Bazemore to start at SF

[jayu70]

The decision has been made.

The biggest question facing the Hawks this preseason was who would replace DeMarre Carroll as the team’s starting small forward. The answer is Kent Bazemore.

When the Hawks tip off the 2015-16 NBA season Tuesday night against the Pistons at Philips Arena, Bazemore join Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and Al Horford in the starting lineup. Coach Mike Budenholzer confirmed his decision following Monday’s practice. The AJC reported that Bazemore would start earlier in the day.

“It’s a blessing to be out there with four All-Stars,” Bazemore said. “It’s a dream come true. We’ve got a long season ahead of us and, obviously, I have some big shoes to fill. Let’s get after it.”

Bazemore spoke having not yet been told of his new role. When Budenholzer made the announcement later he joked “I might have to make a phone call now.”

The decision to put Bazemore in the starting lineup was not a surprise following training camp and exhibition games. Bazemore appeared in five games and started all with the four regulars. He sat out exhibition games against the Mavericks and the finale against the Pistons, as all five starters did not play in the final tune-up. The Hawks are also bringing Thabo Sefolosha along slowly in his recovery from a broken right leg and ligament damage in his ankle.

The 6-foot-5 Bazemore averaged 10.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 22.2 minutes during the preseason. In last week’s full rehearsal against the Grizzlies, Bazemore had 18 points, two rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes. He was 7 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.

Bazemore reflected Monday on how far he has come in three years. As a senior at Old Dominion he was arrested for DUI. He was arrested again minutes before a game against Mercer, what was to be his last collegiate contest, for not complying with the conditions of his suspended sentence when he failed to complete an alcohol safety course on schedule. He went from zero to nine pre-draft workouts after his agent, Austin Walton, convince teams he was an NBA quality defender. Still, Bazemore went undrafted. He landed a spot with the Warriors Summer League team, which turned into a contract. There were 61 games in his rookie year of 2012-13. The following year he split the season between the Warriors and the Lakers after a trade. Bazemore signed a two-year contract with the Hawks last summer.

“It’s definitely surreal,” Bazemore said. “… It’s just been a great ride, to say the least, to come from those kinds of depths to be here, smiling and talking about it. You definitely have to count your blessings and keep working. Keep working at the things that got you here. My work ethic, belief in myself and belief from others around me has helped me get to this stage.”

Bazemore appeared in 75 games, 10 starts, for the Hawks last season. He averaged 5.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 17.6 minutes. His role expanded late in the regular season and into the playoffs with season-ending injuries to Sefolosha and Kyle Korver.

“He is one of those guys who brings an edge, an energy, and hopefully it fits well with our team,” Budenholzer said. “We love how competitive his is and the edge he plays with. It really has a big impact on the group.”

Sefolosha will see significant time off the bench at small forward as he continues his return from injury. Whether Sefolosha eventually works his way into the starting lineup remains to be seen. When the season starts Tuesday, the job belongs to Bazemore.

http://atlantahawks.blog.ajc.com/2015/10/26/bazemore-will-start-at-small-forward-for-hawks-in-opener/

[Jamaaliver]

Glad to see the young man turn his life around in such a short time.

I do appreciate his intensity, but I wonder if he can maintain the frenetic pace every night for 20+ mpg.

This season is his best chance to lock down a huge payday for himself and his family long term.

Teams will leave him open offensively, especially in closing moments of tight games. His ability to make opponents pay will determine whether he keeps a hold of this starting spot moving forward.

Ironically, I think it'll be offensively where we miss Demarre Carroll the most

[PandaKidd]

BAZE should see an uptick in his game much like DMC did. I am confident in his ability.

[PandaKidd]

Glad to see the young man turn his life around in such a short time.

I do appreciate his intensity, but I wonder if he can maintain the frenetic pace every night for 20+ mpg.

This season is his best chance to lock down a huge payday for himself and his family long term.

