Everything That’s on the Line in Miami Heat-Toronto Raptors Game 7

The stakes for Sunday’s Game 7 clash between the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors are self-explanatory: winner takes all, victory or vacation, etc.

But focusing solely on the 48 minutes ahead—or more, based on how tightly knit this series has been—overlooks the incredible paths behind this contest.

Combine every storyline forged over the past seven months with the ones that will surface Sunday, and both sides are literally bearing the weight of an entire campaign.

“You have to keep playing or the season is over,” Dwyane Wade said. “That’s the reality of it.”

This isn’t just about extending a season or witnessing its end. This game will deliver validation to one organization and a litany of questions to the other.

Father Prime, Miami’s Resolve and Spo’s Acumen

Wade is at a fascinating point of his career: He’s no longer the athletic freak dubbed “Flash” during his younger NBA days, but he’s still capable of rocking the rim. His stats aren’t as outlandish as they used to be, yet he’s delivered a pair of 30-plus-point eruptions over his last four outings.

This isn’t the best he’s ever been, but it’s impressive enough that the term “Vintage Wade” has been used to the point of becoming cliche. He’s in the gray area between peak and decline, and he even has a name for it.

“Once you get out of this 30-through-34 window, you jump out of that prime,” Wade said, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “But I’m not at Father Time yet. … I’m not ‘Flash’ no more, so we just came up with a new nickname for me at this point, and ‘Father Prime’ is what we got.”

Can Father Prime carry a club the way Flash once did? His teammates say that’s the reason they’re still standing.

“He’s been putting us on his back,” Joe Johnson said after Wade’s 30-point performance in Game 4.

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But Wade hasn’t shouldered this type of responsibility since before the 2010 arrivals of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. And he has already followed his most regular-season appearances since 2010-11 (74) with 13 postseason contests.

“Every other day we’re playing, and it is very taxing,” Wade said.

There’s no break in the schedule, nor is there relief for this injury-riddled roster. Bosh is out with blood clots for the second consecutive year, and Hassan Whiteside said he won’t be ready by Sunday (sprained MCL).

The Heat have undergone several reinventions over the course of this campaign, from a big, bruising team to an undersized, speedy one. Their playoff rotation changes by the day—rookie swingman Justise Winslow didn’t play in Game 3, then started Game 6—and they’ve struggled to unearth any consistent scorers outside of Wade.

“I don’t think either team looks remotely like they did during the regular season, in terms of style of …

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