Making An Impact In New Bench Role

Entering his third NBA season, Thunder forward Darius Bazley had a lot to prove. His 2021-22 campaign is one that could ultimately decide his future in Oklahoma City. 

After starting in all 55 games he played in last season, Bazley started the first 27 games of this season. From there, he was part of a rotation shakeup that resulted in him being moved to a bench role. 

The former first rounder would then get the chance to showcase his talent as OKC’s top reserve. 

When this move to the bench was announced, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault acknowledged that Bazley is a special talent, but called the change an opportunity to ‘explore the team’ and reiterated that the decision wasn’t disciplinary for the young forward. 

“How did he take it? Professionally,” said Daigneault. “I was impressed with the dialogue that we had. This is not an impulsive decision. This is something we’ve discussed. We can’t afford to not see players in different circumstances.”

Since moving to the bench, the eye test would certainly say he’s played much better. When digging into the stats, Bazley is making more of an impact, but contributing in different ways. 

In terms of court time, Bazley has averaged 3.9 fewer minutes per game since being moved to the bench. However, he’s produced three more points per contest on less shot attempts. 

This has been due to a massive upswing in efficiency. As a starter this season, Bazley is shooting 37.3% from the floor. As a reserve, he’s shot 49.4% from the field, which is a huge improvement. The shooting splits have always been an issue for Bazley, but as of late, this new role has contributed positively. 

This is likely due to a combination of playing against reserves rather than starters for the bulk of his minutes and also a change in positional role. Since being moved to the bench, Bazley has spent more time as an undersized backup center, which has been something he’s been great at. 

As a defender, spending more time in the paint has paid off too, as the 6-foot-9 forward has blocked 15 shots in his last ten games. Additionally, his offensive rebounding numbers have doubled, as Bazley is pulling down nearly two per contest. 

The one area of the 21-year-old’s game that hasn’t improved is the 3-point shooting. While Bazley’s overall shooting percentage is way up, his efficiency from beyond the arc has actually gotten worse since becoming a reserve. His 3-point shooting off the bench is at 27.3% through ten games. 

Through 27 games as a starter, Bazley produced 8.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest while shooting 37.3% from the floor. In ten matchups as a reserve, he’s averaged 11.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while knocking down 49.4% of his field goal attempts. 

When it comes down to it, Bazley ultimately wants to do what he can to help the team win games. While it was a difficult transition to start coming off the bench, he’s starting to get more comfortable in that role. 

“At first it obviously was a change of scenery,” said Bazley last week. “Now I’m starting to embrace it more. The goal is still the same, to go on the floor and making winning plays.”

He’s done just that since moving to the bench, seeing a dramatic increase in box plus/minus. As a starter, he was a -8.4 when on the floor. Off the bench, he’s been a -1.7 to this point. 

If Bazley is still in Oklahoma City when the team is ready to contend once again, he will more than likely be in a bench role anyways. As such, having him fill a reserve role now will only better prepare him for that moment in the future. 

While the former first-round pick may never ultimately become a starting caliber player on a playoff team, Bazley has proven he could develop into a very valuable bench contributor.