3 In the Key - Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. Heat

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Feb 3, 2008 12:00 AM EST in 3 in the Key

Wow.

Who knows, they could come back next year with a huge chip on their shoulder and try for perfection again, but as of now I no longer have to live with the fact that my brother’s favorite football team is the best team ever.

They choked. They underestimated, and best of all, they lost.

But what’s the real story from Superbowl 42? Play as a team and never underestimate your opponent. This applies to the Raps more than ever as they head into Monday nights affair with the Miami Heat.

The Heat have been absolutely brutal this year. Plagued by injuries, poor play and lack of a team identity Pat Riley is currently the captain of a ship that is sinking at a torrid pace. This Heat team is simply brutal to watch right now. Their offence is stagnant, their defense is porous and they are, even before the All-Star break, simply playing out the season.

My oh my how things have changed in South Beach. It was a mere two years ago that the Heat were NBA Champions and now they are looking ahead to the NBA Draft and starting anew. Of course this should come as no surprise to anyone. When the Heat dealt for Shaq they knew they were giving up a big chunk of their future in Butler and Odom. Shaq delivered on his promise to bring a championship to Florida and now, this team is paying the price.

How big a price? Shaq is on the books for a couple more years and Miami is the worst team in the NBA. Yup, dead last with only 9 wins.

The Raps however can’t sit back on their laurels and think this will be an easy win. If they do they run the risk of pulling a "Patriots". The outcome of the game is far from decided until the buzzer sounds and the Raps will have to play a solid game to ensure a W.

So what are the three things to look out for?

1. Perimeter Defence - The pressure lies on the wing defenders to garner this W. If guys like Wade and Ricky Davis have an easy time getting to the rim you run the risk of them heating up and stealing a victory. As a consequence, forcing this Heat to be a jump shooting team is essential. The Heat offence only manages 92 points per game and the Raps need to focus on keeping them below their season average.

2. Feed CB4 - The Heat simply have no answer for CB4. None. With Shaq out with a hip injury the job just got that much easier for the Raps franchise player. Look to Bosh to set the tone early and get to the hoop. Not only is Shaq nursing an injury but Mourning is also sidelined which really opens up the paint. The Raps need to make a concerted effort to get the ball to Chris and give him the opportunity to beat this Heat team down early.

3. Break the Zone - I have no doubt that at some point Riley is going to be forced to play zone. With no answer for Bosh I would expect to see some zone D. Again the pressure will lie on the Raptors wings. They are two ways to beat a zone, shoot over it or attack it. I would like to see the later and allow the former to come naturally during the course of the game. If the Raps automatically settle for Plan A, with no Plan B you are giving the Heat a chance.

The Raps need to keep Wade on the outside....

The Raps schedule is fairly light this week so they really need to come out and set the tone early. Nothing should be left in the tank and the Raps should walk away from this match-up with a W, but of course that’s why you play the game.

Before I sign off here just a couple more thoughts on the Giants win (I know it’s a Raptors blog). First, Bill Belichick is a sore loser. He didn’t even stay on the field for the last kneel down. All that winning you should take a loss like a man. Second, this might be one of my favorite quotes in a long time via Osi Umenyiora -

"18-1...trademark that."

Here’s to the Giants.

HOWLAND

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Comments

That was easily the best superbowl in years, thank god the Patriots didn't win, i wouldn't have been able to hear about there 19-0 season for the reason of my life. "18-1...trademark that." Awesome

by Chris on Feb 3, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

boo. I was rooting for the pats. wanted to see the perfect season and shut up the 72 dolphins in the process.

by raptorville on Feb 3, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

If the playoffs started tomorrow, I don't see the Raptors beating Cleveland in the first round. The Raptors just can't guard Lebron James and would get out rebounded. We would probably lose 4-2 in the series.

This means that we need to get hot in the month of Feb. when our schedule is easy. Hopefully if we real of a 10 game winning streak we can catch third place.

But, if we can't, then maybe we should fall down to 6th place and try and play Orlando.

But, right now we would not be able to beat Cleveland in a 7 game playoff series.

And please don't call me a Raptor hater. I'm not. I'm just looking at the reality of things. I love the Raptors.

Just that Lebron is one of the best players in the NBA who tore the hearts out of Detroit last year (A team we still have not beaten this season), and will probably do the same to our team this year.

