Miami Heat: 3 reasons behind Game 6 loss in the NBA Finals

3. Free throws, free throws, free throws

Over the course of the 2019-20 campaign, the Heat were an above-average free throw shooting team. Upon entering the bubble, they upped the ante, making a name for themselves as the team you would not want to send to the charity stripe.

During the entirety of the 2020 postseason, they shot a tremendous 82.5 percent from the free-throw line. That was enough to rank them as the second-best free-throw shooting team, behind the Orlando Magic who had an early exit.

This improvement was mainly powered by Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro who all approached the 90 percent mark and were responsible for more than half of the team’s shots from the line.

Game 6, though, was an entirely different story. The Lakers shot 64.3 percent from the line as they only made 9 shots and the Heat somehow managed to fall behind at a pathetic 59.1 percent.

They say that championship teams are built on a foundation of defense and free-throw success. Had the Heat sunk in a handful more of these shots and there is a possibility that we would be preparing ourselves for a dramatic Game 7.