Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma says he plays better with more minutes
By Nick Ziegler
After two big games for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kyle Kuzma says that he plays better when given more minutes.
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to surprise a lot of people on Saturday night with a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Considering they were without LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Danny Green, this might have been one of the best wins of the season.
In the win, the Lakers got a lot of great games from their role players, and Kyle Kuzma stepped up as the great scorer he has the potential to be. Compared to the last two seasons, Kuzma minutes are way down, and this might have impacted his performance.
While his minutes are down, Kuzma has also missed a lot of time because of injuries. However, Kuzma recently spoke about playing more helping him get into a better rythum on the court. Here’s what he said on Spectrum Sports with text via Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll.
"“Every time I get big minutes, I produce the best I can. I’m a rhythm player and when I get a chance to keep that rhythm, my game shows,” Kuzma said."
While the last two games are a small sample size, Kuzma has certainly played really well with more minutes and Anthony Davis out. Against the Mavericks, Kuzma totaled 26 points. Without both of the stars against the Thunder, Kuzma finished with 36 points. It is worth noting that Kuzma was over 30 minutes in each game, well above his season average.
If getting more minutes is the key for Kuzma playing well, the Lakers will have to be creative in order to do so. Kuzma plays the same position as both LeBron and Davis, which limits his minutes ceiling. However, the Lakers could use Davis at the center position more to get Kuzma minutes at the power forward position.
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With Davis and LeBron expected back soon, Vogel will have some decisions to make with Kuzma. The strong play of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee has allowed the Lakers to play big for most of the season. However, Kuzma is clearly deserving of some extra minutes after the last two games, and Vogel must try to get him in the lineup more with the Lakers at full strength.