OKC Thunder: 3 season goals for Darius Bazley in 2020-21

With a successful rookie season in the books, Darius Bazley should set three goals for his 2020-21 season.

Darius Bazley captivated us all of the 2019-20 season. He may have been overshadowed by the play of Luguentz Dort but it seemed that Bazley shone brighter and brighter for the OKC Thunder the longer the season went on.

It can be said that Bazley never lacked confidence in himself. He came into training camp showing a tremendous sense of humor. This off-court confidence translated quite well on the court when Bazley was inside the arc or heading to the rim for one of his incredible dunks.

Bazley started the season shooting well from deep but as he started missing shots, his confidence waned. Famously Chris Paul told the rookie he wouldn’t be passing him the ball unless he believed that Bazley could make the shot.

How Darius Bazley’s confidence grew with the OKC Thunder

Apart from the confidence shown by the team leader, Bazley was able to gain belief in himself by going to his strengths. He was incredible when taking the ball to the hoop in the half-court set. The other way he was able to involve himself was by running hard in transition.

https://twitter.com/NBAFantasy/status/1293741029905047554?s=20

Bazley also had to step into the starting lineup when Danilo Gallinari was out and he certainly held his own. The secret was that he did not try and replicate the game of Gallinari, he stayed true to his own game.

Then came the NBA restart in the bubble and Bazely exploded. He averaged 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.8 blocks in 27.5 minutes per game. He was the first OKC Thunder rookie to have three consecutive 20 point games since James Harden. Now, let’s take a look at the three goals for the 2020-21 season.

Keep the confidence going

Bazley is definitely a player who needs to play with a level of confidence in order to be effective. As mentioned earlier, it was easy to see when he lost this during his time on the court and his game suffered as a result.

This season he is not going to have the voice of Chris Paul to tell him that he can do it. Instead, he is going to be on a team where he is the second longest-serving player. This is just after playing only one season in the league.

Due to the Thunder promoting their head coach internally, the systems should be fairly similar. This means that Bazley is going to have to take one or more of the new guys under his wing. If he is not confident in his own game then this could adversely impact the growth of his teammates.

Bazley’s role with the Thunder is also likely to expand. Depending on who the Thunder add to their roster, Bazley might find himself a starter on opening night. If “bubble Bazley” hits the floor, then the Thunder are going to be competitive. If the Bazley appears who passed up open shots, then this is a problem.

Learn what he can from Al Horford.

Like Chris Paul from last season, Al Horford has come to the OKC Thunder via trade for a toxic situation from his former team. Horford has been the consummate professional for the 13 years he has been in the league.

He played nine years with the Atlanta Hawks in what was arguably their most successful period. He was then a key member of the Boston Celtics squad who was knocking on the door of the finals for the time he was there.

Horford now finds himself the leader of the Thunder front-court now that Adams has been traded. This is a position that he is used to, but he probably was not expecting it so soon. Bazley, who in his second season is the frontcourt player with the greatest experience with the Thunder systems needs to learn what he can from the veteran.

Horford’s style of game is a lot closer to Bazley’s than anyone else’s that the second-year player has played with. He is an inside player who has developed an outside game. This is the opposite of the way Danilo Gallinari played and he is who Bazley would have learned most from last year.

It is likely that Bazley is going to start next to Horford this season. This means that Bazley is not only going to have to learn how to play with Horford but also being mentored by him and this going to help his game no end.

Increase scoring output

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Last season Bazley averaged a mere 5.6 points per game. He was the backup power forward who played most of his time next to two or three guards who could score the ball almost at will. As a rookie, this can be hard to overcome.

He was always sprinting up the floor on offense, being the first support player there. The problem was, the guards were usually able to beat their opponents and score without help. This is certainly going to change in the upcoming season.

Bazley is going to get a lot more opportunity in the open court to score and considering some of the dunks he made last season, this is going to be a good thing for the Thunder. I can still remember that one he took straight at Joel Embiid like it was yesterday.

His confidence issues need to become a thing of the past as he is going to be a key piece on offense. If Bazley can bring some of the bubble momentum with him into the 2020-21 season then he is going to be in the running for Most Improved Player.

One thing is for sure, Sam Presti has not bought any talent in at power forward who is better than Bazley. As a result, he should start, and as such his scoring output needs to more than double this season.