Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma shines in a foul plagued win! 4 Lessons!
By Ronald Agers
LeBron James does not deserve MVP. Don’t let ESPN fool you.
This is not a “Skip Bayless” stalking statement here. LeBron James will finish runner-up in the MVP vote. While he has shown incredible leadership skills which this website harshly criticized him for every chance we got. This game shows that no matter how well LeBron James plays in the postseason, he will need the help of Anthony Davis to take the workload off of him.
Again, not a knock against James, just a fact.
LeBron James looked a little tired in this game and when Anthony Davis left with an injury, he looked less interested. There can be comments saying “It’s a scrimmage game, relax!” PFFT! If that was the case, he wouldn’t have played at the level he did on Thursday against Dallas.
Lake Show Life likes to watch LeBron James’ body language to dictate how well he’s playing. The fact that he made just 6 of his 15 shots is not an issue. The NBA is a make or miss league. The long jump shots and complaining to the referee after a missed layup is a problem. The fact that he was getting visibly frustrated is a problem. James finished with 20 points and 7 assists.
The championship question going forward is if Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James can both be effective on the floor. Here are four of the five Kyle Kuzma 3 point shots in the game. If you notice, LeBron is around for only one of them.
25-year-old Kuz can’t miss 🎂 pic.twitter.com/vobu1J4XNt
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 25, 2020
But let’s put this into context. LeBron James got him untracked early. Let’s look at the play that James executed to get Kuzma an open shot.
Fournier sniffs out the backdoor lob attempt to AD, so Kuz pops out after setting the screen and drills the 3 for the @Lakers. Nice job of flowing from one option to the next. pic.twitter.com/vzqEgADEk5
— Laker Film Room (@LakerFilmRoom) July 25, 2020
This game has opened up a discussion of other challenges for the coaching staff. As you can see from the play above, LeBron James is the willing passer needed to get Kuzma shots, something Rajon Rondo was criticized for.
Can LeBron’s leadership skills keep Kyle Kuzma engaged when his shot is not falling? It’s easy for Kyle Kuzma to stay engaged when his shot is not falling and the team wins. But when it’s not going well, there’s always the Dallas scrimmage to look at for reference.
Anyone missing Avery Bradley yet?