The dip in the Heat's offense, a scary injury and other takeaways vs Raptors

Coming into this game, a lot of things aligned for the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors.

Both teams on four game losing streaks, both coming off lengthy time off, and both with similar records as they sit in the 5th and 6th seeds in the Eastern Conference.

Pelle Larsson was expected to be the only Heat player missing this one, but Tyler Herro was a late scratch 30 minutes prior to tip-off due to that toe injury.

But let's get right into some takeaways from this game tonight:

1. Scary fall for one Heat player creates rotation changes.

Dec 15, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) exits the game with an apparent arm injury against the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

With Herro and Larsson out, opportunity came up for Nikola Jovic who has found himself in a constant changing role this season. As he checked in tonight in the first quarter, a Jaime Jaquez steal and pass to Jovic on a fastbreak took place immediately. Jovic rose up for a dunk, and slammed into the court hard turning into a scary scene. Stretcher came out, which he denied, as he walked off on his own power with an air cast, later being called a right elbow injury. After those events, Keshad Johnson checked in and played a long 9 minute first half stint. Heat adjusting on the fly with these injuries popping up.

2. Norman Powell and Bam Adebayo back to the heavy lifting.

Dec 15, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) and Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) jump ball during tip-off in the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

With Herro out, it was back to the early season offensive shot chart for the Heat. Jaime Jaquez Jr single-handedly running that second unit, and Norman Powell and Bam Adebayo running the show with offensive aggression. After a one point first quarter for Powell, he took off early in the second quarter, scoring 8 points in three minutes as he began letting it fly from deep. In a heavy half-court ball game, Adebayo was the settling piece most of that first half inside the perimeter, on his way to 13 points and 9 boards by halftime. Getting back to that fast-paced, high scoring system is the plan for Miami, but a gritty back and forth is inevitable when these two teams match up.

3. Two areas that showcase an offensive shift for Miami.

Nov 12, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra looks on against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Heat-Raptors never finds its way into a high scoring back and forth battle. It's gritty, it's usually ugly, and it usually comes down to a number of possessions in the fourth quarter. After holding onto a slight lead most of the night, the Heat found themselves down 10 all of a sudden with 7:30 to go in the fourth. Why? There's two things the offense has failed to do at early season levels: create transition opportunities and operate early in the clock. The transition stuff has been on a steady decline with teams scheming that up, but getting shots early and efficiently in the shot clock is the only way for this to work. Credit to Toronto's lengthy defense tonight, but those eye-popping scoring totals have quickly vanished.