Could a move to small forward unlock Kuzma’s potential?
Let’s be honest, Kuz is a scorer. There is nothing he would rather do than get the ball and either blow by his man and get to the basket or rising any draining a jump shot right in his defenders face. Shooters shoot and Kuz is most definitely a shooter.
at the power forward position, you are expected to crash the boards, defend players who are big, strong, and long and you are expected to get your work done at times in the post.
That is not Kyle Kuzma’s game.
Kuz’s game is facing the basket, not having his back to it. At the small forward position, Kuzma has great size, length, and the necessary strength to at times bully his man.
Staying in front of his man also should not be a problem. Kuzma is a willing defender and has good lateral quickness for his size that will allow him to stay in front of his man.
When Kyle Kuzma came into the league he would bounce on the balls of his feet when defending, this automatically put him at a disadvantage as a jab step, pump fake or hesitation could completely throw him off and his defender could beat him to the rim.
Now Kuz has learned to slide his feet instead of bouncing allowing for him to stay in front of his man. This will be incredibly important for him at the small forward position as some of the players he will be guarding will be quicker than him.
The same problem emerges for Kuz however at small forward. LeBron James is going to be a starter at small forward for as long as he plays with the Lakers. Kuz one way or another is not going to be starting but him playing small forward allows for him to get more meaningful minutes and it also allows for the Lakers to try new line-ups without the fear of a significant drop off at the position.
A line up of:
- PG Avery Bradley
- SG Danny Green
- SF Kyle Kuzma
- PF LeBron James
- C Anthony Davis
A line up that could potentially cause an opposing team’s nightmares. A perfect balance of inside and outside defense as well as floor spacing, scoring, and length.
Trying this line-up before the finals kick off could provide the purple and gold with an added line-up option come NBA Finals time.