- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat are set to play the fourth game of their semi-final series, which has so far provided us with three nail-bitting battles. Join The Roar for live scores from 10am (AEST).
The Heat won Game 1 in the biggest win of the three games, 102-96.
While neither teams really seemed to find their rhythm, the Heat pulled away during the overtime period.
While many Toronto fans feared the worst, the team bounced back and took Game 2 behind the brilliant play of former Atlanta Hawk Demarre Carroll, who top scored with 21.
The series then shifted to South Beach and with the home crowd behind them, Miami were quietly confident they could take the series lead. Kyle Lowry had other ideas though; having struggled through Games 1 and 2 he finally did a Stella and got his groove back. The Raptors held off the Heat 95-91 and clinched a 2-1 series lead.
Heading into Game 4, again in Miami, the big news surrounds both sides’ big men. Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas is out for the remainder of the series after an ankle injury sustained in Game 3, while Miami’s Hassan Whiteside is listed as day-to-day after an MCL sprain, also sustained during Game 3.
With Toronto leading 2-1, the case could be made that Hassan should play, however I wouldn’t be surprised if the Heat big man sat this one out and came back better prepared for Game 5. The Raptors, on the other hand, will be looking for the secondary bigs to step up for Jonas, who has been a handful this series.
Prediction
Although losing Jonas hurts them deeply, having Lowry and Derozan both in a bit of a groove the Raptors are still in the drivers seat. They should be able to take another road victory and head home to try and wrap up this second round series before moving on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, if Hassan Whiteside pulls on the jersey, I’d have to think about this all over again.
Raptors by 7
Join The Roar for live scores from the match, starting from 10am (AEST).
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.