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Los Angeles Lakers waste big night from Kyle Kuzma against Jazz

By Jason Renner

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 19: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers listens to head coach Luke Walton in the second half of a game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 110-100. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 19: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers listens to head coach Luke Walton in the second half of a game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 110-100. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Without two of their stars, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Utah Jazz on the first half of a back-to-back.

Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers lost 117-110 to the Utah Jazz. Despite some quality performances by a few Lakers players, including Kyle Kuzma, Utah edged out the injury-plagued team with great defense and a particularly strong performance by Utah guard Ricky Rubio. Rubio shredded the Lakers’ defense for 31 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. He shot 10-16 from the field, 4-7 from deep and was perfect from the line to go 7-7, per ESPN.

Los Angeles played well despite the many injuries affecting their team. Lakers’ forward Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers offense along with guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Although, Rubio’s big night ultimately was too much to overcome.

Kyle Kuzma continued his recent hot streak, scoring 26 points on 50 percent shooting. This was Kuzma’s second game back in Salt Lake City, the same place he played his college ball while at University of Utah. He made sure to ball out for any of his former Utah Ute fans. Though, his inefficiency, as well as the team’s, led to their eventual defeat.

Despite Kuzma scoring in bunches, some of his decision making hurt the team. In a duel against fellow rookie standout Donovan Mitchell, Kuzma tried to equal some of the impressive shots Mitchell was taking and making. This lead to some poor shot taking, including driving on multiple defenders, taking quick deep two’s and overall forcing shots rather than working inside the offense. This led to him shooting badly in the second half versus the first.

Because of Kuzma rushing his offense, he coughed up the ball four times, with most coming in the second half. His turnovers, as well the teams overall 16 turnovers, made it hard for the Lakers squad to come back from behind. According to ESPN, the Lakers gave up 18 total points off their turnovers. Turnovers have been a problem for the Lakers throughout this season. They rank third worst in the NBA for turnovers, averaging 15.7 for the season, per TeamRankings.com.

Beyond their inability to secure the ball, the Lakers also got severely out-rebounded. According to TeamRankings.com, the Lakers were 2nd in the league in overall rebounding heading into the game while Utah ranked 18th. Not only did they lose the rebounding battle 57 to 49 to Utah, but the Lakers allowed the Jazz to grab 14 offensive rebounds, per ESPN. This led to multiple second chance buckets for Utah. This defensive deficiency led to Utah racking up 50 points in the paint as the Lakers failed to box out and keep players out of the lane.

Simply watching this game live, it appeared that the Lakers were losing the rebound battle and giving up easy points in the paint because of a lack of effort. It is a fair criticism that a lot of the team’s players are injured. This has caused many of the Lakers players to play substantially more minutes than they are used to. Though, a lack of effort is simply unacceptable under any circumstance. No matter the players available, there should be a sense of urgency for this young squad. They should look to compete and win on any night, and their performance last night did nto show that.

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There are five games remaining for the Lakers this season. They were eliminated from the playoffs awhile ago. Though, they have the ability to play the role of playoff spoiler. Four of the next five teams they play are fighting to stay in the playoff picture for the Western Conference. Finishing out the season strong will be good for this young Lakers squad. To do this, they need to commit to giving more effort on the defensive side. This will remind the league why this team should be feared and respected in the next few years.

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