The Toronto Raptors lead their series against the Miami Heat 2-1 after a game three win down south. All three games have been hard fought affairs, with this being the first game that did not require overtime. Toronto could take a stranglehold of the series with a win in game four and have a chance to move past the second round for the first time in franchise history. Here are three keys to Toronto’s success in game four.
Toronto Raptors Game 4: Keys to Success
Attack Hassan Whiteside
Unfortunately for the Heat, their starting center Hassan Whiteside went down in the first half of game three and is listed as day-to-day with a knee sprain. If he will be healthy to play then the Toronto Raptors will need to attack him in the pick and roll. While it is widely assumed that Hassan Whiteside is a defensive stopper and a top defensive player in the NBA, he can easily be made a liability on that end of the floor. Yes he was in the top five of voting for the Defensive Player of the Year; yes he makes some blocks that defy the laws of physics, but he is far from an elite defender. Incredulously, Miami had a better defensive rating in the regular season when Whiteside was sitting on the bench. This is because Whiteside is a lazy player on defense as he fails to utilize his 7’4″ wingspan and quick feet to his advantage in the pick and roll, the most basic and commonly utilized offensive scheme in the NBA. Because of this he is susceptible to easy free throw line jump-shots. Not wanting to leave one of the better offensive centers in the league in Jonas Valanciunas, Whiteside continuously back-pedals, allowing the guards time and space. When Valanciunas sets a hard screen, which is common, players like Kyle Lowry, DeMar Derozan, Terrence Ross and Cory Joseph are able to turn the corner due to Whiteside’s hesitance to hedge. This would not be an issue if he put one of his giant arms up to bother guards shot or block his view if he wants to pass to a rolling Valanciunas. But he continuously leaves them down at his side, allowing the guards to pull up for a very make-able shot.
In the last minute and a half of regulation time in game 2, the Raptors used the pick and roll three times, with the end result of a wide-open free throw jumper every time. This strategy can and should be used to devastating effect as it would force the Miami coaching staff to pull the massive Whiteside for players like Udonis Haslem and Amare Stoudemire who have nowhere near the same paint presence as Whiteside which will give an advantage to Derozan, Joseph, Lowry and Valanciunas who are all dominant forces within the paint. If the Toronto Raptors take advantage of Whiteside’s lackadaisical pick and roll defense they should be able to improve their offensive efficiency.
Run the Floor
In the first half of game two the Raptors forced Miami Heat into an incredulous 11 turnovers in the first quarter alone, most of which were live ball turnovers. This allowed the athletic Raptors to run the floor and get easy baskets. When the Heat are able to slow the Raptors down, Toronto’s offense tends to stagnate and become isolation based. This often leads to players settling for contested jump-shots. The Heat boast a number of impressive half-court defenders in Luol Deng, Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside who are all long and athletic, however none of them run the floor particularly well. Add that to the dinosaurs Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson, the Raptors should be able to catch Miami in the fast break.
Lowry, Derozan and Joseph are all best when attacking the paint and finishing at the rim, running the floor nullifies the gargantuan presence of Hassan Whiteside and will lead to easy lay-ups for the three Raptor guards. Then include Ross, Patrick Patterson and Norman Powell, who are all upper-echelon athletes and Toronto can find a lot of success in the fast break. Toronto also boast a lot more depth than the Miami Heat, at least two deep in every position, run and gun offense could easily put a number of the Heats better defenders in unwanted foul trouble. This, coupled with a number of the Heat’s key players being north of 30, the Raptors should look to push the pace at every opportunity; this does not have to be exclusive to turnovers. Toronto is athletic enough to push the pace off of missed shots and even made shots. All in all, Toronto’s offense can be dynamic when they are out and running the floor as they have a multitude of impressive athletes. In addition to this, their comparative depth and youth should make the decision to speed up the game an easy one for Toronto.
Win the Point Guard Match-up
There is no doubt that Goran Dragic is a very talented point guard. He was dominant in the up-tempo style offense run by the Phoenix Suns. But since he came to Miami his production has dropped off. In the 2013-2014 season, the 6-3 Slovenian point guard averaged 20.3 points per game, shooting 50% from the field and 40% from behind the three point arc. This season however, he has only averaged 14 points per game, shooting 47% from the field but only 31% from three. However, in this series, Dragic’s production has sky-rocketed. He scored over 20 in both games one and two, including a dominant 26 in game one to lead all Heat scorers in their sole win so far. While it is clear that Dragic is a very good player, he is not a two-time all-star like Kyle Lowry. If Toronto want to win, they need one of the best players in the league to play exactly like one of the best players in the league. Unfortunately for the Raptors, Lowry has reportedly struggled with an injury these playoffs which has contributed to his woeful shooting percentage. In game one Dragic stole the show, outscoring Lowry 26 to 7, three of Lowry’s points were a half-court buzzer beater to force overtime. In game two Dragic once again outscored Lowry 20-18, however Lowry’s timely makes in the last minute and a half of the game were key to forcing overtime where the Raptors were able to scrape away the win. Game three was completely dominated by Kyle Lowry who had 33 points; 29 of which came in the second half. If Lowry can keep outperforming Dragic then the Raptors should be able to move on to the next round.
