Beyond the Box: Darius Bazley's Shooting Woes Just Growing Pains for OKC

Darius Bazley entered his sophomore campaign with a lot of hype, but he got off to a shaky start.

Having to adjust to playing power forward without the safety net of Steven Adams, Bazley was challenged defensively in ways he hadn’t ever been before, and struggles on the defensive end of the floor spilled over to his offense.

Bazley’s shooting plummeted a year ago, especially from behind the arc.

After knocking down 34.8 percent of his attempts from deep during his rookie season, Bazley was only able to convert 29.0 percent of his 3-pointers last year.

But that number should rebound in 2021.

While Bazley’s shooting numbers dropped, his volume more than doubled as he was asked to take 12.5 shots per game during his sophomore campaign, a sizable jump from the 5.4 field goal attempts per game he launched during his rookie season.

Taking twice as many 3’s, Bazley’s shot selection was shaky as he was asked to be more aggressive in how he attacked the basketball.

But the Thunder went out and shook up the roster this offseason.

Derrick Favors will provide more of a traditional inside presence than Al Horford did last year or Mike Muscala will this year off the bench, and the added passing acumen of first-round draft pick Josh Giddey should again provide great floor spacing as the Thunder return to more of the three-guard look they rolled out with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder two years ago.

Bazley said he worked on his shooting this offseason, and he should have more opportunities to knock down catch and shoot 3’s with the added playmaking of Giddey.

“This off-season, just working on a lot of things, shooting -- my whole overall game,” Bazley said during Thunder Media Day on Monday. “I wouldn't really say as much added, just a lot of learning from all the experiences that I had, especially last year. I had a lot of opportunities to go through a lot of different scenarios and situations.”

Even though the floor spacing should better suit Bazley’s game, he said he still intends to take on the defensive challenges this season, and as a result he needed to bulk up a little bit this offseason.

“I took like two weeks off after the season ended and then got straight to it,” Bazley said. “Me and the strength coaches, we had a plan, and we stuck to it.

“I definitely was in the weight room trying to get bigger and get stronger for this upcoming season.”

With added strength, Bazley should be able to withstand the physical beating this season, he’ll just have to find his spot shooting the 3-ball and hone in his shot selection to have a much more efficient year shooting the basketball for the Thunder.

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