Los Angeles Lakers: 3 most promising players from first 3 games
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers are officially four percent through the 2020-21 season.
The Los Angeles Lakers have their first three games in the 2020-21 season with the fourth game set for Monday night on the second leg of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers. While three games is the smallest sample size possible, we have seen some promising signs already.
We all knew that the Lakers were the top dogs in the league heading into this season and the 2-1 record thus far almost feels like a disappointment. This team is extremely deep and is led by the best superstar duo in the league.
That superstar duo has been somewhat limited by design thus far, allowing other players are on the roster to shine. Here are the three players that have been the most promising through just three games.
Most promising Los Angeles Lakers: 1. Kyle Kuzma
There is nobody else on this list that could be mentioned first. Kyle Kuzma is one of the most polarizing players on the Los Angeles Lakers roster, with the consensus split on if Kuzma is actually an above-average rotation player.
I fall on the side that thinks Kuzma is overrated, but he has shown some really promising signs through three games that could be a sign that he is going to take a step this season.
His first three games are being carried by his third game, a fantastic 20-point showing in which the young forward played tremendously in the first half.
Kuzma has scored a total of 48 points through three games (16 per game) while also averaging 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Most notably, Kuzma’s shooting has been absolutely fantastic this season.
Kuzma is shooting 55.9% from the floor and 61.5% from three. There is not a chance in the world that he sustains that level of shooting (obviously), but he is likely going to improve from the combined 30.8% he has shot from three the last two seasons.
Kuzma is prone to have these massive breakout games and then follow it up with games where he disappears and plays poorly. He has to keep playing well before I buy into this being a legitimate storyline this season, but the signs are promising.