Spoelstra says Spurs are an exception to midrange rule

MIAMI — Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spent most of training camp and the preseason weaning his players off midrange shots. The payoff, by almost every metric, was too meager.

So Josh Richardson stepped back, as did Dwyane Wade. As has most of the rest of the NBA.

Then there are the San Antonio Spurs, the Heat’s opponent Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

And once again, while the league is zigging, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is zagging, with DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge thriving in what most of the NBA considers a no-fly zone.

“I think it’s a perfect example, also, of Pop’s greatness,” Spoelstra said. “Whatever he has, he’s going to play to those strengths. Whatever direction the league is going, that’s not going to affect the way they play. It’s still going to be about the strengths.

“The Spurs were one of the first teams that were maximizing the 3-point line. I think it’s just fitting. An example of Pop’s genius is the fact that everybody’s is going in one direction and now he’s going the other direction, and they’re still finding a way to win.”

The approach comes in the wake of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green being traded in the offseason to the Toronto Raptors, Tony Parker leaving for the Charlotte Hornets in free agency, and Manu Ginobili retiring.

“It’s brilliant coaching along with two highly skilled and decorated scorers that can do it in those areas arguably better than anybody else in the league,” Spoelstra said.

DeRozan, acquired from Toronto in the trade of Leonard and Green, continues as a master of the midrange.

“You have to be able to do what they do at an exceptional level. And they do,” Spoelstra said. “DeRozan is number one in the league in drives. So, yes, as a perimeter player, he’s up there in post-ups and isolations. Aldridge, the same. But they force you to have to bring a second defender, because they’re so efficient.

“DeRozan is shooting almost 50 percent right now [on midrange shots]. That’s unparalleled. You can’t match that. People don’t have that kind of accuracy. And then he’s able to draw fouls. I think he’s passing as well as he’s passed in his whole career right now.”

Versatility appreciated: Spoelstra said having a player with the versatility of Justise Winslow has eased dealing with his team’s early-season injuries.

“It’s really what I talked about in the beginning of the year, that it’s a compliment that we have that kind of faith in his versatility that his role won’t be as clearly and definitively defined as some others guys,” he said. “We’ll change positions, change roles — sometimes he’s with the ball, sometimes he’s without the ball; sometimes starting, sometimes not starting — and all of that because that versatility.

“And it’s so key, especially when you have guys out, that you have somebody that can wear a lot of different hats. And that is part of his strength. It’s not his only strength. I don’t want to limit him. But that certainly helps.” is

Middle ground: Having offered harsh criticism of the political climate during the Trump administration, Popovich offered thoughts on Tuesday’s elections after Wednesday morning’s shootaround.

“I feel a little bit better about the state of the world,” he said, with Democrats gaining control of the House of Representatives. “At least we have some check and balance over government gone amok.”

Popovich last week appeared at Spurs practice in a “Beto” cap for Beto O’Rourke, who lost his bid Tuesday for Ted Cruz‘s Texas Senate seat.