The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors are going the distance once again. Both teams emerged victorious in their respective first-round series in seven games, but only one team can book a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals, which will be on the line in Game 7 on Sunday. Can home-court advantage carry the Raptors to a historic win or will Dwyane Wade will the Heat to victory?
Read on below for our comprehensive preview of this seventh and decisive game between the Raps and Heat. Also, don’t forget to check out our preview of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors here.
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Heat vs. Raptors Game Seven Preview
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
When: Sunday, May 15, 2016, 3:30 PM ET
Line: Miami Heat (+4.5) vs. Toronto Raptors (-4.5); total:189.0 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ABC
Betting on the Miami Heat
There’s something about the Miami Heat and Game 7s. The Heat have won their last four Game 7s, the most recent one, of course, coming just one round ago against the Charlotte Hornets. They had the benefit of home-court advantage in that game, though, which they won’t have this time around.
If you need to trust anyone on the two teams to come up huge in a Game 7, it’s D-Wade himself. But even if he doesn’t quite go all 2006 Flash on Toronto, the Heat’s deeper supporting cast looks more capable of backing up its star, just like it did in Game 6. Goran Dragic had a career night with 30 points. Joe Johnson and Justise Winslow combined for 25 points, while the two Joshes (McRoberts and Richardson) added 19 off the bench.
The Heat are just 2-4 on the road in this year’s playoffs, but are 2-1 ATS in three trips to Toronto. The Heat have more than enough firepower to make it another close contest in what should be a tense Game 7.
Betting on the Toronto Raptors
Don’t look now, but that’s two straight games that Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have carried the Raptors offense just like they did during the regular season. After combining for 59 points in their 99-91 win in Game 5 at home, they put up another 59 points in Game 6.
Unfortunately for them, their defense wasn’t good enough to offset the fact that no other Raptor scored in double-figures.
As good as Bismack Biyombo has been, the Raptors are sorely missing Jonas Valanciunas’ ability to generate offense inside. DeMarre Carroll (11 points on 3-of-11 shooting in his last two games) is banged up and struggling, while Terrence Ross remains his maddeningly inconsistent self.
Maybe the energy of the Air Canada Centre can spark some of the Raps’ supporting players to life. It’s certainly done wonders for them in recent home games. Toronto has gone 5-1 at home in the playoffs since losing its first game to Indiana. However, the Raps are just 2-5 ATS at home, with three of those straight-up home wins coming by just six points or fewer.
If either Lowry or DeRozan doesn’t have it on the night – which has been prone to happen a fair bit in these playoffs – who steps up to carry the offensive load? Rookie Norman Powell came up with 13 big points in the Raptors’ Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers in the previous round, but a repeat performance would be unlikely at best.
Writer’s Prediction
Not only do the Heat (+4.5) cover, but Wade carries them to a Game 7 win on the road.
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