the NBA. If you only practice 3s and layups, you're not going to be brilliant in the mid-range ... and the efficiency of the mid-range shot will look worse and worse over time.

Everyone knows that over the course of a game (or season), you want to avoid mid-range shots as much as possible and focus on 3s and layups. However, there are situations where that doesn't apply. In a tied game with no shot clock, the calculation changes. It's no longer about maximizing your points-per-possession, it's about maximizing your chances of scoring 1 point on that possession. It would be better to shoot a 2-point shot with a 34% success rate than a 3-point shot with a 33% success rate. It would be even better to have your 35% free throw shooter take 1 shot. You wouldn't want to do that on "every" possession ... but you would want that on "that" possession.

Baseball has far fewer "possessions" in a game, so you have to capitalize on situational opportunities.