Tonight is the first of back to back games in Miami to end the season.
We are reaching the end of what can only be described as a wild Toronto Raptors season, and the last stop? Miami.
The Raptors are finishing out their season with two games against the Heat, both in Miami. Tonight’s penultimate match means a lot more to the Raptors than it does to the Heat, but not for the reasons you may be thinking. It’s actually better for Toronto to LOSE tonight — drafts odds wise, that is.
If Toronto loses tonight, they will lock in the 6th best odds in the NBA draft, right where they want to be. Toronto will only keep their lottery pick if they get a top six pick, so the better their odds, the better chance they have.
Miami on the other hand is locked into the play-in tournament. It’s the same situation they found themselves in last year, when they made it into the playoffs through the play-in and then somehow made it all the way to the NBA Finals.
With the competition in the East this year, it doesn’t seem like Miami has as good of a chance to repeat that cinderella run, but they will surely try.
As for injuries, the same Toronto crew of Barnes, Poeltl, Carton, Porter, and Boucher are OUT, with Gary Trent Jr. and Bruce Brown both questionable for tonight.
For Miami, they will be missing Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson.
Miami vs Toronto games are usually packed with suspense, energy, and passion (on the court and from fans), but we will have to see if the current state of these two teams will effect how close and competitive this game ends up being.
Watch at 8:00pm on TSN!