Without Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel, the Oklahoma City Thunder found a way to stretch the floor by going small.
Forward Darius Bazley got time at backup center and made the most of it, scoring a career-high 23 points while hitting five 3-pointers, also a career-high.
“A plus that does come out of me playing the 5 is that a lot of 5s are obviously a lot bigger than me and oftentimes slower, so I have a bit of an advantage on the offensive side,” Bazley said.
Quicky and athletic, the 6-foot-8 Bazley was able to get around the closeout of Moritz Wagner and get to the rim with a crafty finish.
He was too quick even for help defense.
“He really had a nice combination of when to shot-fake it and drive it, and obviously when to take the 3,” head coach Billy Donovan said.
As if going small-ball with Bazley at the 5 wasn’t Houston Rockets-esque enough, he even drained a step-back 3 straight out of James Harden’s left-handed playbook.
“Chris (Paul) was putting him in situations where Chris was able to manipulate the floor and get two people on him,” Donovan said.
“Darius was playing out of closeouts and I think when he does drive right, and as long as he is, he’s got a really uncanny ability to finish with that right hand around people. He can step around people and reach out. He’s really ambidextrous around the basket.”
Bazley has now scored in double-digits in three of the five bubble games.
His range has been an obvious improvement. Prior to the bubble, he had made multiple 3-pointers only one time in the 2020 calendar year and five times in the season.
Since the return to play, Bazley has made multiple 3s in three games.
As he continues to improve, that ability to play multiple positions on both sides of the ball will become more important. And if he continues shooting at a level that creates discomfort for opponents? All the better for the Thunder.
