Thanks to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, the NBA is shooting more three-pointers. Luckily for the San Antonio Spurs, they have a power forward in LaMarcus Aldridge who’s too good to be out of the league or on the bench. Aldridge has always been a jump-shooting big man, adding a blend of physicality. But three-point shooting? It’s never really been his thing.
That isn’t to say that he can’t shoot them. Going into this season, he was a career 28 percent three-point shooter. But this year, things have changed in terms of his mindset from beyond the arc. Aldridge is on pace to attempt more threes than ever, and he’s connecting on a career-high 40.4 percent of his tries. So far, he’s attempted 57 three-pointers in 29 games. His most was 105 in 71 appearances in his last season with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2014-15.
After the Spurs’ 136-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, in which Aldridge went 5-6 from three, Aldridge’s teammates have taken notes.
Bryn Forbes on how LA shooting and making 3s impacts the offense: "Now teams have to guard him all the way to the three-point line instead of sagging off, clogging the lane and giving less space for everyone else. He’s been doing a great job, he’s been hitting them."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) December 29, 2019
Spurs point guard Murray weighed in:
Dejounte Murray on LA stretching the floor: “He shoots them in practice all the time, so I don’t know why he doesn’t get out there and shoot them in games. It’s good to see him finally start shooting them…He rarely misses them in practice.”
Dejounte Murray on LA stretching the floor: "He shoots them in practice all the time, so I don’t know why he doesn’t get out there and shoot them in games. It’s good to see him finally start shooting them…He rarely misses them in practice."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) December 29, 2019
The biggest takeaway from Aldridge and his new-found three-point stroke is his willingness to adapt. If the Spurs hope to claw their way back into the playoff race in the Western Conference, Aldridge’s three-point shooting continuing at this pace will be crucial. Otherwise, San Antonio could be in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1997. They currently sit at 13-18, one game out of the eighth seed in the west, but it’s going to be a close race the rest of the way.
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