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Friday, May 6, 2016

Raptors VS Heat (Game 2)


Series Tied 1-1

The Heat were in a great position to win game 2. They had the lead late in the 4th quarter. The Raptors came back to send the game into overtime where the Raptors beat the Heat. How did this happen. How could a team as good as the Heat manage to lose a lead like that?

I blame this loss on Hassan Whiteside. I have made up my mind that this guy is the most overrated player in the NBA, especially as a defender. In this game, Whiteside kept trying to go for blocks towards the end of the game, but he kept forgetting to cover Valanciunas and box him out. As a result, the Raptors had 7 second chance points in the 4th quarter. Whiteside also did a horrible job guarding the pick and roll. Instead of Whiteside hedging or helping on the ball handler, he let guys like Lowry get wide open mid-range shots. He really did a poor job defensively towards the end of the game. He was never in position to make the right play.

I was also upset by the offensive decisions that the Heat made in overtime. The fact that Joe Johnson put up 4 shots and didn't make 1 of them while the rest of the team combined put up 5 in overtime really lead to the Heat's loss. Johnson was forcing up shots. What I thought was weird was the fact that Wade or Dragic didn't go into pick and roll with Whiteside. That is where the Heat excel, but for some reason, they just gave the ball to Joe Johnson to try and make a play. I didn't like that at all.

As for the Raptors, they played great defense. They contested a total of 51 shots and only 28 shots were uncontested. They also forced 21 turnovers on a Heat team that isn't prone to turn it over. This really lead to a tough game for the Heat, who somehow managed to put the game into overtime.

As you can see, the Heat still managed to almost win with the Raptors playing great defense. The Raptors just need their stars to play much more efficiently. The Raptors just need offense. If they don't get it, they are going to have a long hard road ahead against a talented Heat team.


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