10 things from Raptors-Heat
Welcome to the 10 things recap by theScore features writer William Lou, which serves to highlight emerging trends from a Raptors perspective.
Thrilling: The Raptors approached this game against the Heat with a never-say-die attitude and stole it at the end. Toronto trailed by as many as 17 points before finding their rhythm in the third quarter and mounting the comeback for a nail-biting finish.
- Clutch: Kawhi Leonard delivered down the stretch. He drove for two free throws and drilled a mid-range jumper to give the Raptors the lead with under a minute left before Dwyane Wade connected on an improbable stepback three. On the next trip down, Leonard recognized the double team and dished it to Serge Ibaka, who swung it to a wide-open corner three for Danny Green that went down as the game-winner.
Delayed: Leonard tends to find his rhythm in the second half of games. He's noticeably more aggressive and shows a better understanding of where he can get his offense. Defenses swarm him at every opportunity and it takes some time for him to identify how he can leverage that attention into open shots for his teammates.
Weakness: Miami led for most of the night thanks to Hassan Whiteside's singular dominance against Ibaka. Whiteside was simply too strong for Ibaka to handle down low and the former made that point abundantly clear with a spinning poster jam over the latter early on. That assignment would normally belong to Jonas Valanciunas but he was courtside in a pink suit.
Solution: Nick Nurse eventually solved the Whiteside issue by resorting to a zone defense. The Heat didn't know how to attack without going to Whiteside in the middle so they settled for a smattering of bricked jumpers that the Raptors turned into transition points. Nurse used the same strategy to spark a comeback in the Pacers game.
Important: Pascal Siakam logged another immense shift as the small-ball center. Siakam won a vital defensive rebound against Whiteside late in the fourth and converted an and-one to tie the game on the ensuing play. Siakam's severely undersized playing the five but his hustle makes him a factor on every play.
Calm: Green showed his importance with yet another stellar outing. His steady shotmaking kept the Raptors within striking distance throughout the game and he produced both the game-winning three and the game-saving stop against Wade on the final possession. Green's the type of steady two-way vet vital to every title run.
Promising: Norman Powell put in yet another solid shift assuming the entirety of C.J. Miles' minutes. He found Green for a three in transition, faked out Wade's closeout in the corner before drilling the three, eluded Whiteside with a shot fake before leaning in for a short jumper, and found Delon Wright on a baseline cut with a timely bounce pass. Powell's emergence has been huge for the bench over the last three games.
Solid: The same can be said for OG Anunoby, who was quietly productive despite scoring just five points off the bench. He was a factor on the glass and played lockdown defense against Kelly Olynyk in the matchup of power forwards.
Adorable: Wright swapped jerseys with Wade at the end of the game. A few minutes earlier, Wright froze Wade with a fake to his right before switching back to his left for a scoop finish in mid-air. Wade was teammates with Delon's older brother, Dorell, for many years so their brotherly bond goes way back.