An invitation to the Eastern Conference finals is on the line when the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors face off Sunday in Game 7 (3:30 ET, ABC/WatchESPN).
Can veteran guard Dwyane Wade and the Heat become the first NBA playoff team to overcome a 3-2 deficit twice in a playoff season, or will the Raptors advance to their first East finals?
Our experts weigh in.
1. What have we learned so far in this series?
Israel Gutierrez, ESPN.com: We've learned that when playoff defense kicks in, Dwyane Wade remains the most reliable option on the Heat. When others, such as Goran Dragic and Joe Johnson, find a way to get involved, that's when the Heat are dangerous. But Wade remains Miami's biggest threat, with another few years of high-level play in his future.
Michael Wallace, ESPN.com: If we're completely honest, we can admit that we've learned absolutely nothing about this series that we should feel confident about projecting for Game 7. Anything is possible Sunday. I've learned to not be stunned by whatever happens at Air Canada Centre.
Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com: This is a classic series. It's fashionable to make fun of it because the games have been ugly, but that is thin and disrespectful. There have been so many adjustments, peaks, valleys and injuries, plus three overtime games. This is the kind of slogging back-and-forth that people who denigrate the modern game allegedly want to see return.
Mike Mazzeo, ESPN.com: Dwyane Wade still has it, the Raptors never make life easy on themselves, Kyle Lowry's impact goes far beyond his shooting percentage, Jonas Valanciunas and Hassan Whiteside are really important to their respective teams, ugly basketball can be fun come crunch time, and LeBron James must be enjoying his time off knowing one of these two injury-depleted teams awaits.
Justin Verrier, ESPN.com: Maybe no one is a winner. This grind of a series keeps sending players to the medical ward and adding more mileage to two teams that have already played 13 games this postseason and have the rested Cavs waiting.
2. For Miami, what's the most important thing to watch in Game 7?
Gutierrez: There's always a twist to Heat coach Eric Spoelstra's Game 7 game plans. Normally, it includes hard double-teams on primary post players like Roy Hibbert or Al Jefferson. Without a regular post-up presence for the Raptors, look for Spoelstra to instill chaos somehow with his team's defense.
Wallace: Point guard Goran Dragic's approach early in the game. While Wade has clearly been the most dominant and remarkable player in the series, the Heat's best results against Toronto have come when Dragic has been active, engaged and attacking from the start. Look no further than Games 1, 2 and 6 for evidence.
Windhorst: When Dragic and Wade are sharing the load, the Heat are a much more dynamic offensive team. It's a challenge to find balance, but when Wade takes too much control, it limits their effectiveness.
Mazzeo: Whether someone from Wade's supporting cast -- be it Dragic, Justise Winslow, Luol Deng or Joe Johnson -- steps up and delivers a huge performance, as Dragic did with his 30 points and relentless attacking in Game 6. And turnovers, too. Toronto's offense is fueled by them. So the Heat need to take care of the ball.
Verrier: Getting into the paint. With a pit bull at point guard and Bismack Biyombo, the league's 10th-best rim protector per Nylon Calculus, on the back line, Toronto seems well-suited to stopping Dragic. But the point guard's 21 drives, per ESPN Stats & Information, opened up a bevy of opportunities, which is critical for a team like Miami that lacks gravity-creating shooters.
3. For Toronto, what's the most important thing to watch in Game 7?
Gutierrez: Shot-making, primarily from DeMar DeRozan. The Heat will attempt to make every shot difficult. DeRozan can hit shots against strong defense. If he demoralizes Heat defenders early, it could be Toronto's game.
Wallace: This is all about the supporting cast for the Raptors. They've been able to withstand nearly an entire series of sporadic and erratic play from their All-Star backcourt of Lowry and DeRozan. But DeMarre Carroll, Bismack Biyombo and Cory Joseph -- aka the "others" -- will be vital. Toronto's role players will ultimately determine whether the Raptors reach their first conference finals in franchise history.
Windhorst: The Raptors have to help DeRozan and Lowry. The two stars have looked more like themselves the past few games, but the supporting cast hasn't been consistent. Someone -- Carroll, Powell, Joseph -- needs to have a big game back at home.
Mazzeo: Lowry and DeRozan are coming off back-to-back combined 59-point performances in Games 5 and 6. Given their postseason-long shooting struggles, this seems significant. The Raptors will ride or die with these guys, as they have all season. Their production in the scoring department -- at least in DeRozan's case, and probably Lowry's as well -- needs to be great.
