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The first few minutes of Game 1 of the NBA Finals began as well as the Miami Heat could have hoped. Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder hit some early shots, and they were largely able to contain the Los Angeles Lakers, jumping out to a 23-10 lead in the first quarter. Then the Lakers made a run of their own, and things went south fast for the Eastern Conference champions. Not only did the Lakers hammer the Heat, 116-98, to take a 1-0 lead in the Finals, but it did so convincingly, leading by as much as 32 points in the third quarter.
Making things worse for Miami were the injuries suffered by some of their key players. Guard Goran Dragic suffered a torn plantar fascia while big man Bam Adebayo had a neck strain. Both players are listed as doubtful for Game 2 on Friday. Even Butler turned his ankle late in the first half, but was able to return in the second half. A dream Finals appearance turned into a nightmare for the Heat in Game 1, but the Finals is a series, and there are still adjustments that the Heat can make to have a much better showing in the succeeding games:
1. Show Their Depth
Heading into the Finals, the series was billed as a battle between the Lakers’ All-Star pairing of LeBron James and Anthony Davis against the Heat’s superior depth. While James and Davis took turns in leading Los Angeles in their previous playoff games, the Heat were buoyed by different players at different times. In Game 1 of the Conference Semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks, it was Butler. In Game 4 of the Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, it was Tyler Herro. In Game 6 of the same series, it was Adebayo. If the Lakers had the two of the league’s best players, it was the Heat’s depth that was going to give them a chance.
That wasn’t the case in Game 1. After starting off strong in the first six minutes, the Heat faltered and it was the Lakers’ supporting cast that made their mark. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13 points) kept them afloat as Miami jumped out to an early lead, while Danny Green (11 points) and Alex Caruso (10 points) would help them retake the lead and eventually pull away. Despite a good start from Crowder (12 points) and a strong showing from Kendrick Nunn (18 points on 8-of-11 shooting), the rest of the Heat’s role players struggled.
Herro finished with 14 points, but made just six of 18 shots and was constantly exploited by James on defense as he finished with a minus-35. Duncan Robinson, who averaged 11.3 points entering the game, went scoreless in 27 minutes, while Andre Iguodala, in his sixth straight straight Finals appearance, had just seven points and was a minus-25. Dragic status for the rest of the series is uncertain, while Adebayo battled foul trouble and injury throughout the game.
Miami’s role players cannot get outplayed as the series continues, especially in 3-point shooting, which was one of their strengths in the playoffs. But in Game 1, the Lakers shot 15-of-38 (39.5%) from beyond the arc to the Heat’s 11-of-35 (31.4%). The Lakers’ shooting will likely regress to the mean in the series (they made an average of 11.6 and have shot 35.8% in the playoffs), but Miami will need more out of their supporting cast, especially from downtown.
2. Get To The Free Throw Line More
The Heat’s outside shooting will likely improve as the series goes on, but the same cannot be said of their free throw shooting, which is an important part of their offense. In Game 1, the Lakers got to the line more times, making 25 of 27 charities (92.6%) to Miami’s 11 of 14 (78.6%). This is a far cry from their usual numbers, as the Heat average 26.8 attempts and 21.9 makes at the line in the playoffs. According to a story on NBA.com, the Heat rank second in free throw rate in the playoffs, with 33.2 free throws per 100 shot attempts from the field, outscoring opponents by 3.9 points from the charity stripe.
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But in Game 1, while Adebayo had six free throws and Butler had five, none of their teammates had more than two. Even Butler’s free throw attempts were below his average, as he's taken 8.9 a game in the playoffs. For the Heat to have a chance in Game 2, they need to be able to draw fouls and score points from the free throw line, as the Lakers defense has already makes it hard for them to score in other areas. Getting to the line and drawing more fouls would also mean putting pressure on the Lakers’ defense and getting their big men in foul trouble, which could help negate their imposing size advantage against Miami.
3. Keep Bam Adebayo On The Floor
Like Dragic, Adebayo is listed as doubtful for Game 2 due to a neck sprain, but there’s a chance that he can still return later in the series. That’s certainly welcome news for a Heat team that struggled to contain Davis in the opener. The Lakers’ 27-year old big man finished with 34 points in his first Finals game, tied for the third-highest scoring output in a Finals debut in franchise history. He made 11 of 21 shots from all over the floor, and added nine rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. More importantly, he looked comfortable on the court, and handled whatever the Heat threw at him with ease.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tried defending Davis by committee in Game 1, with Butler, Iguodala, Crowder, Robinson, and Solomon Hill all taking turns defending the big man. Davis, however, was mostly successful against them, and was able to kick it out to his open teammates whenever Miami tried to double him. This strategy was partly to keep Adebayo out of foul trouble, but he still picked up two early fouls and battled foul trouble and injury for the rest of the game.
The Heat will need the 23-year old Adebayo against the Lakers, as he is the only player on the team who has a chance to slow down Davis, especially at the rim, where he did the most damage in Game 1. When at his best, as he showed against the Celtics, Adebayo is a force on both ends, a constant threat to attack the basket and set screens to free up the team’s shooters. As for his defense, one only needs to look at his incredible game-saving block on Jayson Tatum in Game 1 against the Celtics to see what he brings on that end.
If there's any recipe for success left to help the Miami Heat, it definitely includes an active Bam Adebayo as the main ingredient.
4. Be the Aggressors
For the first time in the playoffs, the Heat fell behind in a series after the Game 1 loss. Despite a strong start and an early lead, they were flustered by the Lakers’ size and physicality. It was unlike the Heat that we’ve seen for most of the playoffs, which dictated the way that games were played against Indiana, Milwaukee, and Boston. Instead, James and Davis got whatever they wanted in Game 1. LeBron forced mismatches and drove to the rim repeatedly and Davis scored both inside the paint and from the perimeter.
It will always be a challenge to slow down a team that has James and Davis, but Miami can't also be outdone in the effort and physicality stats, such as in rebounding, where the Purple and Gold held a staggering 54-36 advantage. With the status of some of their key players up in the air, the Heat will need to work doubly hard to give themselves a chance against the Lakers. Being the aggressors that they once were against the Pacers, Bucks, and Celtics will go a long way in helping them against the biggest challenge they’ve faced in the playoffs.
