GETTING READY TO BEAT THE HEAT
An NBA coach offers insights into Wade and Co. ahead of Tuesday’s opener
As Raptors start a fresh playoff series against Miami at ACC tonight, they’ll hope to learn from problems against Pacers.
A long-time NBA assistant coach helps break down the Miami Heat heading into the Eastern Conference semifinal with the Raptors.
OVERVIEW
“I think it’s going to be a helluva series . . . lots of things they do are the same and the personnel matchups are interesting. “The key matchup is Dwyane (Wade) and DeMar (DeRozan), but I think they are going to cancel each other out. I think Kyle (Lowry) has to play well — that’s huge — and even if he’s not shooting he’s got to do all those other things he does.
“As far as the big guys go, (Hassan) Whiteside being such a dominant guy, you can’t let him from a defensive standpoint control the paint.You just have to get the ball on the glass and you can’t let him block shots. But if he is dominating, you have to find a way to get him away from the goal. He could be the difference.”
GUARDS
“Wade is going to be one of those guys who’s going to score because he’s going to take enough shots to score but, in all honesty, I really think he and DeMar are going to be pretty much a wash. But you have to make Wade a volume shooter.
“There’s one guy you have to control, just from watching the last series. When (Goran) Dragic plays well, they win. When he gets to that left hand — and I know that sounds very, very basic — he can be really good . . . the more you can keep him to his right hand the better.
“The one wild card is Josh Richardson — he was really good for them down the stretch as well.”
FORWARDS
“The thing that’s going to be tough for Toronto is Miami switches every- thing, 1 through 4, so you have to set ball screens to get the matchups you want. If you want to get (Luol) Deng off DeMar, ball screen DeMar with whoever Joe Johnson is guarding.
“It’s going to be one of those things where you almost have to look two actions ahead because you want to get the matchup you want on the ball because they switch everything. Joe Johnson is what he is; now he’s pretty much a standstill jump shooter but every now and then he can put you on the nail and go to work a bit.
“I know they play Deng as the four, but I would guard him with your unconventional four. If you wanted to start Patrick Patterson, I would put him on (Justise) Winslow when he comes in the game.”
CENTRE
“It’s going to be a small-ball series but the thing it’s going to come down to, to me, is Whiteside. He can be such a dominant factor in the paint, and the fact Toronto relies on iso situations and penetration, you can’t let him block shots.
“If you can draw him out and dump it to a Valanciunas behind him you’ll get a dunk and you can get the offensive rebound because you’re taking him out of the play. One of the smalls would have to try and keep Valanciunas off the glass and that’s not going to happen. You come out of a timeout, go at Whiteside, try to get another foul because he is such a dominant presence. When he’s off the floor, it’s amazing how worse their defence is.”
BENCH
“The Winslow kid, to me, gives you someone on the offensive end you can get a pass on because you don’t have to guard him that much; he’s the guy I would treat as the four.
“The other guy that’s a wild card is Gerald Green. He’s going to go off one game but he’s going to kill them at the other end. Winslow? Can’t shoot a lick but he’s a defensive guy.”