Los Angeles Lakers: Gasol, Bron and Kuz beat Minnesota, 4 Lessons

Kyle Kuzma played the best half of his Los Angeles Lakers career in the first half!

Before the game, Frank Vogel made a statement that if LeBron James or Anthony Davis were to held out of the lineup, Kyle Kuzma would likely be inserted in the lineup. Based on this game, this plan probably will be etched in stone.

Kyle Kuzma easily played his best floor game of his career in the first half. After dropping four 3 point shots, he looked like he was in complete control of what he was doing on the floor. Lake Show Life goes inside the Spectrum SportsNet studios to Derek Fisher’s breakdown of his dominance in the first half.

He was the only player on the floor in double figures at halftime with 20. His plus/minus was an absurd +27. But Kuz didn’t just concentrate on his shooting, he expanded the effectiveness of his hot start to make plays for his teammates.

Here’s the difference between a game like this one and when he scored 41 points in three quarters against the Detroit Pistons two years ago.

In the second half after scoring 20 points awhile shooting  8/11 from the floor, Kuzma took just one more shot the rest of the game. His total was still enough lead six Lakers in double figures. After the game, Kuzma’s basketball I.Q. was put on display via Lakers reporter, Mike Trudell.

"Kuz said that he didn’t want to force things in the 2nd half, and since Minnesota adjusted their defense to better account for him, he moved the ball along in the 3rd Q (didn’t attempt a shot)."

This is Kuz’s first 20 point game since Aug. 10, when he hit a game-winning 3-point shot against the Denver Nuggets in the bubble.

Two years ago, Kuzma would have kept looking for his shot looking for scoring numbers. In the Pistons game, he scored 41 points but barely rebounded and had no assists. In this game, he filled the box score with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks while playing decoy on offense. He led everyone by a country mile with a plus/minus of +38.

If he can consistently combine his improving floor game with a confident jump shot.

Look for the superstars to have the time to rest like the organization envisioned when Rob Pelinka put the roster together.

While Kyle Kuzma set the tone for the Los Angeles Lakers early, LeBron James kept things rolling along quite smoothly in his 26 minutes. Read on to see how he did!