Miami Heat vs Toronto Raptors Prediction, 1/17/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Toronto Raptors

Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: TSN

The Miami Heat (24-16) are en route to Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday where they will try to defeat the Toronto Raptors (15-25).

The Heat played the Nets and took home the win by a score of 96-95 in their last game. Miami walked away from the contest having earned a 37.9% field goal percentage (33 of 87) and buried 8 of 31 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Heat made 22 of 25 attempts for a rate of 88.0%. In relation to grabbing boards, they earned 54 with 6 of them being offensive. They also doled out 22 assists for this contest in addition to creating 8 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In relation to the defense, Miami allowed the other team to shoot 34.3% from the field on 34 of 99 shooting. Brooklyn distributed 26 dimes and had 9 steals in this contest. Additionally, Brooklyn pulled down 50 rebounds (9 offensive, 41 defensive) and had 4 blocked shots. Brooklyn shot 93.8% when shooting free throws by converting 15 of 16 tries. They also made 12 out of their 55 attempts from beyond the perimeter. With respect to personal fouls, the Heat finished with 16 while the Nets recorded 17 personal fouls.

Jimmy Butler is one guy who was a factor in the game. Butler ended up shooting 66.7% from the floor and totaled 4 dimes. He was on the court for 40 mins played and also totaled 5 boards. He ended up walking away with 31 points on 8 of 12 shooting.

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Miami steps onto the hardwood with a record of 24-16 so far this season. They lose possession via turnover 13.3 times per game and as a group are committing 18.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Miami is collecting 41.8 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 1,040 assists on the campaign, which is 14th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Heat are hitting 38.2% on 3-point shots (504 of 1,318) and 82.1% from the free throw line. They have an average of 111.9 points per contest (25th in the NBA) while connecting on 46.6% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Heat are forcing 14.2 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 20.3 fouls. They are ranked 18th in the league in giving up assists with 1,065 surrendered on the year. The Heat defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 47.3% (1,634 of 3,456) and they relinquish 42.6 rebounds per game as a group. They surrender 35.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 3rd in the NBA in points per game allowed (110.6).

For their last game, the Raptors took a loss by a final score of 105-96 when they faced the Celtics. The Raptors were able to pull down 43 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 52 for the matchup. They also coughed up the ball 7 times, while earning 6 steals in this game. The Celtics were called for 16 fouls for the contest which took the Raptors to the free throw line for a total of 21 shots. They were able to knock down 16 of them for a percentage of 76.2%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, Toronto made 4 of 32 attempts (12.5%). At the conclusion of this game, the Raptors shot 38 for 95 from the field which had them sitting at 40.0%. The Raptors permitted the Celtics to knock down 33 of their 82 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 40.2% in the matchup. They finished 41.0% from three-point range by hitting 16 of 39 and walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 25 from the free throw line (92.0%). When discussing cleaning up the glass, Toronto permitted Boston to get 53 in total (5 offensive).

RJ Barrett ended up being a factor for the Raptors in the matchup. Barrett earned 24 points in his 36 mins on the court and had 4 assists in this contest. He made 11 out of 19 in the game for a field goal percentage of 57.9%, and accumulated 9 rebounds.

Toronto has a mark of 15-25 on the season. As an offense, the Raptors are connecting on 48.1% from the field, which has them ranked 10th in the league. Toronto has accounted for 4,600 points for the season (115.0 per contest) and they snag 44.0 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 29.4 times per contest (3rd in basketball) and they turn the ball over 13.3 times per contest. The Raptors are committing 18.7 personal fouls per contest and they hit 74.0% from the free throw line.

The Toronto defense concedes 38.8% on shots from beyond the arc (542 of 1,396) and their opposition knocks down 80.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 27.9 dimes and 43.5 rebounds every game, which is ranked 25th and 15th in the NBA. The Raptors on the defensive side of the court are 19th in the league in PPG given up with 116.8. They are able to force 13.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 48.4% from the field (22nd in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Toronto

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