Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Keys to beating the Houston Rockets in Game 42

– Kuzma must show up

Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of chatter surrounding Kyle Kuzma. First, there were some trade rumors that had his name involved. Then, his strong play in the absence of Davis brought hope that he has finally found his groove.

However, whether it be because of injuries or inconsistent playing time, Kuzma has not been the same player that we saw the last two years in Los Angeles. After scoring 36 points in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kuzma has just 15 combined points in his last two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic.

Kuzma has not shot the ball well in his last two games, as the inconsistency has been a real issue. Considering that the Rockets don’t play a ton of big lineups, this could have been a game where we saw a lot of Kuzma in the frontcourt with James and Davis. However, with McGee and Howard playing well, Vogel might choose to stay big if Kuzma doesn’t show him something in the first half.

With Davis expected to be back, this likely means that Kuzma will be returning to the bench. Since he has had two poor games in a row, there isn’t a lot of hope that he will find that brief success of a few games ago coming off the bench. The potential is clearly there for Kuzma, but he needs to find it on a more consistent basis.