The lack of chances at the charity stripe by the Miami Heat has been a big talking point following their 104-93 loss in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. However, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra knows that it's more about the lack of aggressiveness of his team in attacking the rim and less about the game's officiating.
“I thought the free throw disparity was appropriate, Spoelstra said during the Heat's practice on Saturday. “Maybe we could have got two, four, six more based on a call here or a call there. But overall our attack numbers were lower, and that usually translates into lower free throw attempts.”
The Heat only had two free-throw attempts in the series opener and both were from a reliever in Haywood Haysmith. Miami star Jimmy Butler had already admitted that the Heat's over-dependence on shooting jumpers was a major reason for the paltry free-throw attempts by his team in Game 1 when he asked about it in the postgame press conference.
Miami is averaging 20 attempts from the free-throw line so far in the playoffs, so it was shocking, to say the least, that the Heat were only able to get two freebies in Game 1. Add to that the fact that the Heat are getting 14.6 percent of their points in the playoffs from the free-throw line.
With both Butler and Spoelstra noting Miami's shot selection, expect the Heat to attack the basket and generate free-throw chances more in Game 2 this coming Sunday in Denver.
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