Miami Heat is on the edge of making the playoffs as they are only half a game behind the eighth seed in the East. Their next game is against the Toronto Raptors, and if they win it, they could move up two spots in the conference and finally enter playoff picture. At the moment, five teams in the East are fighting for two final playoff spots, and the Heat have an excellent opportunity to seize one of those spots this week.
Miami Heat have a big advantage over Toronto Raptors
Even though the Raptors are one of the best teams in the East and they have won many more games than the Heat, it will be Miami that will have a big advantage in their upcoming game.
The Heat will come into the match after having three days of rest while the Raptors will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Furthermore, the Raptors will be playing without Kyle Lowry, who is their second-best player.
Miami Heat has won 11 of their last 12 games at home, and there is no doubt that their fans will once again provide a great atmosphere and help the team make a strong playoff push. On the other side, the Raptors are 4-6 in their last ten road games and are 17-16 on the road this season.
Beating Raptors will not be easy, but Miami can do it
Despite their big advantage over the Raptors, Miami Heat will not have it easy. The Raptors will still have DeMar DeRozan, who is the fifth-best scorer in the NBA this season, and they have a good squad around him that complements him well.
DeRozan could be a big problem for the Heat as he is unstoppable when he gets on fire, and Miami might not have a solution for him. Besides DeRozan, Raptors' center Jonas Valanciunas could be a threat, and the Heat will need to get their maximum effort from Hassan Whiteside and Willie Reed to stop the opposing big man.
Both teams will play hard and give their best to win the game as there are too many things at stake.
While Miami Heat is trying to climb back into the playoff picture, Toronto Raptors might lose their fourth seed if they keep losing games. At the moment, the Raptors are only two games ahead of the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, and losing their fourth seed means losing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Toronto and Miami have faced off only once this season, with the Raptors winning it 96 to 87. They will have three more games left to play against each, and many things will depend on the outcomes of those games.
