Without Kyle Kuzma against the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to put up a great fight. One of the main reasons was because of their bench.
In a four-point overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers played one of their best games of the season. Shortly before the game, it was announced that Kyle Kuzma would be out because of back spasms.
So far this season, Kuzma has been a great player for the Lakers. As a rookie, Kuzma has shown an incredible ability to score the basketball in multiple ways. Kuzma’s versatility on offense is truly remarkable considering his size, as he can take defenders off the dribble, and also shoot three-pointers.
As one of the best players for the Lakers this season, not having him against the Warriors looked like it was going to be a big problem. However, players stepped up for the Lakers in his absence. With the return of Larry Nance Jr. against the Los Angeles Clippers, it resulted in Kuzma moving back to the bench.
Kuzma played very well in that role against the Clippers, but he shockingly played just 20 minutes. Despite not playing much, he was able to total 15 points, which is a good amount of production.
On Wednesday, the bench stepped up with Kuzma out, as both Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson had very nice games. In the loss, Randle totaled 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field. For Clarkson, he was able to total 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting.
Considering the Lakers were without one of their top scorers, seeing Clarkson and Randle combine for over 40 points was really good. Both players were able to surpass their season averages in scoring, and that is exactly what you are looking for if one of your top scorers is out.
Next: 3 Takeaways from loss to Warriors
For Kuzma, this will hopefully just be a minor issue, as back spasms do pop up for NBA athletes from time to time. The Lakers’ next game will be on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets, and hopefully, Kuzma will be back.