Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma sends message against Suns, 5 Lessons

The Los Angeles Lakers bested the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers finally showed the NBA world their two best players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They started the game, but two other players in Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker assumed their closing roles quite nicely in the 4th quarter. Lake Show Life covers the game in Lake Show life Lessons. The only Los Angeles Lakers post-game with highlights and in-depth analysis.  

If there was a time for a Los Angeles Lakers letdown, this was the time. The roster could relax because their superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis returned to the lineup. Couple that with Talen Horton-Tucker dominating the Lakers news cycle, the Phoenix Suns would lay down right?

Well, as they say: “That’s why they play the games”. The Los Angeles Lakers took their first road trip to Phoenix to play the Suns in their 3rd preseason game. It was the Lakers’ first “official” game away from Staples Center since March, when they played the Pelicans before the NBA was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Los Angeles Lakers still have issues with slow starts like last season falling down 20-7 early,  but they turned on the jets to full power to overcome two major Phoenix runs to win 112-107. Here’s a quick synopsis of how the Lake Show stayed undefeated this preseason.

• After falling behind in the first quarter, the second unit held the Suns scoreless the last three minutes of the first quarter.
• Then the Lakers outscored the Suns 32-19 in the second quarter as the defense got the Lakers fast break in gear and the Suns stars in foul trouble. 

• The Lakers outscored Phoenix 43-24 in the fourth quarter.
• Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker.  

With the superstars returning the lineup, the Vogel carousel of resting players continued.

• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope didn’t play because of hip soreness. Reports say it’s not an injury, just general soreness (No Jimmy Butler jokes!) and the team was practicing caution. 
• Alex Caruso also didn’t play because of a hip flexor injury suffered in the first preseason game.

This game was fun because anybody that used the old line “Oh I haven’t played ball in weeks!” (Knowing they had just been in the gym playing yesterday!) can relate to how LeBron James and Anthony Davis played early in the first quarter.

• The two seemed to be a step behind. 
• LeBron James missed all of his shots from the field and one of two free throws.
• Anthony Davis was missing defensive rotations.
• Both of them looked gassed after running up and down the court a few minutes.
• It didn’t stay that way. They played two quarters. More on that later!

You know what? It didn’t matter. The main thing is Lake Show Life is not reporting hamstring pulls, calf strains or hip soreness that seems to float around the roster these days. Chemistry will not be a problem for these two. The overall plan is to ease LeBron and AD in the fold to build their stamina before the Lakers open the regular season next Tuesday against the Clippers.

But it is refreshing that two of the five best players in the NBA are humans beings too.

For the quick recap of the game check it out here.

• Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron and AD return as THT and Kuzma beat Suns!

To the new Los Angeles Lakers fans that are checking us out for the first time, welcome to Lake Show Life Lessons. Our extended post-game report with video analysis will cover the progress for the Los Angeles Lakers the entire season!

Over the next several pages we will provide highlights of certain players and coaches. Afterward, the comment section is loaded with knowledgeable fans adding their basketball knowledge. We usually start with the stars, but someone made a statement to the media and Lakers fans alike.

Who was that player? Let’s get to Lesson One and find out!

Introducing the Los Angeles Lakers most polarizing player: Kyle Kuzma!

This weekend, Lake Show Life will have a feature coming this week explaining the sometimes “toxic” relationship surrounding Kyle Kuzma, the media and a divided fanbase! 

Watching the game with the Lakers down in the third quarter, the Lake Show Life staff saw this as a huge chance for Kyle Kuzma to shine. Kuz did that and it was done in style. Bottom line, the Los Angeles Lakers do not win this game without Kuzma’s timely 3 point shooting in the 4th quarter.

After showing bad body language and going through the motions, Kyle Kuzma has suddenly turned up the intensity. In 32 minutes, Kuz dropped 23 points (On 8-15 shooting, 4-8 from the land of the extra point!), grabbed 3 rebounds (2 offensive!) and collected 2 assists.

What is getting overlooked is Kuz’s 3 point shooting in the preseason. Kuzma is now 12-of-23 from the 3 point line in the exhibition period. This coming from a guy who shot 31 percent from deep last year. Somebody is looking for a major role this season. Something nobody has a handle on not even Kyle according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin…

"Kyle Kuzma only offered up a “I don’t know … we’ll see” when asked about his role this season, but Anthony Davis was bullish on Kuz. AD: “It’s going to be a big year for him. He’s going to play a bigger role for us this year. And we need him to continue to do what Kuz do.”"

Former NBA coach, Sam Mitchell lays out the potential assets of Kuzma’s game here.

Lake Show Life’s take of Kuzma’s chance to improve lies here. Kuzma needs to just relax and play his game. But he needs to play his game hard without constantly thinking and worrying about every little thing he does. LeBron James has come out publicly saying the Lakers will get a big year from him. AD says the team needs him to be himself after this game.

Now relax. Oh, and stop putting up Michael Porter Jr. rebounding numbers. A 6’10 dude should get three rebounds tying his shoelaces.

Kyle Kuzma may be playing a little bit harder because of another young player that is also doing his thing this preseason. Not only does he score the ball, but he also fills stats sheets. Read lesson two to see who this player is! 

When Kyle Kuzma got things started, Talen Horton-Tucker closed the game for the Los Angeles Lakers! 

Start taking the kids upstairs to bed because Talen Horton-Tucker has a grown man game. After a slow start, he teamed up with Kyle Kuzma to help the Lakers steamroll the Suns 43-24 to close the game out.

When the street lights came on, he made winning plays scoring the ball and setting up his teammates. He finished the game with 18 points (7-11 shooting, hit all 4 FTs!), grabbed 5 rebounds and filled out the box score with 2 assists, a steal and a block. His plus/minus was an astonishing +12. Why? It probably was obtained in the final quarter.

