A look at the adjustment Goran Dragic made to his game that he hopes extends his career
Entering this season, Goran Dragic had never attempted 10 or more threes in a game. The Heat guard has already done it twice this season.
Dragic also entered Wednesday averaging a career-high 5.8 three-point shot attempts per game this season. All of this comes with Dragic’s drives to the basket shrinking from 17.7 per game in 2016-17 to 11.5 per game this season, according to NBA.com’s tracking stats.
This is not by accident, with Dragic, 33, adjusting his game to help prolong his playing career and keep defenses off balance. This season, a career-high 43.7 percent of his points have come from behind the three-point line.
“It has been a development really for a couple of years,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said in advance of Wednesday’s home matchup against the Wizards. “He has been working with [assistant coach] Chris Quinn and [shooting coach] Rob Fodor. Rob has gone over to Slovenia a couple times. This has been very intentional on his part to improve his game. It’s not just about age. It’s about improvement. He’s still an elite attacker. But now teams have had to change their scouting report. You can’t go under and play him soft as much as they were able to earlier in his career because he’s making them pay for it.”
Dragic, in his 12th NBA season, insists he began to make this adjustment before right knee surgery limited him to a career-low 36 games last season. But the injury that now has Dragic wearing a bulky knee brace sped up the process, with fewer drives to the basket equaling less wear and tear on his body.
Dragic entered Wednesday averaging 15.6 points and 4.8 assists in 27.9 minutes this season.
“That was one thing, even I talked to coach Spo and to the trainers, that’s how you extend your career, too,” said Dragic, who is now being used off the bench after starting in 268 of the first 282 regular-season games he played in with Miami. “You just need to adjust your game when you get older. Of course, you’re not as quick anymore like you used to be and you just need to find different spots. I feel like this is the one I’ve really focused on. So far, so good.”
It helps that Dragic is making his threes. He entered Wednesday shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range this season, which ranks eighth-best among the league’s 55 guards shooting five or more threes per game.
The step-back shot has been especially effective for Dragic, who is 12 of 21 (57.1 percent) on step-back threes this season. He was 2 of 14 on those shots season.
“I love basketball,” Dragic said. “So, I listen to all these great players and how they’re talking. When you’re young, you only see one way. Then when you get older, you see what you need to improve on and how you need to play to play longer. This is something I have really taken to heart to try to do it, and it helps.”
Watching former Heat teammate Dwyane Wade find different ways to reinvent himself late in his career left a mark on Dragic. Wade took a career-high 3.6 threes per game in his final NBA season last year.
“He was shooting threes, too,” Dragic said of Wade. “Of course, you learn from the best. I saw a lot of improvement late in his career.”
RILEY’S WORDS
Heat managing general partner Micky Arison, CEO Nick Arison, president Pat Riley, general manager Andy Elisburg and Spoelstra were among the many in attendance at former NBA commissioner David Stern’s memorial service on Tuesday in New York.
Riley was among those who spoke at the memorial.
“He understood what culture meant and how to build one,” Riley said of Stern, according to USA Today. “Culture is nothing more than people who have shared visions of how to move forward and what is next.”
Spoelstra said of attending Stern’s memorial: “It was an incredibly well done, emotional, respectful ceremony. It was simply amazing. It was an absolute who’s who of this great association spanning the last 50 years. It was incredible to see that many people in there and just to hear the stories about an amazing visionary and how many people he impacted.”
Spoelstra added that his father, Jon Spoelstra, flew to New York for the memorial. Jon is a former member of the Trail Blazers’ front office.
▪ Heat wing Jimmy Butler (right hip soreness) is listed as probable for Wednesday’s game against the Wizards. He missed Monday’s win over the Kings with the injury.
In addition, Heat forward Duncan Robinson (right ankle sprain) is questionable and Dragic (right knee bruise) is probable for Wednesday’s contest. Heat forward Justise Winslow (lower back bone bruise) remains out.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 11:25 AM.
