Toronto Raptors vs. Miami Heat (Jan. 22, 2021): Game Preview, game notes, TV channel, start time

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Who's Playing

Matchup: Toronto Raptors vs. Miami Heat

Records: Raptors (5-9), Heat (6-7)

Where to Watch

Date: Friday, Jan. 22

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: TSN (Canada), Fox Sports Sun and League Pass  (USA)

Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

Three Things to Watch

1. Bam Adebayo spreading his wings

A scary sign for the rest of the league: Adebayo's jumper is coming along.

He's still not shooting 3s but Adebayo has been a much-improved scorer from midrange this season. According to NBA.com, he shot 21-for-94 (22.3 percent) from midrange last season. Through 11 games this season, he's 18-for-36 (50.0 percent) from that distance.

Adebayo had one particularly smooth pull-up in Miami's win over Toronto on Wednesday.

Adebayo becoming more comfortable at creating his own shot off the dribble would go a long way in him reaching his offensive potential.

2. The steady play of OG Anunoby

Anunoby got off to a slow start this season but he appears to have turned a corner.

Anunoby has now scored in double figures in six straight games, tying the longest streak of his career. He is averaging 15.0 points over that stretch while shooting a scorching 51.4 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Anunoby isn't going to continue making half of his 3-point attempts, but he has shown more of a willingness to let it fly this season. He's now averaging 5.9 3-point attempts per game, which is up from 3.3 last season and 3.0 the season prior.

That's an important development for both Anunoby and the Raptors.

3. Pascal Siakam's health

Following Wednesday's game, Siakam said that his groin hasn't been feeling great recently, per The Athletic's Eric Koreen. His availability for Friday's game is unclear, as he did not practice with the Raptors on Thursday.

If Siakam is unable to go, look for Norman Powell to start. Powell replaced Siakam in the one game he's missed this season and played well, scoring 17 points in 34 minutes of play.

Injury Report

Neither the Raptors nor Heat have submitted an injury report for Friday's game yet.

Game Notes

  • The Heat rank 19th in offensive efficiency (108.1) and 22nd in defensive efficiency (110.7).
  • The Raptors rank 13th in offensive efficiency (110.4) and 19th in defensive efficiency (110.2).
  • Duncan Robinson leads the league with an average of 3.8 points per game off of handoffs. He's been highly efficient, ranking in the 81st percentile with 1.20 points per possession.
  • Bam Adebayo is averaging 5.3 assists per game. The only centres averaging more are Domantas Sabonis (5.6), Julius Randle (6.1) and Nikola Jokic (10.0).
  • OG Anunoby has 50 deflections on the season, tying him with four players for fourth-most in the league.
  • Kyle Lowry has drawn nine charges, the most in the league.
  • Aron Baynes logged 13 minutes in Wednesday's loss. It's the most minutes he's played since Toronto's loss to the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 6.
  • Chris Boucher (28.5) has the third-best Player Efficiency Rating in the NBA, trailing only Joel Embiid (29.8) and Nikola Jokic (31.9).

Last Time They Played

Date: Jan. 20, 2021

Score: Heat 111, Raptors 102

Raptors: Fred VanVleet — 24 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal

Heat: Kendrick Nunn — 28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

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Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News