Skip Bayless has been very committed and proud of the Miami Heat during the playoffs.
He has repeatedly said that he felt they could even win the Finals.
On Friday morning, he wasn’t so sure about that.
Bayless spoke about Miami’s tough loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and he sounded like he had lost nearly all faith in the team.
“They got turned back into…an eight seed,” Bayless said.
.@RealSkipBayless reacts to the Nuggets Game 1 win over the Heat: pic.twitter.com/QNSyrlIWmZ
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 2, 2023
Bayless paid special attention to Jimmy Butler, who suffered yet another off-night during the opening game.
He landed two buckets right out of the gate at the start of the game but then went cold after that and only scored 13 for the evening, never once reaching the free-throw line.
In fact, the entire team only had two free throws all night long.
Bayless said that no team has been as reliant on one player as the Heat are on Butler.
If he has a bad night, the entire team has a bad one, he argued.
The Heat never went into “attack mode” on Thursday, Bayless said.
He claimed their game is built on “just putting your head down and getting to the cup, to the bucket, to the free-throw line.”
They weren’t able to do that in Game 1 and it left them in a very bad position from beginning to end.
For Game 2, the Heat will need to adjust their lineup and ensure that they get more fouls and that Butler is able to be more productive.
Although things didn’t get started in a great way, there is still time for them to get it together.
They know what needs to be changed and now it’s just a matter of making that happen.
NEXT: Shannon Sharpe Gives A New NBA Finals Prediction After Game 1
