The Toronto Raptors will wrap up their four-game road trip by taking on the Miami Heat in their third NBA Cup game.
However, the NBA Cup implications won’t mean much for the Raptors. They have already been eliminated from advancing to the tournament playoff.
For the Heat, this will be their final group-stage contest. After dropping their first two cup games to the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, they will need to beat the Raptors by as much as possible and get help elsewhere to to stay alive.
The Raptors are coming off their best performance against the Pelicans in a 119-93 win. Scottie Barnes had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. The story, however, was three-point shooting. The Raptors took 52 threes and made 21 of them.
Undrafted sharpshooter Jamison Battle led the way in that department. He hit 6 threes on 8 attempts as he scored a career-high 24 points. The 23-year-old was very efficient and played his role perfectly.
Rookie Ja’Kobe Walter is likely to make his second career start after Gradey Dick has been ruled out once again with a calf contusion. Walter had a solid outing of 14 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists in the win over New Orleans.
Along with Dick, Immanuel Quickley (elbow), Bruce Brown knee) and Kelly Olynyk (back) will all be out for this game as well.
One player to watch for Miami is Tyler Herro. He has been their best player to start the season. He is averaging career highs across the board with 23.6 points, 5.1 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game on 46.6 percent shooting from the field and 41.4 percent shooting from deep. The Heat will come into this game with a few players on the injury report as well. Kevin Love (back) is questionable, Jimmy Butler (back), along with Terry Rozier (foot) and Duncan Robinson (glute) are probable.
Toronto Raptors (5-14) vs. Miami Heat (8-8)
8:00 p.m. EST, Friday, November 29, 2024
Kaseya Center, Miami Florida
TV: Sportsnet
Projected Raptors Starting Lineup:
PG: Davion Mitchell
SG: Ochai Agbaji
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Jakob Poeltl
Key Reserves: Chris Boucher, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamison Battle
Projected Heat Starting Lineup:
PG: Tyler Herro
SG: Duncan Robinson
SF: Jimmy Butler
PF: Haywood Highsmith
C: Bam Adebayo
Key Reserves: Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, Pelle Larsson
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