The Miami Heat will be facing the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
They will be a bit short-handed, as Jimmy Butler is set to miss the contest. The Heat will be without a couple of other players as well.
#MIAvsTOR INJURY UPDATE: Jimmy Butler (toe), Dewayne Dedmon (ankle), Javonte Smart (not with team) and Gabe Vincent (toe) have all been ruled out of tonight's game vs the Raptors.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 3, 2022
In various ways, Sunday’s matchup is important for Miami. For one, it will be Kyle Lowry’s first game back in Toronto since being acquired by Heat in the 2021 offseason. Raptors president Masai Ujiri gushed about Lowry ahead of the contest, stating that there is no doubt he is the “best Raptor ever.”
It will likely be an emotional return for the veteran point guard, as he spent nine full seasons with Toronto before joining Miami. Lowry and the Raptors won an NBA title in 2019.
A win on Sunday would give the Heat a nice cushion over the Milwaukee Bucks, who are just 1.5 games behind them in the Eastern Conference standings. Getting the No. 1 seed in the East would give Miami home-court advantage up until the NBA Finals.
The Raptors enter the matchup as one of the hottest teams in the league. Toronto has won five consecutive games and 11 of its last 13 contests. After looking like a play-in team earlier in the season, the Raptors have climbed all the way to fifth place in the East.
The Heat will have to look elsewhere to make up for the absence of Butler, who is averaging 21.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game this season.
After playing Toronto, the Heat will face off against the Charlotte Hornets at home on Tuesday.
