Heat vs. Raptors Preview
Toronto, ON (AP) – It hasn’t received the same hype as Miami’s first visit to Cleveland, but fans in Toronto have been eagerly awaiting the Heat’s first trip to Canada.
Former Raptor Chris Bosh will make his first appearance in Toronto on Wednesday night when Miami looks for its 10 win in 11 games.
According to NBA odds and oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Heat 9-point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Raptors. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 89% of more than 98 bets for this game have been placed on the Heat -9.
Bosh, the Raptors’ all-time leader in points (10,275), rebounds (4,776) and blocks (600) in seven seasons with Toronto (15-40), didn’t go on national TV to announce his free-agency plans like LeBron James, but his decision to leave the Raptors and join the Heat (40-15) also left Toronto fans smarting.
A couple weeks after joining James and Dwyane Wade in Miami, the six-time All-Star forward insulted a city by saying “Toronto is different,” and he didn’t want to go there.
Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo also took a shot at his former player saying Bosh was “checked out” late last season and chose not to play some of Toronto’s final games. He also said Bosh, James and Wade had all planned to play together years ago.
“The fans think he’s a traitor,” Toronto’s Sonny Weems said. “It would mean a lot to them if we can get this win, and it would mean a lot to our team.”
Bosh is prepared for the same kind of booing and heckling James received in his first game back in Cleveland, and has no regrets about how he left the Raptors.
“At no time did I feel I said anything degrading or bad or acted uncivilized,” Bosh said before Tuesday’s 110-103 win over Indiana. “I’m pretty happy with the way things went.”
Bosh’s new team got off to a rocky start this season, but Miami moved within percentage points of Boston atop the Eastern Conference with Tuesday’s victory, its ninth in 10 games.
Wade tied a franchise record for most points in a first half with 31, and finished with 41, while James scored 27 and Bosh added 27. The trio combined for 19 of Miami’s 28 points in the final quarter to help the Heat recover after squandering a 24-point lead.
Wade also led the way in Miami’s first game against the Raptors on Nov. 13, scoring 31 points in a 109-100 win.
Bosh didn’t have much success in his first game against his former team, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds. He missed the second meeting, a 120-103 victory Jan. 22 because of a sprained left ankle, and Wade also sat out with a migraine.
James carried the Heat in that one, finishing with 38 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Miller also stepped up with a season-high 32 points. Miller, though, will not play in this game after taking an elbow to the head Tuesday.
While the Heat are looking like a title contender, the Raptors are two losses away from matching last season’s total.
Although Toronto hasn’t had much to celebrate lately, it defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 98-93 on Sunday, just its second victory in 18 games. Andrea Bargnani, who has totaled 50 points in two games against Miami this year, scored 27, while Ed Davis added 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
Coach Jay Triano said his team played with a bit more energy because none of his players wanted to be dunked on by Blake Griffin.
“I wish we could play a big game every night,” DeMar DeRozan said. “It seems like every time we play a team with a superstar and a lot of hype around it, we definitely step up.”
That shouldn’t be a problem with the Heat coming to town.
Want More From TheSpread.com? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook or Subscribe to Our News Feeds!