Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams have made bench play profitable in the NBA!
Kyle Kuzma had better enjoy the starting lineup while he can. When AD recovers, the bench will be waiting for Kuz. Look, it’s obvious that Kuz sees this as a slight. But in a winning culture with an NBA title on the line, it really is not.
Besides the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference, the Lakers’ only real competition in the postseason is the Los Angeles Clippers. Many people believe (Writer included!) that the Clippers have the edge over the Lakers to get to the NBA Finals despite what the records say at this point.
Why?
The Clippers have a deep bench featuring Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell. Let’s take a look at the positives Kuzma can draw on.
Lou Williams:
Lou Williams just set an NBA record for scoring coming off the bench last week. As of this writing, Sweet Lou is over 14,000 points and counting. Williams is averaging 19 points a game this year coming off the bench.
Sure with numbers like these, Williams could start, but he and the Clippers know that he can get a rhythm scoring against the second unit. Then when the 4th quarter hits, he finishes the game with the starters. This is the role the Lakers want for Kuzma.
Montrezl Harrell:
Yes, Lakers fans the Clippers have TWO players averaging 19 points a game coming off the bench. That’s why it’s laughable that Lakers fans talk slick about Patrick Beverley‘s scoring stats. They don’t need his scoring.
While Williams gets his points by efficient scoring from the field and knocking down nearly 90% of his free throws, Harrell brings energy and hard work playing off the superstars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Frank Vogel would love for his young player to find a proper balance between these two players and boost the Lakers bench.
This is not a demotion at all. It’s finding the right players to sacrifice their games for the betterment of the team. There are too many players on the roster that have done this. Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Remember how hot he was when Avery Bradley was out?), Danny Green and especially Jared Dudley.
There are too many examples of sacrifice for Kyle Kuzma not to fall in line in this situation.