Bazley deals with ups and downs of 2nd year
Darius Bazley’s breakout performance in the bubble last summer didn’t extend into his sophomore season.
In the Thunder’s eight seeding games in Orlando, Bazley recorded three straight 20-point games and shot 19-of-41 (46%) from 3-point range.
That small sample set the bar high entering Year 2, but the numbers weren’t sustainable for the 6-foot-8 forward.
Bazley opened the first half of this season averaging 11.9 points on 39% shooting, including 29% from 3-point range.
“Development is not just linear,” said the 20-year-old Bazley, repeating a favorite phrase of coach Mark Daigneault. “It’s not a straight-line up. You definitely gotta take a couple falls and dust yourself back off and get back up and keep going.”
Bazley, the latest focus in our Thun
der development series, has taken his fair share of falls in the second half of the season, but his scoring has soared.
After averaging 11.9 points per game in the first half, Bazley is averaging 18.1 points in the second half. As his volume of shots has risen, so too has his shooting percentage, from 39% in the first half to 42% in 16 second-half games.
His usage rate has risen from 19.8% to 25.1%, reflecting a more aggressive approach on offense and a larger role given the lack of other options on a depleted Thunder roster.
“There’s a big difference,” Bazley said of where he started the season to now. “Just working with the coaches individually, watching film. Coach Mark has been a great help to me.
“That jump that you’re talking about, I can credit a lot of that towards him. Even my teammates as well, just encouraging me and getting me on the right track and focusing on the right things.”
Bazley’s shot distribution has changed since coming back from a fracture in his shoulder blade, which cost him 16 games from March 11 to April 8. Before the injury, and before the All-Star break, 54% of Bazley’s shot attempts were 2-pointers, and 46% were 3-pointers.
Bazley has shifted his attack in the second half. He’s taking 65% of his shots from inside the arc and 35% from 3-point range. It’s led to increased efficiency, as he’s shooting just 29% from 3-point range this season on 5.2 attempts per game. Last season he shot 35% from three on 2.3 attempts per game.
Bazley credited Thunder assistant Dave Bliss for his improvement at the rim.
“We’ll just work on taking driving angles and contact and stuff like that and try to implement it into the game,” Bazley said. “He’s helped me a lot in that area. The work is being shown.”
On the other end of the floor, Bazley has expanded his defensive versatility.
“There was a stretch where I was guarding (Julius) Randle, (Kevin) Durant, (Zion) Williamson, just to name a few,” Bazley said. “And I thought that was really good for me, just to get an opportunity and to be able to go up against those guys who all have different skill sets, different size, different capabilities.
“It’s a thank you to the coaches for putting me in that spot, trusting me to go out and try and do that task and learn from those things. It’s also a credit to the work I’ve put in in the weight room with our strength guys.”
Bazley is averaging 31 minutes per game this season and he’s started all 52 games he’s been available. As a rookie, who entered the NBA having not played college basketball, Bazley made nine starts and averaged 19 minutes per game.
Bazley is fourth on the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.3 per game.
Among all NBA sophomores he ranks 12th in scoring, one spot behind teammate Luguentz Dort, and third in rebounding, behind teammate Moses Brown and Denver’s Michael Porter Jr.
“It’s gonna be up and down,” Bazley said of his development. “But if you’re doing things the right way and you’re building on good habits, it’ll slowly start to go up.”