NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference – Round 2
Tip-off: Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -4.0, Total: 189.0

The Raptors will be looking to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a road victory over the Heat in Game 6 on Friday.

Toronto dominated the first half of Game 5 against Miami, but the Heat came roaring back in the second half and eventually made it a one-point game in the fourth quarter. The Raptors were, however, able to clamp down and win the game 99-91 as 4.5-point home favorites. They’re now one victory away from advancing to the next round. One thing that can help them win this pivotal Game 6 is taking care of the ball. Toronto committed just nine turnovers in Game 5 and doing that again would come a long way in earning a victory on Friday. One thing that looks good for Toronto coming into this game is that Miami is 54-73 ATS after one or more consecutive OVERS over the past three seasons. The Heat are, however, 17-8 ATS after having lost two of their past three games this season. C Jonas Valanciunas (Ankle) remains out indefinitely for the Raptors and C Hassan Whiteside (Knee) is out indefinitely for the Heat, who are already without PF Chris Bosh (Blood Clot) for the season.

The Raptors are coming off of a big victory in Game 5 and they will be feeling confident coming into Game 6, as PG Kyle Lowry (15.8 PPG, 6.8 APG, 1.9 SPG in playoffs) and SG DeMar DeRozan (19.1 PPG, 1.4 SPG in playoffs) finally showed up together last game. Lowry finished Game 5 with 25 points, 10 boards, six assists and three steals in 41 minutes of action. He also hit a number of clutch shots in the fourth quarter. DeRozan, meanwhile, had 34 points on 11-for-22 shooting from the field. He was playing that game with an injured thumb, but it did not end up hurting him. Toronto will need both of them to continue to knock down shots moving forward. Another guy that must play well for the Raptors is C Bismack Biyombo (5.3 PPG< 8.0 RPG, 1.0 BPG in playoffs). Biyombo came up huge in Game 5, finishing with 10 points, six boards and four blocks in 38 minutes of action. He was playing very well around the basket on both ends of the floor and must continue to be active the remainder of this series.

If the Heat are going to force a Game 7 then SG Dwyane Wade (21.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.3 APG in playoffs) is going to need to come up huge. Wade had just 20 points on 14 shot attempts in Game 5 and Miami needs him to be a lot more aggressive on Friday. Wade averaged 34.0 PPG in the previous two contests and it’s going to take that type of performance for the Heat to win on Friday. Another guy that must come to play for Miami is PG Goran Dragic (15.4 PPG in playoffs). Dragic had just 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the floor in Game 5 and Miami needs him to score around 20 in this one. With the big men injured for both teams, this series has come down to a battle between backcourts and Dragic needs to be more effective moving forward.