When the Lakers brough Kent Bazemore onboard this offseason, they were hoping to get elite range. Baze shot 40 percent from three-point range with the Warriors last year, and Los Angeles was looking for something around his 35 percent career average.
In the first month of the season, he did just that. Bazemore went 11-for-26 in three-pointers during the month of October and looked to be maintaining his Golden State form. Then the wheels came off when the Lakers went into November.
For the month, Bazemore is shooting just 7.7 percent from three-point range and has missed 12 of his 13 attempts. To put it simply, he has gone ice cold. Frank Vogel knows that, and he also knows that they're working through some of those things.
He’s struggling – there’s no secret around that. You try to encourage him, make sure he’s focusing on taking good shots. If he takes good shots, the percentages will come around. ...His attitude’s been great. He knows he’s struggling and he’s pushing through. He’s somebody that we’re gonna need this year and he’s gonna be a big part of what we do.
The timing is unfortunate given the fact that the Lakers are still dealing with health issues. They've played games with just 9 guys at points during the season as the roster tries to recover from injuries.
But basketball is very much a game of streaks, and Baze has proven that he can get hot at any time. Ideally, that would be over the next week as the Lakers start to face some tough matchups.
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