OKC Thunder 3 takeaways from competitive loss to Spurs

OKC Thunder takeaway No. 2) Darius Bazley is a true mismatch

As his career progresses, Darius Bazley is going to learn how to exploit the mismatch he creates every night. Standing 6’8” he is too big for many guards to be able to defend and he is too fast for most forwards to be able to stick with.

While he only had 12 points and six rebounds, Bazley gave the Spurs headaches most of the night. He had a poor shooting night, going 4-of-14 from the floor, this included 2-of 7 from deep. He had a wide-open 3-point shot late in the game which would have bought the Thunder back to be within one possession with a minute to play had he made it.

Bazley also has an athleticism that is hard to stop. He uses this in multiple ways to help the Thunder. If his defender closes him out he can use his long strides and guard-like handles to get to the hoop and explode for the jam.

He is also using this athleticism to get to rebounds not many other players his size can as well as blocking shots.

If he had made more of the open 3-point attempts he was able to create then we would most probably be talking about a Thunder victory in this article.

As his game matures and he continues to grow in this league, games like tonight will eventually be wins for the Thunder. And, these victories will be in large part thanks to the mismatch Bazley will create