With Scottie Barnes out for who knows how long due to a sprained right ankle, the Toronto Raptors’ mission as they headed to Miami was to gradually make up for the absence of their best player. A little from one corner here, a little from another corner there. No one was required to be a hero, but ideally, collectively, they could handle the challenge better than they did in November when Barnes missed 11 games starting Oct. 30.^th and the Raptors went 2-9.

“Every time you lose a player, you have to have someone else step up, and that doesn’t necessarily mean taking more shots, taking more on your shoulders,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said. . “It’s just about being more locked in and doing the little things. Does it go beyond the screen, without being touched? Does this communicate covers? Is it more boxing? A whole team needs to mobilize. »

For about 15 minutes on the road against the Heat, Rajakovic’s words came to life. The Raptors have been excellent as a group. They took an early lead, and after the Heat came back to tie it late in the first quarter, Toronto went on a 19-3 run to build a promising 16-point lead just three minutes into of the second quarter by doing a long list of little things right and getting good contributions from all corners.

But then it all came to a halt in what ended up being a 114-104 Heat victory that gave the Raptors their fourth straight loss and dropped their record to 7-19 – tied with Washington for second-most number of NBA losses, if you track those sorts of things — and 1-12 on the road, which is tied with the New Orleans Pelicans for the worst road record in the entire league.

The Heat defended harder and with more determination. The Raptors’ cutting and passing game became slow. The Heat took advantage of the Raptors’ misses and scored early on offense, and they did most of their work in the second and third quarters when the game was decided.

The Heat won for the second time in three starts against the Raptors, clinching the season series and improving to 13-10, good for fifth place in the East.

The Raptors are also now 2-10 without Barnes, their second-leading scorer, second-leading rebounder and leading playmaker.

Toronto fell behind in the second quarter as the Heat finished the half on a 33-10 run. They led by 20 with 8:10 to play and the Raptors couldn’t really mount a convincing late push.

The box score was hardly lopsided. The Heat shot the ball a little better (48.2 percent from the floor to Toronto’s 44.6 percent, or 13 threes to the Raptors’ 11), but Toronto held strong on the boards and actually won the turnover battle (11-15). ). But the Heat made 32 free throws to the Raptors’ 15, which was a problem.

The Raptors are off until Monday when they host the Chicago Bulls.

With Barnes out and Immanuel Quickley still not expected to return for at least a week or possibly more – it’s inevitable that Barrett ends up taking over a larger share of the offense. He was the Raptors’ point guard for most of the night, just like he was with Barnes last month, and overall he did pretty well, as evidenced by his second career triple-double – and second this season – as he finished. with 13 points (5 of 18 from the floor), 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Yes, there were some tough shots in there, and yes, there were six turnovers, but Barrett competed hard on the glass and continues to show real playmaking ability. His assist to Ochai Agbaji, where he threaded the needle through two defenders early in the third quarter, was a sight for sore eyes.

But too often, Barrett simply falls asleep on the defensive. When the Heat were making their big run in the second quarter, Barrett was right in the middle: losing Dru Smith in transition for a corner three, losing Tyler Herro in a screening action with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo leading to a three up top from the circle and over-assist Butler, leaving his man, Nikola Jovic, open for an open three above the break.

In the third quarter, he isolated himself in Butler’s corner, turned his head when Kevin Love came up to set a screen, and let Butler drive the baseline for a wide-open layup. It’s not often that you lose sight of your man when he’s right in front of you, but in this case, that’s what happened.

It’s whether Barrett can address some of these mental errors that will likely determine his effectiveness as a player and his role on a winning team. Production, efficiency and even turnovers can be taken with a grain of salt when Barrett is paying so much defensive attention with Barnes out, but defense needs to be addressed.

Overall, the second-year wing has been a great story this season, significantly increasing his usage and production. And he showed from the start how his attack is becoming more and more diverse. He took a loose ball the length of the floor and dunked it in transition for his first basket and scored on a beautiful finger roll while taking a dribble from Barrett shortly after.

