Even though the Los Angeles Lakers lost on Christmas Day, it was the best that Kyle Kuzma has looked all season.
Coming into the season, there was a lot of expectations for Kyle Kuzma to have a big season for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers absolutely got a steal when they selected Kuzma near the end of the first round in the 2017 NBA Draft. With the rights to the pick from a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, the Lakers didn’t miss on Kuzma.
Kuzma was part of a nice young core of the players for the Lakers, and after the Anthony Davis trade, he is the only one remaining. As a great scorer right off the bat, seeing why the Lakers wanted to keep Kuzma over a guy like Brandon Ingram was understandable. Kuzma is a good fit with LeBron James as a floor spacer, and shooting the ball from distance and being off ball was not a strength of Ingram.
However, Kuzma was hurt this summer while playing for Team USA. Being part of Team USA was certainly a great opportunity for Kuzma to grow as a player, but the injury set him back. Recently, Kuzma spoke about finally feeling healthy for the first time all season. Here’s what he had to say via Christian Rivas of Silver Screen and Roll.
"“I mean this is what I look like when I’m healthy and I’m confident in my body,” Kuzma said after Wednesday night’s game. “Like I said, I’ve been hurt all year and this is the best I’ve felt, and my play the past two games reflected it.”"
In the loss to the Clippers on Christmas, Kuzma was the leading scorer for the Lakers with 25 points off the bench. While Kuzma likely won’t lead the Lakers in scoring many nights with James and Davis on the roster, he does have the potential to be a 20 points per night guy.
Even though the Lakers have been very successful this season, scoring off the bench has been an issue for them. Even though Kuzma is just one player, he can be a true impact player off the bench.
The strong first half from Kuzma helped the Lakers have a 12-point lead at halftime on Christmas. Unfortunately, the Clippers erased that lead quickly in the 3rd quarter, but Kuzma certainly kept the battle of the benches much closer than in the first game against the Clippers this season.
Hopefully, Kuzma is able to stay healthy for the remainder of the season for the Lakers. If he does, the bench unit will be much better with him in the lineup.