MIAMI — The conversation that changed the dynamic of the Spurs offense and may have saved their season was short and to the point.
“He came to me and said, ‘Shoot ’em,’” power forward LaMarcus Aldridge said of coach Gregg Popovich.
With Aldridge dramatically altering his game to include regular habitation in 3-point territory, the Spurs (17-21) are 6-4 over their last 10 games. The span includes three wins in the last four games over teams in the top four in the East standings, including Sunday’s 105-104 victory over Toronto in which the Spurs overcame an 18-point third quarter deficit.
Triggering the surge: Popovich’s 3-point directive to Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star who has primarily accumulated his 19,280 career points operating in the low post and by shooting lethal mid-range jumpers.
Ignoring those facts, Popovich gave the 14th-year pro clear marching orders to fire away from beyond the arc.
“It wasn’t, ‘Shoot ’em or don’t shoot ’em,’ it was, ‘Shoot ’em,’” Aldridge said. “I have always been able to, but when you have the green light to take them (it’s different).”
With his coach’s blessing, Aldridge has nailed more 3-pointers in the last 10 games than he did total in 12 of his 14 NBA seasons. He’s 28 of 50 (56.0 percent) in that span having hit at least one shot from distance in each contest.
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For the season, he’s made a career-best 42 of 94 (44.7 percent). With 12 more attempts, he will surpass his career-high of 105 in 2014-15, his last season with Portland.
Popovich was asked before Sunday’s game if Aldridge made the call on his own to stretch the floor or whether the coaching staff nudged him. The coach sidestepped the question with humor.
“That’s not LaMarcus,” he said of the player wearing No. 12. “It’s his twin. It’s an impersonator.”
The truth is this: Aldridge put in a lot of time during the offseason to become more of a 3-point threat, but he didn’t start putting them up regularly until Popovich demanded it.
“I have worked on it for years,” Aldridge said of his 3-point shot. “My last year in Portland, I was pretty confident with it. I think I’ve gotten more confident with it now. I thought last summer was a great summer, drilling with it, putting in time with it. Pop has let me play my game. Some of them are off the dribble, and I’ve kind of been finding my spots. But he has given me that freedom to just play my game.”
Aldridge faced a steady stream of double-teams against the Raptors, but he still managed to contribute 11 points with a 2-of-6 effort from downtown.
“When they double me on the block like they did tonight, I couldn’t even get one look at the rim, so it helps to be able to knock down a trey ball to still try to help the team out,” he said.
With Aldridge successfully stretching the floor, forward DeMar DeRozan has thrived in the paint, scoring 21 or more points in 11 consecutive games. During that span, he’s averaging 27.0 points on hugely efficient 63.4 percent shooting.
On ExpressNews.com: After slow start, DeMar DeRozan leads Spurs to comeback win over Raptors
The NBA announced Monday that DeRozan was its player of the week for Jan. 6-12 after he averaged 29.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.8 minutes over four games while shooting 62.9 percent (39-62) from the field and 90.2 percent (37-41) from the foul line.
It’s the first time DeRozan has earned the honor since joining the Spurs in July 2018. Overall in 11 seasons, he’s collected it 11 times.
“He’s been huge, creating for us, scoring, doing just about everything,” guard Derrick White said.
The improved spacing has allowed DeRozan to live at the foul line. In the last five games, he has averaged 10.4 free throw attempts, sinking 47 of 52 (90.4 percent).
DeRozan readily admits the impressive roll he’s enjoying is a byproduct of Aldridge’s sharpshooting.
“It makes the game a lot easier for me,” DeRozan said. “I have to give a lot of credit to him, being 38 years old, stretching out to the three-point line, shooting threes. It’s been helping us.”
Although Aldridge is actually 34, DeRozan is right about the big man stepping out of his comfort zone to help the team. And it all began by shooting countless jumpers during the offseason.
But, as Popovich pointed out in Toronto, Aldridge is just a talented shooter.
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“You can definitely get better (by practicing), but you can work as long as you want and you are not going to be Steph Curry,” the coach said. “There is a limit for everybody based on a lot of things. ... God-given physiological makeup, what kind of hands they have, what kind of release they have, what kind of timing they have, how coordinated their bodies are. It’s different (for everyone). Jakob Poeltl is probably never going to shoot a three the way L.A. does. But he will probably in his career eventually start to shoot them.”
Aldridge said he’s already had a conversation with the 7-foot Austrian about that very topic.
“We had a talk about that last dinner,” Aldridge said. “He says he sees himself doing it in the next three or four years, so let’s watch for that.”
One thing is certain: Poeltl has a great role model in Aldridge.
torsborn@express-news.net
Twitter: @tom_orsborn
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January 14, 2020 at 05:00AM
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