Ivica Zubac/Kyle Kuzma
The Lakers are going to have their hands full on the interior. That means there will be a lot of pressure on the combination of power forward Kyle Kuzma and center Ivica Zubac.
Kuzma has been one of the standouts in Las Vegas. He has looked like a steal for the Lakers, who selected him with the 27th overall pick. He has led the Lakers in scoring four times, averaging 20.5 points per game. Kuzma is also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game as he is getting it done on both ends of the court.
Zubac, on the other hand, has been slightly disappointing. He has shown flashes at times but hasn’t put together as dominant a summer as many people had hoped. Entering his second season with the Lakers, Zubac is one of the players that were expected to carry the load, but it has not happened.
If Zubac is going to put it together, tonight would be the time to do it. He will probably be the one that is matched up with Swanigan, which is a difficult matchup. Zubac has not looked comfortable moving away from the basket. The Lakers could flip Kuzma onto Swanigan, but he may not have the size to handle him in the post.
Swanigan isn’t the only player the Lakers have to worry about, as they also have Jarnell Stokes playing well in the paint. Kuzma and Zubac will have to find a way to slow them down to help get the Lakers a victory.