Check out our takeaways from the Los Angeles Lakers loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night.
Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 128-125. Despite strong performances from several players and two nights to rest, the Lakers lost in the final minutes to the Pelicans. This loss was the fourth in a row for the young Lakers squad. However, there were positive takeaways from last nights game.
The Lakers were 8-2 coming out of the All-Star break but have recently started to fall off. A combination of injuries, lack of depth and poor play have led to recent losses. Though, there were positive signs in last night’s game. These few positives give hope that the Lakers can finish the season on a strong note. Here are five takeaways from last night’s loss.
Kyle Kuzma continues rolling
Kyle Kuzma continued his impressive play last night. He scored 22 points on 5-11 shooting, including 4-6 from deep. He also registered five rebounds, two assists and was 8-9 from the free throw line. Despite the fact that fellow Lakers Lonzo Ball and Isaiah Thomas have fallen into a slump, Kuzma has managed to improve his play since a rough February.
In the month of March, Kuzma is averaging 17.4 points on 47 percent shooting from the field and 43.1 percent from deep, per ESPN. This is a drastic increase from February where he averaged 11.5 points on 37.9 percent shooting from the field and 31.6 from the perimeter.
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Kuzma has begun to get better looks from the field, and this is showing in his shooting percentages. After seeing increased minutes in the small forward position, Kuzma has found a way to score more efficiently with the ball in his hands.
Furthermore, he’s chasing a bit of history. Kuzma has made 139 3-pointers so far this season. He’s already set the Lakers’ season record for made 3-pointers by a rookie. Kuzma has the 11 remaining games of the Lakers season to chase Kerry Kittle’s NBA rookie record of 158 made 3’s in a season, a former New Jersey Net.
Along with chasing this NBA record, Kuzma has already set another NBA record of his own. In the age of advanced NBA analytics, Kuzma already has his own NBA record, although it is a somewhat obscure one. According to Spectrum Sports, Kyle Kuzma is the first NBA rookie with 1,000 points, 400 rebounds, and 130 3-pointers made. Kyle Kuzma is quietly putting together a solid rookie season and is showing tremendous versatility and future potential. Expect the young rookie to make the NBA’s 1st Team All-Rookie with his production this season.
Kuzma has improved his shooting from deep as the season has gone on, and he was one of mthe ultiple Lakers who shot well from deep last night.