A 3-point shooting contest is still a part of post-practice work for several Hawks.
Over the years, there have been many regular participants. These days you can find Jeff Teague and Kent Bazemore staying late to take the extra shots – with a dose of trash talk of course.
Bazemore said he is holding his own in the contests just one year after recovering from foot surgery and completely rebuilding his jump shot.
The game is the first to make five 3-pointers from behind each of five different spots around the arc. If each make all five attempts, they continue until one misses. Bazemore said their record is more than 20 in a row from several spots.
“It feels good,” Bazemore said recently of his rebuilt jumper. “Especially with that kind of pressure because he likes to chirp a little bit. Now, it’s just doing it in games, finding your legs and understanding your body.”
The talk is all in fun. There is a bigger goal.
“He’s trying to make me better, I’m trying to make him better,” Teague said. “He is shooting the ball really well. He works at it. I expect big things from Baze.”
It is indeed a big season for Bazemore to make the most of another opportunity with the Hawks. He enters the final season of the two-year free agent contract he signed in the summer of 2014. He will make $2 million this season. According to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Bazemore must become a free agent at season’s ends because his contract was not for at least four years. Both sides have indicated a willingness for the guard/forward to return. DeMarre Carroll entered the Hawks’ system, started for two seasons and turned his opportunity into a big pay day.
There is more opportunity for Bazemore this season after the strides he made in year one. With Carroll’s departure, there is a starting small forward position available. While Thabo Sefolosha is the likely replacement there are more minutes available on the wing for Bazemore as part of a group that includes Tim Hardaway Jr. and Justin Holiday.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said he has seen a confidence in Bazemore’s shot from last season and through the summer.
“I think it’s getting close to where it is second-nature,” Budenholzer said. “I don’t see much hesitation. He is very confident. He has taken advantage of his opportunities. The key is he has to stick with it. If for some reason you miss one or two, you have to understand what you’ve been working on and continue to trust it and believe in it.”
The 6-foot-5 Bazemore averaged 5.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 17.8 minutes in 75 games last season. He scored in double-figures 15 times, including a 20-point game against the Hornets. Bazemore had an increased role at the end of the season and into the playoffs with injuries to Sefolosha, Carroll and Kyle Korver. In his 10 starts, he averaged 10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 31.5 minutes.
“I’m trying to expand my game,” Bazemore said of his offseason. “I’ve still got a little more work to do. I’m trying to be more aggressive in the pick and roll with the ball in my hands. Still working on that. I’m trying to get stronger so I can play through contact. I’ll play at the (small forward) this year a little bit. I’ll be guarded by bigger players. If I can get a little stronger I can use my quickness to my advantage. Get to the paint, find open guys. That’s what I’m really trying to do this year is to crack the teeth of the defense, find shooters and bring energy.”
On the energy front, Bazemore acknowledges the Hawks will miss Carroll but added “If there is an energy contest, I can go up against anybody.”
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