The Miami Heat slumped to a pretty lopsided defeat in Game 1 to the LA Lakers. They were completely run over by the Lakers offense, and couldn’t get their own offense going. The Lakers destroyed Miami’s zone defense, taking a 32-point lead at one point in the game.

NBA Analyst Skip Bayless called the Heat’s performance embarrassing and pointed out how their defense is to blame.

“The Heat got exposed last night. I am talking about like ripping all their clothes off. This was embarrassing. Look, they are just too small. It starts right there. The Lakers point guard is bigger than the Heat’s center. Obviously, I am talking about LeBron at 6’9 250-ish to Bam, who is 6’9 230-ish.

“And as much as I love to watch Miami play offense, they are a liability on the other end of the floor. They have tried to fake it until they make it with this zone.”

He also spoke about why he thinks Boston fell to the Heat. “The Heat have to make their shots. If they make their shots and keep on making their shots, you could have some problems, because they literally have to outscore you. Boston got literally whatever they wanted on offense. Boston’s shots just didn’t fall.”

Miami Heat: Good but not good enough?

One cannot discredit Miami’s viability as worthy Eastern Conference Champions. While they are in a mismatch against the Lakers, they took down favorites like the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. They won those series’s pretty convincingly as well. While many would have predicted a Lakers win, no one saw this handy beating coming.

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Erik Spoelstra must realize that he cannot employ a zone defense to beat a Lakers team full of NBA veterans. They know how to beat the most fundamental defensive scheme in basketball. However, they aren’t a bad defensive team by any measure. All they need is to refocus their attention. In doing so, they may stand a chance of coming back in this series.