Teams will leave him open offensively, especially in closing moments of tight games. His ability to make opponents pay will determine whether he keeps a hold of this starting spot moving forward.

Ironically, I think it'll be offensively where we miss Demarre Carroll the most

DMC was a 12pt ppg last year right?

I think Baze more is more than capable of contributing that. Hes more athletic IMO, so he should run the floor more. He may not be as big a threat outside (but DMC wasnt some world known 3pt shooter either).

I really think we will make up those points and possessions with rotations involving Baze/THJ and lets not forget Splitter contributing.

[Jamaaliver]

DMC was a 12pt ppg last year right?

I think Baze more is more than capable of contributing that. Hes more athletic IMO, so he should run the floor more. He may not be as big a threat outside (but DMC wasn't some world known 3pt shooter either).

I really think we will make up those points and possessions with rotations involving Baze/THJ and lets not forget Splitter contributing.

DMC was our 2nd best shooter on open jumpers last season. Bazemore was right behind him. So the production overall might easily be compensated for.

But can Bazemore keep up that efficiency with a higher volume of shots...and at key moments of the ball game?

Do you trust Kent Bazemore, or Thabo for that matter, taking important jump shots in the last 3 minutes of tight games? After spending the entire night chasing LeBron, Carmel, P George and Jimmy Butler?

Those key pressure moments can't be simulated in practice. And he will absolutely be the player opposing defenses lag off of when they key in to stop KK, Teague and the frontcourt trio. Kent's ability to hit open shots at the close of games will determine a handful of contests this year.

It'll be interesting to see if he can withstand the scrutiny, pressure and expectations of filling in DMC's shoes night after night.

[PandaKidd]

DMC was a 12pt ppg last year right?

I think Baze more is more than capable of contributing that. Hes more athletic IMO, so he should run the floor more. He may not be as big a threat outside (but DMC wasn't some world known 3pt shooter either).

I really think we will make up those points and possessions with rotations involving Baze/THJ and lets not forget Splitter contributing.

DMC was our 2nd best shooter on open jumpers last season. Bazemore was right behind him. So the production overall might easily be compensated for.

But can Bazemore keep up that efficiency with a higher volume of shots...and at key moments of the ball game?

Do you trust Kent Bazemore, or Thabo for that matter, taking important jump shots in the last 3 minutes of tight games? After spending the entire night chasing LeBron, Carmel, P George and Jimmy Butler?

Those key pressure moments can't be simulated in practice. And he will absolutely be the player opposing defenses lag off of when they key in to stop KK, Teague and the frontcourt trio.

It'll be interesting to see if he can withstand the scrutiny, pressure and expectations of filling in DMC's shoes night after night.

IF our games come down to whether Thabo or Bazemore have to take a game winner, we have bigger issues

[atlantabbq99]

In Budz we trust. But I think we will still see heavy minutes from Thabo

[Jamaaliver]

DMC was a 12pt ppg last year right?

I think Baze more is more than capable of contributing that. Hes more athletic IMO, so he should run the floor more. He may not be as big a threat outside (but DMC wasn't some world known 3pt shooter either).

I really think we will make up those points and possessions with rotations involving Baze/THJ and lets not forget Splitter contributing.

DMC was our 2nd best shooter on open jumpers last season. Bazemore was right behind him. So the production overall might easily be compensated for.

But can Bazemore keep up that efficiency with a higher volume of shots...and at key moments of the ball game?

Do you trust Kent Bazemore, or Thabo for that matter, taking important jump shots in the last 3 minutes of tight games?

IF our games come down to whether Thabo or Bazemore have to take a game winner, we have bigger issues

Yesterday was one of those scenarios I mentioned regarding Bazemore taking big shots at key moments of the game.

He hit a HUUUUGE open 3-pointer with just over a minute left and then iced the game with two big Free Throws. Those last two points being the margin we won the game by.

Kent came up big in a tight game and scored 5 of the teams last 8 points under 75 seconds left.

