Toronto Raptors Visit Miami Heat: Game 24 Preview

The Miami Heat lead the visiting Toronto Raptors 53-48 at halftime. Dwyane Wade tops all scorers with 17 points. LeBron James has 14 points and Chris Bosh has 8. The talented youngster DeMar DeRozan leads the Raptors with 16 points. The following are notes and observations during the first half of play:

12:00 remaining, first quarter: New pre-game dance routine from Dwyane Wade and LeBron James… bouncing to music during the tip-off.

10:37: Wade and LeBron combine to score the first 6 points for the Heat. Heat 6, Raptors 2

7:18: Raptors moving the ball very well in the opening period and it’s leading to open looks for the likes of James Johnson and Aaron Gray. Heat’s defense is rather sluggish. Heat 14, Raptors 15

5:07: LeBron and Wade alternating post-ups every possession and it’s working. Heat 22, Raptors 17

3:00: Mario Chalmers with a wide open three. Seeing him set up and take his time before shooting brings whatever the opposite of butterflies are to my stomach. Heat 29, Raptors 19

10:57 remaining, second quarter. Raptors go on a 13-2 run as the Heat offense stagnates and Calderon pushing the ball down-court like it’s the Running of the Bulls festival back at home. Heat 31, Raptors 31

7:23: Thank goodness for transition offense. So many missed shots I feel like I’m watching a Jai-alai game. Heat 39, Raptors 35

4:41: It warms my heart to see LeBron arguing for Wade when a call goes against him. I can only begin to sympathize with Gabrielle Union when she tells Dwyane it’s his turn to take out the trash and LeBron gets up from the couch with his arms spread out in disbelief. Heat 42, Raptors 40.

3:05: DeMar DeRozan "SHUTTING IT DOWN" over Shane Battier’s decaying hairline. He has 14 points in the half on 6 for 9 shooting. Heat 46, Raptors 43

:38: Chris Bosh with the steal and over to Wade on the fast-break. Wade’s got to give that back to CB1 for the dunk come on now! Heat 52, Raptors 48

What to look for in the second half: Once again another poor first-half showing from the Heat bench. They are a combined 2-11 with only 6 points. They’ve also committed three turnovers and six fouls. While LeBron and Wade have done an excellent job keeping the Heat afloat, look for the bench to provide a spark via Mike Miller or Norris Cole in the 2^nd half.

Injuries:

Heat:

Miami is reporting that Udonis Haslem cracked rib is healed. His production had suffered as he played through it, with his rebounding rate decreasing from over 10 all the way down to eight. Mike Miller is playing through a sore right hand.

Raptors:

Linus Kleiza is one year removed from knee microfracture surgery, and is still not playing at full speed. Kleiza has been playing, and will only get better.

Starting Lineups:

Miami:

PG - Mario Chalmers

SG - Dwyane Wade

SF - LeBron James

PF - Chris Bosh

C - Joel Anthony

Toronto:

PG - Jose Calderon

SG - Jerryd Bayless

SF - DeMar DeRozan

PF - James Johnson

C - Aaron Gray

Notes: LeBron James has scored at least 15 points, grabbed at least five rebounds, and dished at least five dimes in his last 25 consecutive games (and every game in which he has appeared this season). The Oscar Robertson record is 29 in a row.

The Raptors make their first of two appearances in South Beach this season. The only question is how long are the Heat going to let them stick around?

Common Thread:

Heat power forward Chris Bosh spent his first seven seasons with the Raptors. In 509 games he averaged 20.2 points, nine rebounds, two assists and just over one block in 37 minutes per game. He is Toronto's all time leader in points, blocks, and rebounds.

Raptors forward Rasual Butler played his first three NBA seasons with the Heat, playing 182 games. He averaged seven points, two rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes per game.

Raptors guard Anthony Carter played his first four NBA seasons with the Heat, playing in all 246 games. He averaged six points, two rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes per game.

Raptors center Jamaal Magliore played three seasons in Miami, playing 109 games and averaging three points and four rebounds in 11 minutes per game.

Team Milestones:

Mario Chalmers will tie Voshon Lenard in 16th all-time by playing in his 249th career Miami game. With four minutes played he will pass Lenard into 15th all-time. One assist and he will pass Jason Williams into 11th all-time, with 917.

James Jones needs four three pointers to pass James Posey into 13th, with 215.

With 10 more assists LeBron James will pass Dan Majerle into 15th all-time with 718.

One more block and Udonis Haslem moves into 11th on the all-time list, passing Brian Grant with 185.

Team Leaders:

PPG:

LeBron James - 29.2

Dwyane Wade - 20.7

Chris Bosh - 20.0

RPG:

LeBron James - 8.5

Udonis Haslem - 8.2

Chris Bosh - 7.7

APG:

LeBron James - 7.0

Dwyane Wade - 5.4

Mario Chalmers - 3.9

SPG:

Dwyane Wade - 2.0

LeBron James - 1.7

Mario Chalmers - 1.3

BPG:

Dwyane Wade - 1.4

Joel Anthony - 1.0

LeBron James, Chris Bosh - 0.8