DeMar has a tough task tonight..
This is the type of game I would’ve loved to see Andrea Bargnani play in – going up against his former all-star teammate in his new-found power forward position.
It would’ve been a true test of his skills this season; even though he did average 29.3 points against Miami last season.
With Bargnani out, the Raptors got hammered against Atlanta and Boston; but bounced-back against the woeful Washington Wizards.
“Just the overall focus I thought was good,” coach Dwane Casey said. ”They came out like a team that was embarrassed by what happened against Atlanta and Boston.”
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer though, but the Raptors will have to have the game of their lives in order not to get embarrassed in today’s matinee.
The Heat (17-6), are flying. Despite blowing an 18-point lead in Milwaukee on Wednesday; Miami re-grouped behind a closed-door meeting, and blew out the 76ers by 20 points on Friday night.
Miami is 10-2 at home this season, and they swept the Raptors last season.
James Johnson is undoubtedly going to have a tough time containing Lebron James; while on the other wing, DeRozan is going to have the daunting task of guarding Dwyane Wade. D-Wade has been averaging 32.1 points in his last eight games against the Raps.
But back to Lebron vs. JJ – man, that’s not going to be easy. LBJ has averaged 28 points against the Raptors over the course of his career, while racking up a triple-double three times against us.
From Doug Smith’s column in The Star:
James, who has been acting as the Heat’s point guard in some late-game situations, has been off-the-charts good. He has had at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25 straight games (the only other NBA player in history to do that was the legendary Oscar Robertson).
James’s all-around game may never have been better. He is operating as a point guard and a post-up threat. He isn’t forcing the issue, sharing the scoring load with his teammates (Miami had six players in double figures in Friday’s win), but he’s also one of the most dangerous individual players in the game.
Equally as important as the wing match-ups is the Amir Johnson – Chris Bosh battle. I’ve always been intrigued when these two encounter one another. Amir needs to crash the boards, and make CB work on both ends of the floor.
May God be with us.
Tip off is at 1 pm Eastern.
The Orlando Magic will look to bucone back from a poor effort on Sunday night in a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats when they take on the San Antonio Spurs on See all stories on this topic