The Toronto Raptors will complete their four-game road trip through Florida playing the Miami Heat in its third NBA Cup game.
However, the NBA Cup implication will not have much effect on the raptors. They have been Gikuyuoed out of proceeding to the tournament playoff.
As for Heat, it will be their last match in the group-stages.They had lost their initial two cup games to Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks and they will have to beat as many as possible Raptors and wait for the other team to lose games to stay alive in this competition.Raptors. They have already been eliminated from advancing to the tournament playoff.
For Heat, this will be their final group-stage contest. After dropping their first two cup games to the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, they will need to beat the Raptors as much as possible and get help else to to stay alive.
The Raptor are coming off of their best game against the Pelicans in a 119-93 shellacking. Barnes scored 17 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had seven assists. The story on the other hand was three-point shooting. Toronto attempted 52 threes and connected on only 21 of them.
In that aspect, undrafted sharpshooter Jamison Battle stood out, embracing the role of a corner specialist and making six threes on eight attempts, which en route, to scoring a nice round 24. The 23-year-old was very efficient and player his role perfectly by hitting shots off the catch and didn’t turn it over.
Ja’Kobe Walter is expected to earn his second career start for grade 3 after Gradey Dick was once again listed out with his calf injury. Walter delivered a steady performance producing 14 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assist in the match against New Orleans.
In addition to Dick, Immanuel Quickley (elbow), Bruce Brown knee) and Kelly Olynyk (back) will also miss this game.
Despite what the rankings may indicate, this makes them a difficult squad to compare to. They have forced their opponents to battle to the very end to win the games, and they have given some shocks to those who believe they have a free night ahead of them by visiting one of the lowest teams in the worst conference.
Seven of their 45 losses have been by five points or less. The younger players, particularly Gradey Dick, who is uncertain after missing the previous game, have seized charge and are demonstrating excellent improvement while they wait for more seasoned players, such as Bruce Brown or Kelly Olynyk, to recover from their injuries.
Even after a month of competition, it's still challenging to identify these After 16 games, HeatSpoelstra's squad is destined for another lackluster regular season in which the hope of a playoff comeback continues to obscure the team's glaring issues. The team has been meandering around without truly taking off. And it would undoubtedly find itself in a far more difficult situation if it weren't for the conference in which it plays being generally mediocre.
The Florida team has been playing a little better lately, winning five of their last eight games, but losses like those against Detroit or the Bucks sans Giannis and Middleton cast a shadow over any potential comeback. They still have to persuade, and that means winning in Toronto so they can maintain their place in the top six in the East.