We'll likely continue to see teams lay off him in the waning seconds. He'll need to be just as clutch moving forward.

Maybe we can get his mother to come to all the AWAY games this season?!?

[jayu70]

Since opening night Baze got the starting jitters out and settled into his role. He can still get a little out of control sometimes but his effort is always there.
The block at the rim, the corner 3 - awesome. The most impressive thing has been his improved freethrow shooting.

[PandaKidd]

I missed the game yesterday, but sounds like Baze is settling in nicely. heard teague was clutch as well

[New_Hawks_Era]

So far Blaze is getting it done, albeit very early. I call him Blaze cause that's how he's been moving and playing.

[Jamaaliver]

C-Viv does a feature on Bazemore as Starter:

Kent Bazemore isn’t surprised by his offensive output this season. The Hawks new starting small forward – known for his defensive prowess - scored a career-high 25 points in a 114-99 victory over the Wizards Saturday night. In eight games this season, Bazemore is averaging 12.1 points.

Bazemore was 10 of 15 from the field Saturday, also setting a career high for field goals. He made 4 of 7 3-pointers, tying his career-best for long-range makes.

“I wouldn’t say surprised,” Bazemore said following the victory. “A lot of the things I work on is offense. Defense is energy and effort. Obviously, you have to understand the dynamics of the defense you are in. …

“But it’s all about playing basketball. If you have an open shot, you take it. If (the defender) comes at you, you drive it. You find the open guys. Once you slow the game down and make it simple, it gets pretty easy from there.”


“I’m more encouraged than anything,” Al Horford said of Bazemore’s contributions. “Last year, he was hurt...This year, he had a healthy summer, he worked really hard and it’s paying off right now. He’s playing really well.”

Free Link Here

[Jamaaliver]

Bazemore returns to the starting lineup

Sensing that his team needed a spark, Budenholzer made a change on Monday reinserting Kent Bazemore into the starting lineup at small forward. Bazemore responded with a career-best 28 points, but the move did not snap the team out of its offensive doldrums.

It's really just trying to find the right mix or a good mix," Budenholzer said before the game. "Baze has done well. Thabo has done well. They both help us in so many ways. Maybe just changing up the mix of guys who are out there and who they are with.

Bazemore knocked down 11 of 18 attempts from the field and was 3 for 7 from the three-point line against the Heat.

"He helped us get off to a good start," Budenholzer said. "His aggressiveness. His attack mode. He's getting to the basket. Obviously he's making some shots. He gives us a lot on both ends of the court, and plays with a lot of energy."

The lineup change is a sign that Budenholzer and his staff are searching for answers. The lineup featuring Bazemore with the four regular starters has been Atlanta's most used lineup this season according to NBA.com however it has not performed well and has produced a net rating of -5.5. Conversely, the starting unit featuring Sefolosha is a plus 6.6 so far this season.

Here

[PandaKidd]

I dont think their answer is really at the SF position (choosing between Thabo and BazeGawd). I think their problems are more with the guards. Teague/Korver/DS and their erratic play.

[Jamaaliver]

But can Bazemore keep up that efficiency with a higher volume of shots...and at key moments of the ball game?

Do you trust Kent Bazemore, or Thabo for that matter, taking important jump shots in the last 3 minutes of tight games? After spending the entire night chasing LeBron, Carmel, P George and Jimmy Butler?

Those key pressure moments can't be simulated in practice. And he will absolutely be the player opposing defenses lag off of when they key in to stop KK, Teague and the frontcourt trio.

It'll be interesting to see if he can withstand the scrutiny, pressure and expectations of filling in DMC's shoes night after night.

IF our games come down to whether Thabo or Bazemore have to take a game winner, we have bigger issues

Also, it was Bazemore's go ahead jumper at the 2:20 mark last week that gave us the lead for good in our last victory at Dallas.

