
The Miami Heat are doing a good job of putting last season's struggles behind them.
There's no place they struggled more than Toronto.Winners of four of their last six, the Heat return to the scene of their worst performance of a terrible 2007-08 when they visit the Raptors on Sunday afternoon.
During an injury-riddled 15-win 2007-2008 season, Miami lost all four of its meetings with the Raptors, scoring 83 points or fewer in each of those games. The lowlight was a horrific 96-54 loss at Toronto on March 19, when the Heat shot a franchise-worst 25.6 percent (20-for-78) from the field while producing the third-lowest scoring output in the NBA since the advent of the shot clock in 1954.
The Miami team that took the floor in that game was a shell of its optimal self, as starters Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem were all sidelined with injuries. All three are now healthy.
Marion had missed two games due to a strained groin, but returned Friday night and had 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Heat (5-4) cruised to a 97-77 home victory over Washington. Haslem also had a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards for Miami, which outrebounded the Wizards 52-33 and held them scoreless for a 9-minute stretch during the second half.
"That's what we've got to do to win and compete every night, play with a lot of energy," Haslem said.
The win was easy enough that Wade got to conserve his energy, sitting out the fourth quarter after scoring 24 points. Though he saw his franchise-record run of four consecutive games with at least 30 points end, he was more concerned with the game's outcome.
"It's not about scoring with me," Wade said. "My presence out there is going to draw double-teams and is going to give my teammates opportunities to get open shots. And whether I'm passing to them or someone else is passing to them, I'm helping. To me, it's about getting these wins and this is a good one to get."
Defensively, the century mark has been key for the Heat. Miami is 5-0 when holding opponents below 100 points and has lost all four of its games when allowing 100 or more.
That could be a good sign against a Toronto club which has failed to reach 100 points in regulation this season. The Raptors (4-4) beat Golden State 112-108 on Oct. 31, but scored their final 16 points of that game in overtime.
Toronto has dropped two straight and four of five since opening the season 3-0. Chris Bosh had 30 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday night as the Raptors lost 106-96 at home to Philadelphia.
"We're disappointed, we had a lot of breakdowns," coach Sam Mitchell said. "We got shots and didn't make them. Our defense wasn't good. Offensively we weren't very good."
Toronto's task could be made tougher if point guard Jose Calderon can't play Sunday. Calderon is questionable for this contest after he strained his right hamstring in Wednesday's loss.
These teams will meet again Wednesday night in Miami. Before that happens, Toronto will visit Orlando on Tuesday while the Heat play at Washington.