Atlanta Hawks: Kent Bazemore Injury Means Rotation Change
By Chris Guest
A rapid reaction to the news that the beating heart of the Atlanta Hawks, Kent Bazemore, will be out for at least two weeks with an ankle sprain.
After a gutsy win versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, news broke that the best player on the Atlanta Hawks – as well as its most valuable trade asset – will be unavailable for at least the next two weeks.
Kent Bazemore is having a terrific season, even if his lofty three-point shooting numbers from last season are not quite up to such great heights this season. Still though, Baze is a vocal leader for this team, as well as the current longest-tenured Atlanta Hawks player after the trade of Dennis Schröder and Mike Muscala this offseason.
With Baze gone, head coach Lloyd Pierce, who has already shown a willingness to tinker with the team’s rotation considerably, will have to maneuver a few different guards around to fill the void left by Bazemore’s absence.
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As such, expect to see a lot more Tyler Dorsey and Daniel Hamilton as the season progresses.
Further still, Justin Anderson and DeAndre’ Bembry are two of the main choices to replace Baze in the starting lineup, as Kevin Huerter has been starting at the three for much of the recent season.
Both Bembry and Anderson bring different things to the table and Dorsey and Hamilton are similarly different players.
Dorsey has seen very little action for the team that drafted him in the second round last season, but with Baze out for upwards of two weeks, it’s time for him to receive some serious run in games as the season progresses.
Hamilton as well deserves some run at the two guard spot, as his lanky frame and assist and rebound numbers in the G-League last season and this season have been good.
We wish Kent Bazemore the speediest recovery, as his presence was sorely felt on the Atlanta Hawks bench, and no one is more animated or talkative than Baze (just ask the refs).
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It will be interesting to see how Lloyd Pierce’s rotations shake out in 2019 without Bazemore. Stay tuned to see how they look.