When Toney Douglas went down with a stress reaction in his left tibia, Kent Bazemore was presented with a big opportunity. Mark Jackson said that Andre Iguodala would see the majority of the minutes at the backup point guard position but that Bazemore would be the next option. Before this, Bazemore rarely saw any playing time. With Douglas out, he was expected to get more minutes at both guard positions.
The Golden State Warriors have played five games since Douglas was ruled out for two weeks. In those five games, Bazemore has averaged four minutes per game. In the first game without Douglas, he played nine minutes and turned the ball over three times.
Turnovers have been one of the biggest reasons why Bazemore hasn’t earned more playing time. At times, he looks a little too frenetic and out of control. This leads to sloppy play and costly turnovers. Bazemore is full of energy, but he needs to find a way to harness that energy and use it effectively.
Bazemore was faced with yet another opportunity yesterday. Stephen Curry was ruled out of yesterday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies as he recovers from a minor concussion. Therefore, Bazemore got the opportunity to play more minutes with both Curry and Douglas out.
Bazemore said before yesterday’s game that the real Bazemore was back. He told Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group that the “tight, ineffective” player was gone.
“I put the most pressure on myself. Thus far this season, I was just being to consumed with perfection,” Bazemore said after Wednesday’s shoot around. “Throughout my career, I have just let it happen. Early on this season is where I started to be somebody I wasnt and it showed on the floor. I’m back to myself. I’m ready to play. I’m ready to go.”
After these strong words, it seemed as if Bazemore would play more fluidly and have a breakout performance last night. However, the opposite was the case. He contributed no points and one turnover in just five minutes.
It appeared as if Bazemore had turned a corner before yesterday’s game and become much more confident. Yesterday’s game was the perfect opportunity for him to show that he can be an effective, consistent player off the bench. In that sense, it also was arguably the biggest game of the season for him. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that much-needed breakout performance.
Bazemore is stuck in a mental struggle right now. He must know that he’s turning the ball over too much, and he probably feels the pressure of trying to prove himself every night. If Bazemore can find a way to “slow down the game,” he can start to rebuild his confidence.
Offensively, he looks like he’s trying to do too much. He wants to show that he can create plays and run the offense like a backup point guard would do, but this has often led to sloppy play. He needs to understand that he doesn’t need to force it on offense. He needs to let the play come to him and not overdo it. Bazemore needs to do what got him a spot on the Warriors’ roster in the first place. If he plays lockdown defense, he will eventually be rewarded with some good looks on offense when he’s playing with the second unit.
Bazemore is a great motivator on the bench and appears to be a great teammate, but, so far, he hasn’t done enough to prove that he can consistently contribute for this team.
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