floor on Tuesday while Lowry has been even worse, shooting 31.6 percent against the Pacers and slumping to 3-of-13 in Game 1 against the Heat. "I'm trying to get my touch back. I don't know where it's at," Lowry told reporters. "It's kind of mind-boggling right now, and it's frustrating, but I'm not going to shy away from the criticism or anything. I’m going to continue to be aggressive and take shots.” The Miami backcourt carried the team through the final two games of its first-round series against the Charlotte Hornets and stepped up again against Toronto with a combined 50 points from Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade. Wade, who picked up his 100th career playoff victory with the 102-96 overtime triumph, scored seven of his 24 points in the extra period and stole the ball from DeRozan with four seconds left to seal the win.
LINE HISTORY: The Raptors opened as 4.5-point favorites for Game 2 after dropping the opener Tuesday night. The total opened at 188.5 and came down a point to 187.5 by Wednesday evening. Check out the complete line history here.
ABOUT THE HEAT (53-37, 48-41-1 ATS, 37-52-1 O/U): Miami squandered a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before regrouping for overtime and credited injured forward Chris Bosh for keeping the team focused at the start of the extra period. "(Bosh) was huge in that timeout," Dragic told reporters. "When (Lowry) hit that shot, most other teams would think it's over. We didn't. We kind of (flipped) the switch and tried to make something positive from that. (Bosh) said, 'OK, it's our first game. We're playing in a hostile environment. We still have five minutes to go, and we're in a good position.’” Bosh is reportedly in a dispute with the Heat over his medical condition, with the team exercising caution and keeping him off the floor against his wishes.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (60-30, 47-43 ATS, 44-45-1 O/U): Lowry went from the high of sending the game into overtime with a halfcourt buzzer-beater to missing his only shot in overtime as Toronto fell. “I have but not at this time, so that's what's frustrating,” Lowry told reporters when asked if he has been in shooting slumps like this before. “In the playoffs, all eyes are on you. It sucks to be playing this bad with all eyes on me. I know I'm better than this, so I have to pick this (stuff) up.” Lowry has not shot better than 38.1 percent in any of his eight games this postseason and stayed in the gym after finishing up with his media responsibilities on Tuesday to shoot jumpers.
TRENDS:
* Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Raptors are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
* Under is 6-1 in Heat last 7 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Over is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
* Heat are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Toronto.
Raptors-Heat Game 2 Essentials
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Miami at Toronto (-4.5/188)
The Heat didn’t go up 2-0 thanks to their 102-96 overtime win on Tuesday night in Toronto. It just felt that way.
After an ugly feeling-out period of physical play and poor shooting in a first half that ended with the Raptors up 43-41, Miami (53-37 SU, 48-41-1 ATS) took control of its Eastern Conference semifinal opener with defense and clutch shooting from guards Goran Dragic and Dwayne Wade, taking an 87-81 inside 30 seconds before Kyle Lowry clanked another 3-pointer and the process of trying to run out the clock began. Luol Deng’s misadventures in inbounding would ultimately complicate matters, leading to Lowry’s halfcourt buzzer-beater to send the game into overtime.
It was equal parts miraculous, fluky and unjust. The Raptors (60-30 SU, 47-43 ATS) had no business tying up a game they had surrendered in the fourth quarter at home. Lowry shot 0-for-6 from beyond the arc if you take his answered prayer out of the equation, finishing 3-for-13 and failing to get to the free-throw line in scoring just 7 points. Under bettors ended up seeing their wise investment go up in smoke since the extra five minutes were enough to help surpass the posted total of 192. Miami failed to foul when it had a chance to on the final possession, playing with fire by not having Hassan Whiteside intentionally miss a second free-throw that would’ve put Toronto in a scramble situation.
Despite their ineptitude in closing out matters in regulation, the Heat shook off the blow by scoring the first eight points of OT, holding the Raptors scoreless for the first 3:46 of the extra session. They held on, barely, when Wade stripped DeMar DeRozan to prevent another potential game-tying look, wrapping up a night where the home team’s All-Star backcourt was outscored 50-29 by their counterparts.
Hours after the 53rd and final minute expired, Lowry was still out on the Air Canada Centre floor shooting, hoping to break through and finally snap out of a brutal slump that extends back to April 7, where he closed out the regular season by shooting 15-for-43 (34.9). He shot 31-for-98 (31.6) in the Pacers series, never once hitting even 40 percent of his attempts, and tied a playoff-low with his 23 percent clip in Game 1, matching how poorly he performed in the series opener against Indiana.
That last part should be disconcerting to Toronto. Lowry never could really pick up his level of play as an inferior Indiana team took the series to a seventh game. Even in a clinching game where the Raps were at their best, it was backup Cory Joseph who was most effective running the team next to DeRozan. Lowry remains shook, and if he fails to hit his first attempt in Game 2, will carry the burden of his recent failures into every shot. Confidence seems to have drained out of him.
Making matters worse, Miami’s Goran Dragic looks quite comfortable being out there matched up with a former teammate whose job he once took in Houston. Physically, the wiry Heat point guard has advantages against the smaller, stockier Lowry and seems to know his game well. After playing exceptionally in scoring 25 points in Game 7 against Charlotte, Dragic came into this series brimming with confidence and combined with Wade to 20-for-41 from the field, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Wade made huge shots down the stretch and had a huge impact defensively, blocking a pair of shots late and reading passing lanes expertly, a product of watching tape like a savvy veteran and adjusting accordingly.
