OKLAHOMA CITY — Corey Brewer just wanted an opportunity.
Relegated to an offensive afterthought with the Los Angeles Lakers for much of the season, Brewer has found new life with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Brewer was shooting 18.6 percent from behind the 3-point line in 54 games with the Lakers before being bought out and signing with Oklahoma City.
Heading into Friday’s game against the Miami Heat, Brewer has made 38.2 percent of his 34 attempts from behind the arc with the Thunder.
“They talk about in L.A. I was shooting 18 percent,” Brewer said recently. “I was taking one 3 every, like, five games. If I don’t make it, I’m not gonna get to shoot the ball for another five games. People that don’t know basketball, those numbers get skewed.”
Brewer is seeing a change in the way teams defend him. While in Los Angeles, defenders started letting Brewer free for 3-pointers. Now, defenses are closing out on him, opening up lanes to drive.
“You’re not just gonna leave me open — you can ask any coach in the NBA,” Brewer said. “Numbers this, numbers that. Leave me open if you want. I didn’t score 50 in a game for no reason. I can score.”
The Thunder and Heat have yet to play this season, playing their only two games of the year over the next 18 days. The teams will meet again April 9 in Miami.
Last season, the two meetings came early, leaving the teams without a game against each other during the entirety of 2017.
“It’s unique, but at this point they got more than enough of a body of work to know personnel and what they do,” Thunder forward Paul George said. “It’s not a game we’re going into blindly.”
Miami comes into the game short-handed, with guard Dion Waiters out for the season following ankle surgery, guard Dwyane Wade out with a left hamstring strain and center Hassan Whiteside out with a left hip flexor strain.
The Heat enter the game in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, trying to hold off Milwaukee beneath them and trying to catch Washington for sixth.
Miami has had plenty of success against the East, going 26-18, but struggling with the West, going 13-15 including 0-10 against the West’s top six seeds.
The game marks the start of a rough three-game stretch that will be critical for the Heat’s playoff positioning.
After the trip to Oklahoma City, Miami travels to Indiana before returning home to face Cleveland on uesday.
“It’s going to be a tough road trip,” Goran Dragic told the Miami Herald. “Those teams are playing well. They’re going to be in the playoffs. We need to take care of our business. At least we always play good against good teams. We bring that effort and it’s going to be a great challenge for us especially on the road. I think we’re ready. We can beat anybody as long as we’re focused.”