Ironically, he is coming through in big moments...but his effect on the overall team can't be ignored. That -5 rating when he is on the floor is concerning.

[Jamaaliver]

Despite the underwhelming team stats when Bazemore is on the floor, team is on a hot win streak with KB as starter.

Kent Bazemore downplays his move back into the Hawks starting lineup. However, the team’s record is hard to ignore.

The Hawks are 15-5 with Bazemore in the starting lineup, including their current six-game win streak. The Hawks are 13-4 when Bazemore starts at small forward with the regular unit. The Hawks (20-12) have the longest current win streak in the NBA. Their win total is the most in the Eastern Conference as they trail the Cavaliers (19-9) by one game. The Cavaliers have played four fewer games.

Bazemore is averaging 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 28.2 minutes in 27 games. He is shooting .469 from the field, including .398 from 3-point range. His long-range percentage trails only Kyle Korver’s .407 on the team. Bazemore has scored in double-figures 17 times, including four 20-point games.

Here

[jayu70]

Huge defensive stop on Harden by Bazemore last night.

[Jamaaliver]

Huge defensive stop on Harden by Bazemore last night.

He is playing incredibly well.

Cards on the table, I'm not of fan of him starting. I think he plays out of control offensively. (I love his intensity, though. particularly on defense.)

But there is no denying he's played exceptionally well more often than not. Kudos to him for picking things up.

He's been great!!!

[jayu70]

Huge defensive stop on Harden by Bazemore last night.

He is playing incredibly well.

Cards on the table, I'm not of fan of him starting. I think he plays out of control offensively. (I love his intensity, though. particularly on defense.)

But there is no denying he's played exceptionally well more often than not. Kudos to him for picking things up.

He's been great!!!

He needs to do what Kyle told him "be crazy on defense and slow down on offense". I think once the game slows down for him he'll do even better. He's just so amped all the time.

[jayu70]

Bazemore, Sefolosha Thriving With Help From Hawks Assistants


Kent Bazemore did not know what to expect when he first met Hawks assistant coach Ben Sullivan.

Bazemore came to Atlanta in the 2014 offseason after he had shown promise with the Los Angeles Lakers as an energetic wing defender who amped up the team's fast break.

Still, when he arrived here as a free agent, he hadn't fully developed his skill set as a shooter. Sullivan, one of the Hawks' assistant coaches who works with the players on their shooting, laid out a plan to remedy that gap. Bazemore recalled Sullivan's candor at that meeting.

"When I first got here, the first thing he said – and I had known him for two minutes – was, 'Your jump shot is ugly, we're going to change it,'" Bazemore said with a grin.

"It was when I first met the guy," Bazemore added. "I was like, 'Okay, I like this guy.'"

In the same offseason, the Hawks traded for Thabo Sefolosha. Sefolosha brought to Atlanta his reputation as a shutdown defender, as evidenced by his spot on the NBA's All-Defensive 2nd Team in 2009-10. If there was an area for refinement in the game of the prized veteran, though, it was in his shooting mechanics.

A multi-year developmental process – one where the players work through a regimen laid out by the coaching staff – has begun to pay its most visible dividends. Sefolosha is shooting a team-high 54.5 percent from the field. Bazemore has become one of the team's most reliable three-point shooters, converting them at a 40.2 percent clip.

Both developments are timely. With the departure of DeMarre Carroll after a 60-win season, one big challenge facing the Hawks this season was to find a shooter to pair on the wing with Kyle Korver. The Hawks didn't find a reliable replacement. They found two.

Sullivan and Head Coach Mike Budenholzer readily assigned primary credit to Bazemore and Sefolosha and the work they put into their craft, but Budenholzer also acknowledged the contribution of the coaching staff.

"All of the assistant coaches put a lot of time and effort in with the shooting, Ben Sullivan in particular," Budenholzer said. "It's his area that he's been given. Our players know that there's a plan and a lot of thought behind anything that he's asking them to do to improve their shot."

