The Raptors finally made their big move and are now down a star player heading into tonight’s matchup against the Heat.
Will they? Won’t they? If they do, when will it be? If they don’t, what the hell is the plan? This preamble of inane questions was referring to, what felt like the inevitable deal of sending beloved Raptor Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers — a move that was completed earlier this afternoon. With no Siakam, Toronto finds themselves even more shorthanded up front than they were before the deal. The remaining Raptors will now have to scrap it out with the ever-annoying Miami Heat and their merry band of culture adapters.
A deal of this magnitude, surrounding a player this ingrained in Pascal Siakam will impact tonight’s game against the Heat. Chemistry, uncertainty and general ~ vibes ~ stand to be somewhat off, and for the Miami Heat, they couldn’t be happier! The Heat thrive on their culture withstanding all external and internal pressures to produce a carbon copy effort regardless of personnel. Score one for the bad guys.
What Miami could be happier about is their injury report. After just getting superstar Jimmy Butler back into the fold, the Heat head into their matchup against the Raptors with a bit of a laundry list of walking wounded. Jaime Jacquez Jr. and Kevin Love remain out, while Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin are available, though banged up. Unfortunately — Siakam news aside — Toronto is also dealing with a bit of the injury bug as well, as lynchpin centre Jakob Poeltl remains out with Gary Trent Jr. and Gradey Dick questionable.
Injuries notwithstanding, this will, as it always is, be a dogfight. Miami doesn’t let opposing teams catch their breath and the Raptors just put up one of their worst shooting games from behind the three point line in quite some time, going 4-32 against the heavily favoured Boston Celtics. This, ultimately, is the story of this Toronto Raptors team. There is little to no margin for error on a roster that hasn’t gelled — while playing much better since the trade — and is due for a dash more uncertainty to come. Can they find a way to eek out a win against the disciplined Miami Heat? Tune in and find out!
How to Watch
7:30pm ET on Sportsnet
Starting Lineups:
Toronto: Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Pascal Siakam, Jontay Porter
Miami: Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, Bam Adebayo
Injuries:
Toronto: Gradey Dick (thumb — questionable), Christian Koloko (respiratory — out), Jakob Poeltl, (ankle — out), Otto Porter Jr. (knee — out), Gary Trent Jr. (illness — questionable)
Miami: Jaime Jaquez Jr. (groin — out), Kevin Love (knee — out)