The Heat won their first game in Toronto since November of 2013. It was their first win over the Raptors since a 20-point victory on Nov. 8. DeRozan had led his team to wins in the last three regular-season meetings, a 108-94 win in Miami in December, a 101-81 win in Toronto on Jan. 22 and a 112-104 home OT win in March. He averaged 29.3 points over his team’s four regular-season games, shooting nearly 49 percent from the field. DeRozan scored just 22 points on 9-for-22 shooting in Game 1 as Miami did a nice job of rotating defenders on him and keeping him from truly getting rolling. He scored 30 points on 32 shots in the deciding game against Indiana and three wins over the Heat in the regular season, DeRozan averaged 33.7 points in Toronto’s three victories over the Heat, so even though everyone is looking for Lowry to rebound, the Raps’ potential resurgence starts with him.
The other key point of contention comes in the paint, where Jonas Valanciunas and Hassan Whiteside really went at one another and set the tone for a physical series early. Toronto’s center scored a team-best 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, staying out of foul trouble and playing 41 minutes. Whiteside survived a nasty-looking potential knee injury, went to the locker room and returned to end up playing 39 minutes, scoring just nine points but grabbing 17 boards and serving as a deterrent around the paint. Keeping their starting centers on the floor is a huge key for both teams. Miami won the rebounding battle 62-47 and had an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass. The Heat, who often struggle from the perimeter, shot 8-for-11 from 3-point range, while Toronto shot 5-for-21.
Chris Bosh, sidelined since Feb. 9 due to complications with blood clots, was ruled out for the remainder of the season on Wednesday after rumblings that he badly wanted to return. With him officially done, Miami must lean on Amar'e Stoudemire, Udonis Haslem and Josh McRoberts to plug the middle when Whiteside is on the bench. Toronto comes into Game 2 reporting no injuries.
The Raptors owned the second-best home record in the Eastern Conference at 32-9 in the regular season, but are just 3-2 at the Air Canada Center in the postseason, covering the spread only once. They’re 1-6 ATS in their last seven home playoff games. Seven of the Raptors last nine games have gone under the posted total. The ‘under’ had prevailed in five consecutive Heat games prior to Game 1’s OT result.
Heat look for 2-0 lead
By Sportsbook.ag
MIAMI HEAT (53-37) at TORONTO RAPTORS (60-30)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Toronto -4.5, Total: 188.0
The Heat will be looking to head back to Miami with a 2-0 series lead by defeating the Raptors in Game 2 in Toronto on Thursday.
The first game of this series was a crazy one, as the Raptors sent the game to overtime on a half-court shot to tie the game as time expired. Toronto was down three at the time, but the team still ended up falling 102-96 as a 3.5-point home favorite. Where the Raptors really got killed was on the glass, as they were outrebounded 62-47 in the game. They’ll need to do a better job of competing for loose balls on Thursday.
One trend favoring Miami coming into this game is that Toronto is 4-14 ATS in all playoff games over the past three seasons. The Raptors are, however, an impressive 40-25 ATS after having lost two of their past three games over the past three seasons.
PF Chris Bosh (Blood Clot) is officially out for the remainder of the year for Miami. He is likely to be the only inactive player for either team in this game.
The Heat are coming off of a huge Game 1 victory and can now really make a statement by winning Game 2 in Toronto on Thursday. SG Dwyane Wade (19.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.1 BPG in playoffs) had it going in Game 1, finishing with 24 points, six boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks in 37 minutes of action. He was very aggressive and the Heat need him to be the rest of this series. It’s also big that he is shooting the ball well. His jumper has abandoned him at times this season, but he’s been hot lately and the Heat are a much better team when he is knocking down outside shots.
C Hassan Whiteside (12.6 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 3.1 BPG in playoffs) was a huge reason the Heat won the battle on the glass in Game 1. Whiteside had nine points and 17 boards in the game and will need to continue to dominate the paint on both ends of the floor. His matchup with Jonas Valanciunas is big in this series and if he can win it then the Heat will be in great shape.
Perhaps the best thing Miami has going on is that PG Goran Dragic (15.6 PPG in playoffs) has taken his game to a new level recently. Over the past two games, Dragic is averaging 25.5 PPG and has done so on 21-for-37 shooting from the floor. He is being aggressive going to the basket and will need to keep it up moving forward.
The Raptors are coming off of a rough Game 1 performance and one guy that needs to be a lot better is PG Kyle Lowry (13.0 PPG, 7.4 APG, 1.5 SPG in playoffs). Lowry had just seven points on 3-for-13 shooting from the floor on Tuesday and he also was torched by Dragic on the defensive end. The Raptors need Lowry to start playing like an All-Star again and he knows the importance of his game as well. Lowry stayed at the arena to work on his shot after losing Game 1. He’ll be focused and locked in coming into Thursday’s game.
SG DeMar DeRozan (18.4 PPG, 1.5 SPG) is also going to need to be more efficient for this Toronto team moving forward. He had 22 points in Game 1, but he is still shooting just 33.1% from the floor in the postseason. DeRozan is extremely athletic and is a good finisher around the rim, so he’d be wise to attack the basket more often moving forward.
C Jonas Valanciunas (14.9 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 1.6 BPG in playoffs) was the Raptors’ best player in Game 1. He had 24 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the game and was really giving Hassan Whiteside a lot of trouble on both ends of the floor. Toronto should really do its best to get him the rock early and often in Game 2.