If anyone has a theory about how THT pulls this move off seemingly every game he plays these days, feel free to put it in the comment section below.

This game here should mean more to the Lakers than the 33 point, 10 rebound explosion in the previous game. It would have been easy for THT to take a step back and rest on the laurels of two solid preseason games after starting slow, especially with the stars coming back.

This performance in the last quarter shows this guy will compete every second he’s on the floor. He is taking the blueprint of Alex Caruso and is writing his own success story. What’s scary for the NBA? He’s 6’4 230 pounds with a 7’1 wingspan.

THT is the guy that has to bring his birth certificate to games.

Lake Show Life knows what you are thinking. What did LeBron James and Anthony Davis do? They are the superstars! Okay, be patient and read on to see how they did!

LeBron James was worn out in the 1st quarter. Then he wore out Phoenix in the second quarter!

What really matters: LeBron James did not get hurt in this game! We could stop here, but there is a word limit for pages here at Lake Show Life. 

Oh, LeBron was hurting in the 1st quarter. He was raising his hand halfway through the first quarter to sit down and rest. He only hit one free throw, missed the other and four other shots from the field. When he returned in the second quarter, well let’s just say that things were different when he got his second wind.

After watching this “Boogie Down Professional” turn around jumper fall, James starting practicing his fadeaways from various spots on the floor, making four straight shots. What was scary was he had the baseline spin for dunks on each one. In short, this was a light workout and the Suns still couldn’t do anything with him when his rhythm returned.

In 15 minutes of light work, James put up a stat line of 11 points (4-10 shooting, 3-5 FTs.) with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Frank Vogel weighed in on LeBron’s performance via the L.A. Times.

"“We anticipated a little bit rusty first stretch and I thought that played out,” Vogel said. “Once he got his legs underneath him, I think he settled in and looked great. I think it was anticipated and as I anticipated and it’s going to be a matter of getting his legs back under him again.”"

In layman’s terms, LeBron James was scrimmaging trying to get a light workout. Look for the same in the next game. Start caring around December 22nd, 2020, which is next week.

That takes care of one superstar, read on to lesson four to see how Anthony Davis did on his opening night.

Anthony Davis was efficient and smooth. But that’s why the Lakers handed him a max deal, right?

What really matters: Anthony Davis did not get hurt in this game! We could stop here, but there is a word limit for pages here at Lake Show Life. 

Okay, there are probably two or three basketball players in the world that keep up with this guy. Sadly for the Phoenix Suns, they have none on their roster.

Like LeBron, AD had his issues with fatigue and timing. He missed a few defensive rotations. But when Davis got locked in, the Suns couldn’t run their offense without seeing AD’s defensive eclipse. In 18 minutes, Davis had 10 points (3-4 shooting!), 4 rebounds and a block.

Get used to this.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1339408566113865731

The Los Angeles Lakers wore the NBA out in fastbreak points last year. LeBron James led the NBA in assists last year just making passes like this to AD. Now it seems that Marc Gasol wants to join the party this year.

Just like LeBron, this was a light aerobics class for AD. His skillset is borderline unfair at this point. Now it seems that he’s gotten stronger in the short offseason. Lakers fans, barring injury or COVID-19, the NBA has no answer for this guy. This includes the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets.

Los Angeles Clippers? Forget it.

Shaquille O’Neal always talks about the others being very important. Let’s honor the “Big Legend” by talking about them. Read on to see how “The others” did while discussing a major issue. 

Dennis Schroder is playing his way down the rotation with every minute he plays! 

Writer’s note: If Dennis Schroder criticism bothers you, this is the time to stop reading.

For the second straight game, Dennis Schroder has played an inefficient brand of basketball. No, let’s be honest, for the second straight game Dennis Schroder has stunk up an arena. Remember, this is the guy that went to the media stating that he should start. When he was running the point, which was around the 1st and 3rd quarters, the Lakers fell behind by double figures.

Defense? What defense?

Frank Vogel said after the game that Schroder suffered a mind ankle sprain in the third quarter.

For Schroder fans that read this looking to defend him, don’t. Some of those shots he threw up will expose if you actually watched the game or not.

Marc Gasol:

Lake Show Life probably can guarantee Gasol won’t play on back to back nights. If he plays three games in four or five nights, Marc Gasol might have games like this. He blew at least three point-blank layups, turned the ball over and Deandre Ayton looked like Usain Bolt running him up and down the floor. We’re needling Marc here. Everyone has clunkers, but he looked like the old guy in the park playing with the younger, more athletic crowd.

Quinn Cook:

This dude can flat out shoot the rock. He scored 10 points on the strength on a couple of 3 point shots. He also added 4 assists. This post-game would recommend Cook playing in front of Schroder, but he plays no defense. He’s got to get better or he’s going to be this year’s Troy Daniels. Troy shoots better than Quinn.

Montrezl Harrell: 

Harrell kept right on bringing the energy supporting the Lakers’ comeback in the 4th quarter. Trez finished with 11 points (5-8 shooting!) with 6 rebounds (2 offensive!), 2 assists, 2 steals and a block.

Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker will get the headlines for the comeback, but Harrell made timely plays too. His pass to a back cutting Kuzma for a 3 point play basically sealed the game for the Lakers.

Devontae Cacok:

Thoroughly disappointed that Cacok didn’t get more minutes (Writer’s favorite player!) than five. Here’s why!

Come on Coach! Give Devontae 20-25 minutes Friday! Give the other frontline players the night off!

Speaking of Friday, the Lakers should stay in the hotel until then when they run it back against Phoenix. Please stay safe fellas. Lake Show Life will be on top of it with complete coverage. Keep it locked.