Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Spo on 3-pointers: It’s quality, not quantity
Treys are up, but free throws are few & far between
MIAMI — When it comes to 3-point attempts, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra wants an organic approach, shots he says should come naturally within the confines of his offense.
Going into Wednesday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat stood sixth in the league in 3-point attempts, at 33.7 per game, compared to last season’s 12th-place ranking at 27 per game.
“As long as we’re getting our attackers in the paint, getting opportunities at the rim, being aggressive, we’re not settling, I’m fine with those type of 3-point numbers,” he said.
Spoelstra said the key, as with all attempts, is that they come by working through the framework of the offense, not settling for what is being given.
“Playing with intention, with purpose to our identity offensively is so important for us, that our guys are aggressive, that we’re getting opportunities in the paint,” he said of the driveand-dish approach that has become so essential in the injury absence of center Hassan Whiteside. “If that opens up 3-point shooting, so if teams are going to be really committed to keeping us out of the paint, a lot of times those 3-point shots will be available and I want our guys shooting with clear minds.”
While the 3-pointers have been up, the Heat went into Wednesday’s game 27th in the 30-team league in free throws, at 16.3 per game, after averaging 21.6 last season, which still put them at 26th in the NBA.
“We’re down at the bottom of the league,” Spoelstra said. “We just have to continue to stay with it. We’re top of the league in layup attempts, paint attacks, paint opportunities, all these things that would suggest more free-throw attempts.
“It hasn’t turned out that way for us early in the season. But stay with it and hopefully that number turns.”
Opposite approach
Then there are the Spurs, whose old-school approach has impressed Spoelstra.
“It’s remarkable what they do and how they reinvent themselves every year,” he said. “The faces change, but their standards and excellence remain the same. So now they’re doing it retro, doing it totally old school, the way everybody said you can’t do it.
“And they’re doing it by still building a top-caliber defense, not playing with incredible pace, and not playing with the 3-point line right now, playing with post-up, back-to-the-basket options, and they’re still beating everybody. So they’re averaging less than 20 3-point attempts a game, and averaging No. 1 in post-ups. These are numbers from the ’90s. “
Reunion time
Wednesday’s game was the first meeting between Heat guard Goran Dragic and Spurs center Pau
Gasol since Dragic’s Slovenian national team defeated Gasol and Spain 92-72 in the semifinals of EuroBasket on the way to the championship.
“We didn’t imagine it was going to be by 20 points,” Dragic said. “But we were in such a good rhythm. We played the best basketball of that tournament. We were confident we could win.”
The respect for Gasol endures.
“Huge, huge respect. I think he can be a Hall of Famer,” Dragic said. “He won multiple titles in Europe and in the NBA and with the national team with Spain.
“He’s still playing at a high level and you can see that he’s taking care of his body and he’s all in. You can only respect this kind of basketball player, because they put so much in, into their life of basketball.”
Learning curve
Spoelstra said this additional time with undrafted Central Florida 3-point specialist Matt Williams continues to prove beneficial. Williams is on a twoway contract with the G League, limited to 45 days this season in the NBA.
“He has that NBA skill right now, and he has NBA 3-point range,” Spoelstra said. “So he has, along with that, a big frame for a wing player. We think we can take some time to develop him into a capable defender.
“He has a tremendous work ethic, very diligent, very consistent. He loves being in the gym. He’s very open-minded to coaching.”