He had 12 points in the first quarter. He made closeouts and stopped for mid-range jumpers. There’s a lot to like as he led the Raptors with 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting. But Dick was 3 of 11 from three and now shoots 34.7 from deep on more than seven attempts per game.

On its own, that’s not a horrible number — the league average is 35.9 — but he’s only shot 30.5 percent in his last nine games and tends to mix in with a lot of difficult looks.

Again, everything becomes easier when Barnes hits the paint and drags defenses with him – the three Barrett found him for in the corner late in the fourth quarter was a good example of the kind of shooting regime Dick would ideally enjoy it. .

But given that Dick has to deal with his own defensive mistakes — giving up back-to-back shots to Tyler Herro and Jovic in the second quarter was a tough task — if it’s the offense that keeps him down and his offense is based on his shooting , being a little more selective could be very useful to him.

The Raptors center looked like he was going to be a late scratch when he suffered back spasms during pregame warmups. Bruno Fernando started in his place in the center and it was a safe bet that Poeltl was going to take time off.

No one would have blinked: when a seven-footer’s back moves, you almost expect it, and caution is required. As reserve center Kelly Olynyk said when asked how he developed his own back problems that kept him sidelined for the entire exhibition season and first quarter of the regular season : “Your guess is as good as mine. Practical? Have you been hit, perhaps by a fall? But it’s one of those things where it gets tight after training one day and never loosens.

But five minutes into the first quarter, Poeltl was free enough to run onto the court, take his place in the rotation and play the entire game. Thanks to the Raptors coaching staff who kept him moving, but also to Poeltl who chose not to take time off and tried to help his teammates.

The big Austrian wasn’t at his best as he finished with 16 points and just four rebounds (well below his season average of 11.6) and was -18 for the game, but he gave it his all when he could easily have chosen not to, and it’s appreciated.

4. Tyler Herro has game

The sixth-year guard was challenged late last season by Heat president Pat Riley to get stronger and better prepare for the rigors of an NBA season. The slightly built shooting guard has missed an average of 21 games per season over the past five years, including 40 last year due to various illnesses. It’s never good when your legendary team president suggests you’re “fragile” and questions your diet.

Herro seems to have listened. It looks a little thicker than in years past and certainly doesn’t lack energy. He won’t win any votes on defense, but he competes when teams try to gain an advantage over him on switches. That’s about all he has to do because offensively, he’s a demon.

He led the Heat with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and if you squint a little you might be able to convince yourself you were watching a Steph Curry simulation, sacrilege I know. But Herro has plenty of bounce and skill to get into the paint and to the rim, and effortless reach on his deep ball — like on his step-back and crossover combination that ended with Ochai Agbaji almost fallen and Herro drilling. the deep three when the Raptors wing fouled him while trying to recover. The four-point play gave the Heat a 10 lead in the third and sent them packing.

Herro is averaging 23.8 points per game, with a 41.4 percent success rate on three of 10 attempts per game, while grabbing five rebounds and five assists, and he looks good doing it also. He should get some All-Star votes if the Heat continue to climb the standings in the East.

5. Butler enters the rumor mill

I have no idea where the facts end and the fiction begins when it comes to the trade rumors surrounding Heat star Jimmy Butler that have the internet blowing up this week. But I know Bernie Lee, the Canadian agent who represents Butler. I wrote an article about his own improbable story in 2018, when Butler ended up in Philadelphia after flipping the card table in Minnesota.

And what I knew then still stands: If Lee wants to make a point, he won’t dance around it, and it will usually be entertaining.

I say this in the context of Lee criticizing ESPN insider Shams Charania for subverting Butler’s desire — according to Charania — to be traded and to where. The entire thread on X was entertaining, but this one was my favorite:

Charania naturally sticks to her reporting. Anyway, we’ll see how this all plays out, but I find myself amused.