Could Replace Trevor Ariza’s Spot-Up Shooting

The offensive impact that Trevor Ariza made for the Rockets within a half-court setting was mostly made up of spot-up shooting. In a system like “Morey Ball,” it’s absolutely crucial that there are a collection of reliable perimeter shooters that are surrounding their playmakers. Kent Bazemore would be able to provide a legitimate impact in this area.

Bazemore had 19.7 percent of his offensive possessions come in the form of spot-up plays last season and he produced 1.05 points per possession in these sequences. His efficiency ranked 73rd in the NBA out of the 146 players that had at least 150 of these possessions. What dragged his efficiency down was his struggles on drives to the basket and on dribble jumpers.

It’s impressive when you take it a step further and look only at how Bazemore performed on no dribble jumpers in spot-up situations. He had 58.3% of his spot-up possessions end with a no dribble jumper and he produced 1.286 points per possession, which ranked 26th in the league among the 143 players with at least 100 of these possessions.

It turns out that Bazemore was actually a more efficient spot-up threat on no dribble jumpers than Ariza. For reference, Ariza produced 1.237 points per possession on these particular attempts and that was 0.049 points per possession less than Bazemore. It’s ultimately one of the key reasons why this acquisition would be a good move.

I believe that Bazemore has a level of untapped offensive efficiency that would be maximized by playing on a team like the Rockets. He thrives as a jump shooter and the simpler components of offense and struggles with his efficiency as a playmaker. Having a more focused role as more of a ‘3-and-D’ wing would bring out the best in him.

Next Up: Bazemore is a Proficient Defensive Playmaker