I guess if you're an optimist you would say, Cleveland will overlook our team, play with a sense of cockiness and the Raptors will beat them silly because the Raptors have heart, passion and talent to do so like NY Giants in the Super Bowl XLII

by BargsBust on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

if u havent checked it out yet...go to NBA.com and check out Jamarios practice dunks...the first 2 are ok, but the last one..u can only see his foot...but he takes off from about 2 feet behind the free throw line...which is insane!!!!!! he'll get a 50 hands down for that dunk...i advise u to check it out

by big d on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

holy crap!!

by axl on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Must read link about TJ's return for all who haven't seen it yet:

http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Basketball/2008/02/04/4824729-sun.html

Has me pretty excited to see how this team plays post All-Star game...

by Franchise on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

I think I’m suffering from the winter blahs cause can’t get excited about beating up the NBA cellar dwellers just for the sake of getting a few points. If all goes according to script the Raps should fall between 3rd and 6th in the east which is acceptable.
What would get be revved would be to witness playoff caliber performances for the balance of season.

I want to see Parker, Moon and Delfino take the ball to the hoop more often.
I want to see a little more toughness from our bigs.
I want to see a consistent high level of play from Bargnani.
I want to see better in-game decisions from Mitchell.

Win or loss that would really get me excited. Is that too much to ask for?

Note- How Riley thought he could have gotten more out that championship team two years ago is mind blowing. I thought his plan all along was to blow it up. Who knew?

by OldSchool on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

I've been through a lot of european soccer and basketball finals (club and national teams), but wow this superbowl must rank in the top-5 of best sports events i've ever watched. Glad as hell I stayed up until 5am spanish time to watch all of it... but also a weird feeling that there's not a single person I know of here whom i can talk about the game. Well at least the NBA is getting some attention with the Gasol trade, on the other hand this means more lakers broadcasts and less raps from now on.

It'll be interesting to see how Mitchell handles the PG situation when TJ returns, it's easy to see that the outcome will have an impact on Jose's contract bidding.

by Sergi P on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Its the nba and anybody can beat anybody on any given night. The raps have a history of struggling against teams which boost a star wing player. We lost the 4th quarter and game to lebron same with kobe. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen going against Flash. Obviously the Heat are not as talented as the Cavs or Lakers however if the game stays relatively close D Wade can win a game in the 4th quarter by himself.

Dam you raps tv

by wtf on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

i want a 12 game winning streak.

by benjibopper on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

The star is reporting that TJ will be suiting up tonight.

by wtf on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Hey Franchise: Raps/CB4 gettin' some love in todays 'SI' re his Allstar video. see http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/chris_mannix/01/29/bosh0204/
[I was a C's fan before the Dinos birth, but I was amazed when "we' took the win in PP's house last Jan 23's game-wow]

by celticpride on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Thanks for the heads up WTF, just saw it too.

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/300260

All of a sudden I'm getting really excited about tonight's game, even if TJ only plays 2 minutes...

by Franchise on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

PS - Celticpride - solid link, thanks. I'll probably put it in tomorrow's recap as well and elaborate a bit on it.

Best case scenario tonight - Raps get up by 20 in the third and let TJ play a meaningless fourth to get his legs under him.

by Franchise on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

If tj plays you can just get me the defrib paddles and 20 CCs of epinephrine now because I'm going to be having a heart attack every time he goes into the paint. Please don't let him get hurt.

by axl on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Go for it TJ!! We're all behind you little buddy.

by observer on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Good start. Let's bury these guys early.

Welcome back TJ!

by the styling assassin on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

yep, we have a tj sighting. beautiful bounce pass assist to boot.

by benjibopper on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

*Lovely* assist on TJ's first possession. Way to go.

Raps blowing this one out. 66% from the field after three quarters!

by Costa on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Another sweet assist from TJ to Humphries makes it 100-66 and I'm switching to NOR-vs-UTA. WTG Raps, welcome back TJ!

by Costa on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

tj jam!

by benjibopper on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

So far, so good, baby. YES!!!

by axl on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Yeee Baby he is back...TJ is back, did you all see that dunk and those pases, it's like I just fell in love with the Raptors again, he is backkkk

by Marcia on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions

good to see tj back, and another solid performance from bargs. Him and bosh seem to be gelling. When bargs is on, we a scary team. Throw in a little tj and the second round should be reality

by adam on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions