ESPN analyst sees potential in newly-created three-man Auburn basketball bench grouping
Head coach Bruce Pearl switched Chris Moore into the Tigers’ starting lineup this past week, and in the process, he created a three-man Auburn basketball bench grouping that intrigued ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.
Borzello sees great potential in the Chad Baker-Mazara-Tahaad Pettiford-Chaney Johnson second unit trio.
“Following Saturday’s home loss to Florida, Bruce Pearl made a tweak to his starting lineup, moving Chad Baker-Mazara to the bench and bringing Chris Moore off it. Moore ended up not playing much against Vanderbilt, scoring just 4 points in 13 minutes, while Baker-Mazara had a scoreless 28 minutes. Pearl said after the game the decision was for health reasons, as Baker-Mazara is ‘flat-out banged up.’ But the move also gave Pearl an elite three-man bench group in Baker-Mazara, Chaney Johnson (who scored 20 points) and Tahaad Pettiford. It will be interesting to see whether Pearl rolls with it moving forward,” Borzello wrote.
Baker-Mazara has had his fair share of notable behavioral issues on the floor. Many would point to the loss to Yale in the Round of 64 as CBM’s lowest point on the Plains — some believe they lost because of his first-half ejection.
But off the bench, he could be one of the best spark-plugs in the country. Especially against a three-point sniper and an athletic big man who specialize in raising the energy on the floor. The potential this trio has to swing games after slow starts from the starting five is enormous.
Borzello is onto something. We’ll see if Pearl sticks with CBM in the second unit and Moore as a starter.
