Bam Adebayo does not want to get fined.
But he does appear to have a problem with officiating after the Miami Heat attempted just two free throws into the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He's just not saying so out loud.
The Athletic's Joe Vardon asked Adebayo his thoughts on the free-throw discrepancy in Adebayo's postgame news conference alongside Haywood Highsmith. The Nuggets attempted 20 free throws and connected on 16. The Heat's two free throw attempts were"If I do say something, will you take the fine?" Adebayo responded."I just feel like, we can't even get into that," he continued."We can't let them dictate the game.
As a team, the Heat shot 40.6% from the field and 13 of 39 from 3-point distance. Neither of those numbers is good enough to compete with a Nuggets team that's cruising through the postseason and has yet to lose a playoff game at home. Miami stunned the Eastern Conference to win its Finals berth as an 8 seed thanks in large part to its ability create and hit quality shots from all over the court, including long distance. After finishing 27th in the regular season while shooting 34.4% from long-distance, Miami entered the NBA Finals leading all playoff teams with a 38.5% success rate from 3 in the postseason. That efficiency was nowhere to be found Thursday night.
While the free-throw disparity is a problem, it wasn't why the Heat lost Thursday night. In order to compete in Game 2 and beyond, they'll need to find the form that led to their hot shooting through the first three rounds. Attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line would help on that front.
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