The Miami Heat welcome the Toronto Raptors to AmericanAirlines Arena. Action begins at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, Apr. 11 and can be seen on NBA TV, SN 360 and Sun.
The Heat are are hoping for a better outcome after their 89-78 loss to the Bulls on Thursday. Despite the loss, Hassan Whiteside earned his 20th double-double this season with 19 points and 16 rebounds. The Raptors, meanwhile, are coming off a 92-74 win against the Hornets on Wednesday. DeMar DeRozan was the game’s top scorer, accounting for 18 points on 6-for-16 shooting.
DeRozan has upped his play over the last five games for the Raptors, averaging 28.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 0.6 three-pointers.
Both teams have won a game in the season series. The Raptors had the upper hand in the most recent game, a 102-92 win. Kyle Lowry had a standout performance in the victory, putting up 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, seven steals, one block, and five three-pointers.
The odds for Miami and Toronto are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Heat have gone 35-44 Straight Up (SU) and 34-42-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 2-8 ATS.
As for their opponent, the Raptors have 46-32 SU and 36-41-1 ATS records. Against the Eastern Conference, Toronto is 30-18 SU and 23-25 ATS. The Raptors convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking second in the league at .787.
In their previous meeting this season, Toronto beat Miami, but the win was not enough to overtake Miami in the recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 1-9 SU over the last 10 meetings. With a 7-3 record, the Heat also have the advantage ATS. Miami held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time, while Toronto was never able to do so in their most recent 10 games.
Predictions: SU Winner – TOR, ATS Winner – TOR
Notes
The Toronto Raptors are among the highest-scoring squads, earning an average of 104.3 points per game (ranked fourth), while the Miami Heat are in the top half of NBA teams in points allowed with 97.2 (ranked seventh).
On average, Miami allows 97.7 points per home game. Toronto averages 105.7 points per away game, ranking the team third in scoring.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Miami Heat are a winning 29-18. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Toronto Raptors have a poor record of 10-17.
The Miami Heat have an abysmal 6-26 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Toronto Raptors are 36-15 when they hit triple digits.
The Raptors have a defensive rating of 104.8 (ranked 24th). The Heat rank 21st for their offensive rating of 101.1.
Toronto beats Miami in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Raptors average 96.5 possessions and 1.080 points per possession, while the Heat average 93.4 possessions with 1.011 points per possession.
The Toronto Raptors have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking eighth in the league with an EFF% of 50.9%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Miami Heat have a poor 10-26 record.
On average, the Toronto Raptors make 20.8 assists per game and the Miami Heat make 19.9. Toronto is ranked 22nd, while Miami is ranked 29th.
The Miami Heat average 4.5 blocks per game for a rank of 21st. The Toronto Raptors rank lower (23rd), earning 4.4 blocks each game.
The Miami Heat rank 29th in offensive rebounding, while the Toronto Raptors rank 27th in defensive rebounding.
Miami averages 7.9 steals per game. Toronto is 23-18 when allowing at least 7 steals.
