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Projected Starters
Toronto
PG - Kyle Lowry
SG - Delon Wright
SF - Kawhi Leonard
PF - Pascal Siakam
C - Greg Monroe
Heat
PG - Josh Richardson
SG - Rodney McGrunder
SF - Justise Winslow
PF - James Johnson
C - Hassan Whiteside
Last Meeting
April 11, 2018 - TORONTO 109, HEAT 116
Ellington scored a career-high 32 points while setting Miami's single-season record for 3-pointers, and the Heat wrapped up the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the Toronto Raptors 116-109 in overtime. Kyle Lowry scored 28 points for Toronto, which already had the top seed in the East wrapped up -- but played its regulars in this one anyway. Poeltl ended the regular season having made 34 of his last 39 shots in the final eight games. Poeltl is also the only Raptors player who appeared in all 82 regular-season contests.
Bits and Pieces
- Miami has the worst FG% in the NBA, but make up for that by ranking fourth in offensive rebounds — a huge weakness for a Raptors squad that ranks second-last in offensive rebounds allowed.
- The Heat are also riding a season-high five-game win streak, including victories over the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Rockets, and Bucks. The Milwaukee game was especially impressive, as Miami held them to a season-low 87 points, while limiting Giannis Antetokounmpo to a season-low nine points on 3-for-12 shooting.
- The Raptors have hit a rough patch recently, with both Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, Danny Green, and Serge Ibaka sidelined at some point. However, seven of Toronto's next 10 games come against teams with records currently below .500.
- The Raptors went 7-6 in a 13-game stretch in which 10 of the games were against teams currently over .500, 10 of the 13 were against offenses that rank in the top 12, and in which Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard played together only five times.
- As part of the climb back to .500, where they stand at 16-16 over their two-day Christmas break, the Heat are tied with the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers for the league's best record over teams' last 12 games, at 9-3.
- The Heat have posted the NBA's fourth-best defensive rating over the past 12 games, holding each of the five opponents during the five-game winning streak below 100 points. The last five opponents entered averaging a combined 110.1 points, with the Heat holding them to an average of 94.
- Goran Dragic will be out for this Boxing Day match-up.
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