Bazemore provides spark, as Warriors win 15 of last 20
Kent Bazemore likes to end each of his postgame media sessions by recapping the Warriors’ place in the standings and teasing what’s next.
“Five straight for the Warriors,” Bazemore said after Golden State’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans last Friday. “Fourteen out of 19, big game on Sunday, Chase (Center) let’s get it. … See y’all Sunday.”
On Sunday, the Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies and extended their regular-season win streak to six games, clinching a date with the Los Angeles Lakers in today’s 7-8 game of the play-in tournament; a certain ratings bonanza that will feature LeBron James’s now-healthy Lakers and Stephen Curry’s Warriors, winners of 15 of their past 20.
Since Bazemore was inserted into the starting lineup in April, his nearnightly recap has coincided with Golden State’s strong push into the postseason.
While Curry and Draymond Green rightly grab the headlines and the opponent’s attention, Bazemore’s team-first attitude has helped the Warriors’ starting lineup click into place.
When former starting shooting guard Kelly Oubre Jr. injured his left wrist on a dunk attempt in an April 9 loss in Washington, head coach Steve Kerr turned to Bazemore to take over as the starter in the team’s next game against the Houston Rockets.
They won by 16 points and Bazemore tallied nine points on 4-for-9 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 32 minutes.
He went on to start 17 of the final 20 games (Bazemore
missed three games due to the league’s health and safety protocols) even during Oubre’s brief fivegame return before the lingering effects of the left wrist injury forced Oubre to miss the rest of the season.
“When Kelly went out, the choice between (Bazemore) and (Damion Lee), (Mychal) Mulder or Jordan Poole was really all about defense,” Kerr said. “Baze is the most experienced of that group. He’s the most capable in terms of using length and athleticism on the ball. He’s also started tons of games in his career, and he was familiar with Steph and Draymond from having played with them previously. So it was a relatively easy choice.”
The Warriors went 13-4 during that span, and Bazemore’s statistics improved across the board. In his first 50 games, Bazemore averaged 6.0 points on 44.3% shooting (39.7% from 3-point range), 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 16.8 minutes. In his final 17 games as a starter, he averaged 10.6 points on 45.9% shooting (42.7% from 3-point range), 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.1 minutes.
Obviously being a starter comes with more minutes and opportunity, but the key takeaway in those numbers is the increased efficiency that has helped Golden State’s starting lineup go from one of the worst in the NBA to one of the best.
Before April 10, the Warriors starting lineup with Oubre and center James Wiseman was being outscored by 12.8 points per 100 possessions. Since April 10 — with Bazemore in Oubre’s place and Kevon Looney replacing Wiseman after Wiseman’s seasonending knee injury — the Warriors’ starters are outscoring opponents by 6.7 points per 100 possessions. That’s a swing of nearly 20 points per 100 possessions, all while Golden State rose to fifth in defensive rating.
Bazemore described his approach as a starter as bringing “energy, a little defensive presence, a little ball pressure. Just intangibles.”
“That starting lineup with Steph, Draymond, Wiggins, that’s a ton of firepower,” He said. “And I’ve been shooting the ball pretty well this year, so providing some court spacing for my guys so they can operate.”
While Oubre would often break away from the offense and hunt his own shots, Bazemore, 31, finds his place on the wing, makes quick decisions with the ball and reserves energy for the defensive end. Oubre may average twice as many points as Bazemore this season, but the Warriors go from being outscored by 3.2 points per 100 possessions with Oubre starting at shooting guard to outscoring opponents by 7.7 points per 100 possessions with Bazemore starting at shooting guard.