Kyle Kuzma started strong and faded in the second half. Something that has happened this year consistently.
With Anthony Davis out of the lineup, Kyle Kuzma knew as the second scoring option he would get opportunities to shoot and took advantage. After the 1st quarter, Kuzma was leading everyone in the building in scoring with 11 points.
No AD in the middle allowed Kuz to be the aggressive slasher that gets him buckets.
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1215835376457093120
With Kuz breaking the starting lineup, he spent more time playing with LeBron James as opposed to Rajon Rondo (A huge difference that will be discussed later!). Kuzma looked comfortable and played in the flow of the offense. He rocked the Mavericks with 21 points in the first half.
However, Kuzma didn’t continue his surge and only finished with 26 points. He missed open 3-point shots that allowed Dallas back into the game. One was an air-ball from the left corner.
This game was reminiscent of the Clippers game on Christmas Day and the Portland game that started the current winning streak. He would come out on fire and fade late. Lake Show Life was critical of Frank Vogel after the Clippers game but over time, it has shown that Vogel saw the holes earlier than everyone else.
The game is a microcosm of the division on what to do with Kuzma going forward. He has to be able to perform at a high level consistently to solidify his spot as the third guy for the Los Angeles Lakers.
This is about a win-now culture for this team. Anthony Davis and LeBron James are the main guys that will get the shots. Kuz has to be more efficient on a consistent basis. But he really showed out the next game.