Atlanta Hawks: 6 Takeaways from Narrow Loss to Wizards

All-Around Game for Baze

After a string of up-and-down performances, Kent Bazemore was rejuvenated and ravenous to produce in his return to the starting lineup after the elevation of Huerter to the starting two guard spot. In this one, with Prince out, Huerter shifted over to the 3, and Baze resumed his starting two guard duties.

Bazemore, like Bembry, was a complete terror on defense as he was snatching at the ball and taking it away from the bored-looking ballhandlers on the Wizards all night. Beyond that, Baze was scoring the ball well too. His all-around stat line conveyed his impressive night: 22 points on 8 of 18 shooting, 6 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds… and 6 fouls.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1070492665093992449

The change in the freedom of movement rules have not been kind to Baze’s handsy approach to guarding, but Baze has also been getting some unfair calls that should fall under the category of “benefit of the doubt.”

Baze has been visibly peeved at the referees for much of this season, so an ejection would not be out of the question for the outspoken two guard sometime in the future if he keeps up his vociferous denials.