Let’s meet a player that is glad the trade deadline is over, Kyle Kuzma!
Outside of a few players in the locker room (Michael Beasley) that let the trade deadline pressure get to them over the last couple of weeks, Kuzma really let the distractions affect his play. If he was trying to hide it, there are always some acting classes to take in the offseason because he failed miserably.
The deadline passes and Kyle Kuzma was a whole different type of player. Kuz flat-out got buckets.
🎥 Kyle Kuzma dropped 25 points in tonight's #LakersWin, including shooting 5 for 8 from behind the line. pic.twitter.com/R76gKuOjYm
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 8, 2019
Kuzma scored 25 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists. He came out on fire in the third quarter, knocking down four 3-point shots leading the 42-27 rampage to erase the early Celtics lead.
But it was more than that. He was engaged on both sides of the floor combining a spirited defensive presence with Brandon Ingram, chasing Kyrie Irving all over the place. Irving scored 24 points but don’t let that fool you. He shot 6-of-21 from the floor and struggled most of the night before his push in the 4th quarter.
What Kyle Kuzma is going to have to learn going forward is to ignore what is going on around him and just play ball. At times he tends to let circumstances and his struggles on the court affect his floor game as a whole.
Kuzma knocked down five 3-point shots on eight attempts last night and that gave him a lot of confidence that carried over to other areas.
Like his playmaking on the offensive end, which carried on through to the end of the game, hitting a monster 3-point shot to get the Lakers to within one point before Rondo’s epic heroics!
Consistency going forward is going to dictate Kuzma’s future with the Lakers. These trade rumors with Anthony Davis will be back in about, say, six months. He’s going to have to adapt.