Atlanta Hawks: 5 goals for Kent Bazemore in 2017-18
1. Morph into an effective facilitator
When Atlanta was playing at its best under head coach Mike Budenholzer, the ball was rapidly darting to both sides of the court, creating easy looks at the rim and wide open opportunities from 3-point range.
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The Hawks set a franchise record in 2014-15 by claiming 60 victories during the regular season, propelled by 25.7 assists per game, the second-best mark in the league.
The 2,111 total assists the team registered stand as the fourth-highest total in franchise history, a mark even more impressive considering Jeff Teague led the team with an average of 7.0 per game.
Ball movement from each position on the floor was vital. Six players averaged over 2.5 assists per game, but in his first season with the Hawks, Kent Bazemore posted just 1.0.
Last year, Bazemore set a career-high by dishing out 2.4 assists a night, but for him to carve out an even larger role in the offense, he will need to create additional scoring opportunities for teammates.
According to Basketball-Reference, Bazemore totaled 81 bad pass turnovers, a significant amount considering he averaged 26.1 passes per game.
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Points will be at a premium all season for the Hawks, and becoming a secondary facilitator is essentially a requirement for Bazemore to make a significant impact next year.