Los Angeles Lakers: How have Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma developed this season
Kyle Kuzma:
2017-2018 per game stats: 16.1 PPG, 1.8 APG, 6.3 RPG, 0.6 SPG, .366 3P%, .511 2P%
2018-2019 per game stats: 18.7 PPG, 2.4 APG, 5.7 RPG, 0.6 SPG, .311 3P%, .562 2P%
Kuzma’s seen a nice three-point uptick in his points per game, which is due to his improved 2-point percentage.
There are two areas where Kyle Kuzma has improved this year:
- Kuzma’s 2-point percentages from 0-16 feet have increased this year. Perhaps Kuzma’s two most impressive stats for the season are:
- 0-3 feet: 71%
- 10-16 feet: 48%
Compare Kuzma’s stats to the supposedly superior shot creator, Jayson Tatum:
- 0-3 feet: 69%
- 10-16 feet: 42%
2. Kuzma’s defense has gotten much better this year. Last year Kuzma was a decent on-ball defender, but he often got lost on switches or had difficulty sticking to his man through screens. This year, Kuz has cleaned up much of his defensive deficiencies from last season and has gone from a bad defensive player to average.
There’s one area where Kuzma has regressed this year:
- Last year Kuzma shot 36% from downtown, but this year he’s shooting 31% from 3.
Kuzma’s going to be an All-Star. Khris Middleton just made the All-Star team with these stats:
17.2 PPG, 4.2 APG, 5.9 RPG, 105 DEFRTG, 108 OFFRTG
Kuzma’s four year’s younger than Middleton and he’s already outperforming him. Plus, Shaquille O’Neal just said this about Kuz, “I’m never trading Kyle Kuzma.”
It’s interesting that most people around the league believe that Tatum is unequivocally better than Kuzma. Tatum’s averaging fewer PPG than Kuzma, he has a lower eFG% than Kyle, and his defense hasn’t been much better.
Tatum is three years younger, and perhaps he’ll end up being the better player, but to me, they’re both All-Stars and Tatum doesn’t look to have THAT much of a brighter future.
Last year, Kuzma came into the league as a good shot-creator and shot-maker, but he’s improved in both of those areas this season.