Sefolosha expressed the same sentiment.

"With the coaching staff that we have, you have no other option but to improve and grow," Sefolosha said. "That's what has been fun for me. I love to learn and add things to my game. They've been great, and Ben has been a big part of it."

Sullivan spent two years in San Antonio in 2012 as a video intern for the Spurs. It was there that he got to learn from the coach famous for helping Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard improve their outside shots.

"The biggest influence on shooting and the way that I teach shooting came from my time in San Antonio with Chip Engelland," Sullivan said. "Chip is a master and the well-renowned shooting coach of the Spurs, and I was fortunate enough to spend two years working with him closely."

He said that the process which the Hawks' assistants use eventually progresses from basic mechanics to practicing shots with motions that copy the flow of the Hawks' offense.

"You start with the offense and the player and break it all the way down into little bitty pieces that you're working on," he said. "Then you build it back up so that by the time they get into the game, it looks like they're not even thinking. They're just stepping into things and just doing them naturally because they've worked on them."

Bazemore said that he limits his practice of standstill shots in favor of those that mimic game action.

"You can shoot from spots all day long by yourself and make a ton of them," Bazemore said. "(You need to) shoot them in live action when your feet aren't as perfect as they should be, or you're fading away or you're drifting, or you're tired from five down-and-backs; that's the only way you're going to see results. When you're shooting, you're trying to get as close as you can to that perfect feet-shoulder-width-apart, knees-bent, elbow-in (position). You try to get there every time, and the best shooters in the world can get there. You look at Steph Curry and you look at Kyle Korver, Kyle shoots in the exact same way that it's almost identical every time. As you learn how to shoot and your body picks up that muscle memory, you get more comfortable with your jumper, and you get closer and closer to that perfection when a lot of your shots will fall."

One fact mentioned by the coaching staff is that summer work is particularly important for training shooters. Coaches and players are hesitant to make significant changes to shot mechanics during the grind of the regular season. Schedule breaks and extended developmental time are rare in an 82-game season. Instead, bigger shot overhauls are saved for the summer.

"In an offseason, there are things that you can do that you aren't comfortable or wise to do in-season," Budenholzer said.

At the same time, improving jump shots in the summer requires a significant commitment from the players themselves during the one part of the year when they're allowed to have a bit of downtime away from basketball.

And even though Bazemore and Sefolosha have been willing to put in the time, injuries have caused their summers to be a bit of a mixed bag. Bazemore's 2014 offseason was limited by his rehabilitation from a torn foot tendon. He didn't get the chance to work as much on his shot as he would have liked. Being healthy for the subsequent summer certainly helped him. His offseason work readied him to take shots with a higher degree of difficulty, shots that he can take even when opponents get a good closeout.

"(Last season) I was making a lot of corner 3s and wide-open 3s," Bazemore said. "Now I'm starting to make shots with guys running at me or (after) a shot fake and dribble."

Sefolosha's 2015 offseason started in April under the worst of circumstances. But before the playoffs ended, Sefolosha began to work on his shot even though he couldn't bear weight on his leg. AP writer Paul Newberry took a memorable photo of Sefolosha practicing his shot release while sitting on a knee scooter.

"It was form-shooting, but it was also getting my mind in a good place," Sefolosha said.

That type of connection isn't uncommon between the players and assistant coaches. Sometimes the best way to communicate a basketball idea has very little to do with basketball.

"Besides the basketball part, there's just a human part that you connect with," Sullivan said. "There's a trust and a relationship and a chemistry side that's just as important as anything you do on the court."

As 2015 winds to a close, Bazemore and Sefolosha will look to take their year-long efforts and successes and roll them over into 2016, and somewhere close by the assistant coaches will be ready to guide them on their way.

"Ben is a terrible teacher," Sefolosha joked. "I'm just a great student."

Story by KL Chouinard

http://www.nba.com/hawks/features/bazemore-sefolosha-thriving-help-hawks-assistant