Despite entering game one of their conference semi-finals matchup against the Miami Heat as both the higher seed and the Vegas favourite—and earning the nod from data-driven projections by Fivethirtyeight.com (which gives them a 55-percent chance of advancing) and ESPN Analytics (66 percent)—the Raptors continue to be counted out by the majority of the American media.
Expert | Outlet | Prediction |
---|---|---|
Sam Amick | USA Today | Heat in seven |
Jeff Zillgitt | USA Today | Heat in six |
Kelly Dwyer | Yahoo/Ball Don’t Lie | Heat in six |
Jeremy Woo | SI.com | Heat in six |
Tas Melas | The Starters | Heat in seven |
Trey Kerby | The Starters | Heat in six |
Leigh Ellis | The Starters | Raptors in seven |
J.E. Skeets | The Starters | Raptors in seven |
Jon Krawczynski | Associated Press | Heat in seven |
John Schuhmann | NBA.com | Heat in six |
Tom Haberstroh | ESPN | Heat in seven |
Kevin Pelton | ESPN | Heat in six |
Jeremias Engelmann | ESPN | Raptors in seven |
Bradford Doolittle | ESPN | Raptors in seven |
Ken Berger | CBS Sports | Heat in six |
Bill Reiter | CBS Sports | Heat in seven |
Zach Harper | CBS Sports | Heat in six |
Matt Moore | CBS Sports | Heat in six |
James Herbert | CBS Sports | Raptors in seven |
Ananth Pandian | CBS Sports | Raptors in seven |
Shaquille O’Neal | Inside the NBA | Heat |
Charles Barkley | Inside the NBA | Waiting to see game one |