Better team

its close i think both teams will make the playoffs though. i think Miami really needs O Neal to have a comeback year.

Toronto has the better team for sure. Raptors will make the playoffs. The Heat will not.

Toronto looks better offensively, but the Heat has more defenders. I think Toronto has “that” much more offense though.

I’m not a Heat hater but….they probably have the worst bench in the league. Raptors have them beat at every position except SG IMO. Raptors obviously have better depth too ha.

Definitely too close to call but I am going to say Toronto will have the edge… I admire what Colangelo is doing with this team… They are not ashamed of what they want to build around the city of Toronto… They like it internationally-flavored and though they aren’t going to win the title they can win games in the regular season and have a huge chance to make it in the post-season. Their style right now would be more team-oriented than Miami.

Miami has no idea what to do now…They are still taking their chances on things and have no clear path of where they should go…much like the Bulls who had no idea what they would do before the arrival of a certain Derrick Rose… Miami has to make Dwyane Wade stay and he is the main main reason why this is too tough to call… He is the face and the leader of the Heat and they should impress Wade right here right now and make the Heat a little bit scary as it was in 2004-2006.

Raptors,
Every Position is better on their team besides SG
They just need to rebound better while the Heat will need a number of things to go right such as the development of their young players, D-Wade performing the same as last season, O’ Neal having a comeback year and so on. Just too much, but I think they still have a chance.

Not even remotely close. Toronto= #4 or 5 seed. Miami will be lucky if they get that #8

whatever team has Dwayne Wade

Toronto by a mile

All I’m gonna say is that if Demar Derozan starts for the Raptors, they aren’t going to be as good as we think they’ll be. Derozan is NOT ready to be a serious factor in the NBA. I think ppl are falling in love with the guy based on his potential and a few good weeks in March… guys, that’s a dangerous recipe… does the name chris wilcox ring a bell? dominated one spring for maryland, had all the potential in the world… never panned out. Derozan has potential, but he’s still too raw at this point

More talent period. Miami has one superstar, and he can’t be asked to do any more next season then he did last year. Development from Chalmers and Beasley won’t be significant enough to keep up with all the other teams that made moves this off-season. The east is getting better and Miami is juast sat on their roster waiting for next summer.

I agree that DeRozan is still very raw. But Toronto should be a perfect fit for him because he won’t be asked to do anything other then fill the lanes and just be athletic. Hedo, Bosh, Calderon and others will do all the creating on offense.

that be a damn good 4 vs 5 series to watch though

all i’ve gotta say is toronto is really weird. They are a team that has amazing talent, but for some reason they don’t win games. They had Bargnani, Bosh, and Calderon. They also had Marion or Oneal split between the season, and couldn’t be a playoff team? that’s a stacked team. Individually, they are hands down better than Miami, but for some reason i think Miami will be the better team. Wade is a winner and he will lead them to a 5th or 6th seed, the Raptors have the talent to be a top 5 seed, but I can see them being a huge let down. I just don’t think the personnel meshes very well in Toronto, hopefully the addition of Hedo changes things though…

This matchup is actually closer than everyone thinks IMO.

I mean Chalmers & Calderon are both good.
Wade is gonna kill whoever plays SG
Beasley might have trouble with Turkoglu, but he can score
Udonis Haslem on Bosh, Bosh wins easily
Jermaine O’Neal is easily better than Bargnani when healthy, he might need to help

I agree the Heat bench is pretty bad, but they have:
Joel Anthony who plays great d and rebounds
James Jones who shot great against Atlanta and got like 20 if im not mistaken
Chris Quinn can just do his job and bring the ballup court
DaQuan Cook the 3-point champion
Jamal Magloire who used to be a great center who plays excellent d
Patrick Beverley who in my mind will be one the rookie 2nd rounders who makes an impact in the NBA
Robert Dozier is very athletic and versatile by being able to play almost all the positions
Dorell Wright……not quite sure
Yakhouba Diawara is raw but he can score and shoot
Mark Blount……get rid of him

If I’m Toronto, I’m starting Antoine Wright, who has proven to be a very solid player. I really believe that derozan will show flashes of brillisnce, but that he will incredibly inconsistent. You guys have a point that he won’t be relied upon too heavily because he’s surrounded by other guys, but wasn’t that kind of the problem at USC? he was surrounded by other decent guys and he never really asserted himself… What’s the difference now?

I’ll agree he has good athletic gifts, but so does Gerald Green- he didn’t turn out well…

Bickart… your subject says it all: Derozan is good. you say that based on what? I don’t care if he was hyped outta high school… so was Jrue Holiday. are you saying that based on his physical gifts? are you saying that based on his march?

and i kinda disagree with the, it’s easier to be a bust as a big man… There are way fewer big men in the league than wings, which are basically dime a dozen… chris wilcox is still getting offers to play for people even though he’s never been good, not even for one season- he’s still serviceable. If Derozan performs as poorly as wilcox, he’ll be on the end of the bench forever.

citrusiswow- U must be a Heat fan! By the way Dozier won’t be on the bench because he signed with an international team. Nobody on the bench is worth a penny. Calderon is better than Chalmers. I would rather have Bargnani over Oneal anyday. Take a look at the Raptors’ bench….they would smoke the Heats’ bench.

I agree about DeRozan. He shouldn’t be starting. I think they should start Belinelli at SG.

i would actually start Devean George in that series because hes a good defender.

you would start a (former) GSW, gator! I think they need a more defensive-minded wing to start… they’ve got plenty of shooters out there to start the game, IMO.

I know they would kill the Het’s bench, but they aren’t the worst. Second, how the heck did you figure out i was a Heat fan! LMAO. Also, thanks for the news on Dozier.

birdzilla- Devean George was traded to the Warriors

citrusiswow- I haven’t heard anything about Beverly. I’m not sure if he will be on the Heats roster this season or not. I agree with you on him though…I think he was a real good pick for being a mid 2nd rounder.

miami or toronto no playoffs

Toronto has a great roster this year

PG Calderon (Jack)
SG Bellineli (DeRozan)
SF Turkoglu (Graham (if signes)
PF Bosh (Mensah Bonsu)
C Bargniani (-)

If Toronto could get a quality backup big they would be a fully loaded team

Miami roster pretty much sucks

PG Chalmers (Quinn)
SG Wade (-)
SF Beasley (-)
PF Haslem (-)
C O Neal (-)

my bad i thought the Raptors got him.

yeah i still think i would go defensive and start Wright.

birdzilla- Yeah the Raptors had George for like a second ha. They traded him to Golden State for Belinelli

Raptors have Reggie Evans too

Raptors definitely have the deeper squad… but the great equalizer is Mr. Dwyane Wade. If he stays healthy an entire season, which I’ll admit is highly unlikely, the Heat have a chance to be better than the Raptors. When Wade is healthy, they can beat anyone on any given night