Verrier: Can they keep it together? Unlike the Hornets, who held a 3-2 lead over Miami in Round 1, the Raptors hold the almighty trump card: home-court advantage. But two years of first-round upsets and another near meltdown against Indiana have, improbably, turned Toronto's major case of the yips from an easy joke into an essential question.
4. Fact or Fiction: The Heat should play small again, starting Justise Winslow at center.
Gutierrez: Fact. And it's not just based on the going-small strategy. Winslow might be the player best-suited to match up with Biyombo. Winslow is alert and active, and he finds ways to keep a body on the Raptors big man. Can't say the same about Miami's other "bigs."
Wallace: Winslow had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 5 fouls in Game 6. Let's not get too carried away with the comparisons to Lakers legend Magic Johnson's stint at center as a rookie in the Finals. The lineup changeup for the Heat was productive and provided a needed boost of energy. I'm not sure if that translates north of the border. By why not try again?
Windhorst: Fact. It's likely they will run this back, but there is no reason to assume the game will unfold the same way. There's a mighty struggle going on with lots of strategy and adjustments. Game 7 could play out a different way.
Mazzeo: Fact, because it creates good spacing and opens up driving lanes for Dragic and Wade to get to the rim. Sure, the Heat would give up some size again, but it worked in Game 6, given that the rebounding disparity was just two, and there's no reason for Spoelstra to go away from it in Game 7.
Verrier: Fact. It ain't broke ... in fact, at plus-48.1, per NBA.com, it's been the Heat's best playoff lineup (over seven minutes). Small ball asks a lot of an older core on a single day's rest -- specifically banged-up Luol Deng, who has cracked 40 minutes three times this series -- but it's a creative solution when your other options (Amar'e Stoudemire, Udonis Haslem) are even creakier.
5. Who wins Game 7? Why?
Gutierrez: Miami. Dwyane Wade has never played a road Game 7, and it's a heckuva resume builder. The Heat are also coming off a game in which they rediscovered an effective offensive attack. More than anything, though, Toronto fans will make that building as tense as it is excited. They tend to wait for the other shoe to drop in Toronto. And it will. Again.
Wallace: Toronto. The Raptors have the pair of available All-Stars. They won a franchise-record 56 games in the regular season to put themselves in position for this moment. If the Heat had earned Game 7 at home, they'd be the choice. But there's no clear reason to pick otherwise in this spot.
Windhorst: I don't make predictions. But home teams are 99-24 all time in Game 7, and both of these teams won a Game 7 at home in the last round. Soooooo ...
Mazzeo: I picked the Heat in seven going into the series, so there's no reason to change that now. But really, who knows? I just hope, after all this grind-it-out basketball, we see a fun and memorable shot-making duel between Wade and Lowry down the stretch in the fourth quarter, much like at the end of Game 3. Seems like a reasonable ask.
Verrier: Toronto, with Drake-approved prayer emojis aplenty. It's hard to have much faith in the Raptors these days, but either Lowry or DeRozan has gone off for 30-plus points the past two games, and home court -- specifically with Toronto's rabid crowd -- matters.
6. Bonus: Who would be a tougher opponent for the Cavs?
Gutierrez: Toronto. I don't buy that facing Miami would play head games with LeBron. The Raptors have a better chance of getting their big man, Jonas Valanciunas, back in decent form. And I like Toronto's group of wings to stick with Cleveland's shooters better than Miami's.
Wallace: That depends largely on which big man would be able to return from injury sooner. If it's Valanciunas (ankle), then the Raptors would have the better shot. If it's Whiteside (knee), I'd lean toward Miami. But the truth is, either the Heat or the Raptors will be a sacrificial lamb for the rejuvenated and rolling Cavaliers.
Windhorst: Hard to say when we don't know the status of the two injured starting centers in the next round. The Raptors right now are healthier (to a degree) and relatively deeper. LeBron has said he's been looking forward to the Heat, but he didn't say anything about Toronto.
Mazzeo: Everyone wants to see Heat versus LeBron, and why wouldn't they? But I'd say whichever team gets its injured center back fastest. Also, older Miami has put an awful lot of miles on those tires. You wonder if Toronto would be the fresher of the two teams, which have played 14 games apiece this month.
Verrier: Miami? The injuries mounting in both frontcourts means that either is likely chum for a humming Cavs team, but LeBron taking another team to South Beach to face Dwyane Wade likely will have some sort of effect. The idea of James and Wade reuniting on the court provided several weeks of column fodder earlier this season. Now imagine that with actual stakes attached to weeks of games.