OKC Thunder: 3 goals for Darius Bazley this offseason

OKC Thunder goal No. 3) Improve ball-handling skills

By no means am I implying that Baze has sloppy mechanics or that he has no business bringing the ball up the court to engage the offense. There will be situations where Darius will need to call plays and initiate the game.

This element is the last area of his game that could use some fine-tuning and help him go from the third man in the rotation to a number two player on a team.

Moreover, if Baze starts to feel more comfortable with the ball, that will translate to putting the ball on the floor and driving more frequently. In turn, this will help him get to the free-throw line on a more consistent basis.

A dismal 70 percent from the line will not cut it moving forward, and it would help the team if he could raise his attempts from about three to five shots from the line per game. I am not saying he must be getting to the line five times per contest, but merely the idea of wanting to shoot at least five per game will be highly beneficial to this young Thunder squad.

In closing:

Bazely showed improvement in his all-around game during his sophomore season, but now it is time to take his game to the next level. It tends to be the little things that become more noticeable as players mature and, right now, Bazley has all the intangibles to be a great player.

Now it is a matter of putting it all together and remaining consistent.