1. Kyle Kuzma
With LeBron James out, that leaves more than 27 points per game that needs to be replaced, and Rondo has provided the Lakers with a surprising scoring punch off the bench at times this year that will also be missed. That means someone is going to have to pick up the scoring slack, particularly a member of the starting line up.
The obvious choice to fill the scoring void is sophomore sensation Kyle Kuzma, who has proven that he can score from pretty much anywhere on the court during his two seasons in the purple and gold.
Even with LeBron in the lineup Kuzma has averaged an impressive 18.7 points per game this season. His solid start to this season already has people anointing him as LeBron’s sidekick as the second best player on the roster.
In the first game without Rondo and James, Kuzma did as expected and carried the scoring load with 33 points on an incredibly efficient 12-24 shooting performance. He also pulled down nine boards, had four assists, and led the team in minutes almost playing the whole game with 40.
If the Lakers are going to win games without two of their most important players and leaders, Kuzma is going to have to be the star of the show. He is the only one left that is capable to take over a game and get his own shot whenever he wants and it is essential to their success that he continues to play well.
Either he or Ingram is going to have to be the quasi-closer in place of LeBron while he is out, but they both made critical mistakes late in Thursday’s loss against Sacramento.
For them to get out of this stretch of games with a positive record, they will both need to channel his inner mamba mentality that he speaks about so often and help the Lakers close out games.