Matchup: Toronto Raptors vs. Miami Heat — Start Time, Lineups, and More

1-2-3, Cancun!

Well, this is it for the Raptors fanbase for this season. Game 82 — the final game for teams that won’t be moving on to get some postseason action. For coach Darko Rajakovic, the rest of the coaching staff, and the players expected to dress up today, it’s one more game to show the fanbase and, perhaps, the rest of the NBA that they have more to show. Or they can go through the motions, get this game over with, and call it a season.

Expect the Miami Heat to field their key players for this game. They are embroiled in the thick of Play-In positioning that would determine the 5-8 playoff spots.

Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Chris Boucher, and Immanuel Quickley are all done for the season. Sadly, DJ Carton and Mo Gueye are expected to finish the season on the injury list, missing out on the available minutes these past few games. The odds are against Jontay Porter that he’ll be active for this game.

Instead, Javon Freeman-Liberty and Gradey Dick will get more developmental reps and look to build upon the progress that they’ve made these past few weeks. Jordan Nwora, Bruce Brown, and Gary Trent Jr. will get one more rep to showcase their talents to the rest of the NBA front offices. Last minute update: RJ Barrett is out for the season finale.

A typical “Game 82” storyline typically involves postseason or lottery positioning. The Raptors have neither, but if anything, it’s ironic that the last team they are facing this season is the exact opposite of what the Raptors are. A resilient team that was able to weather injuries, roster turnover, and lack of point guard play. An organization with a solid culture. Excellence across the coaching staff, developmental environment, and front office. The Raptors used to be one of the teams, along with the Heat, when people talked about the top organizations regarding these things. Today, or even going back to two of their last three meetings (the blowout win was more of a post-trade adrenaline-infused aberration), we’ve seen that there are levels of difference between these two organizations.

Levels.

The Raptors have an opportunity to send off the Heat to a more hectic postseason path, but they’ll have to punch above their weight to do that. Can they at least make it more competitive than what they showed the other night?

Game Info:

How to Watch: 1:00pm ET on Sportsnet ONE

Lineups:

Toronto: Javon Freeman-Liberty, Gary Trent Jr., Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Kelly Olynyk

Miami: Tyler Herro, Cody Martin, Jimmy Butler, Nikola jovic, Bam Adebayo

Injuries:

Toronto: Scottie Barnes (Out — hand), Jakob Poeltl (out — hand), Chris Boucher (Out — knee), DJ Carton (Out — ankle), Jontay Porter (Out — personal), Mo Gueye (Out — thumb), Immanuel Quickley (Out — adductor), RJ Barrett (Out -- knee)

Miami: Josh Richardson (Out — shoulder), Duncan Robinson (Questionable — back), Terry Rozier (Out — neck)