Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons from last-second loss to Sacramento Kings

Kyle Kuzma came a foot short on his last shot to possible superstar treatment!

Kyle Kuzma almost did not play in this game. Not because of the heel contusion that kept him out of the Phoenix game, but an inconclusive COVID-19 test. He was stuck in the hotel room until he cleared protocols.

But with LeBron James and Anthony Davis out of the lineup, Kuz wasn’t going to miss this game if given the option. Last year it worked out just fine in Oklahoma City when he put up 36 points in what was the best game he had played all season long. That was the huge storyline going into this game.

Kyle Kuzma was balling in this game playing the same efficient floor game he would if the stars were on the floor. He had 14 points (5-8 shooting!) by halftime by hitting tough shot after tough shot.

Kuz finished with 25 points (10-20 shooting!),12 rebounds (4 offensive!), 3 assists and a steal. Kyle Kuzma has really shown growth over the past year.  Kuz did not efficiently fill the stat sheet last year as he did in this game. The Lakers called the last play for him with 1.2 seconds left and he left a turnaround 27 footer JUST SHORT!

Even though the Lake Show lost, this is a great building block for future championship aspirations. This is not to start those third-star narratives up again, but he does have the ability as Zane Harris pointed out last week.

• Could Kyle Kuzma be budding into the third star the Lakers need?

The next few weeks after the All-Star break will be huge for Kyle Kuzma. He looks very confident in his role and his rebounding will be a staple for the Lakers whether AD and Bron are in the lineup or not. He needs to build on this momentum to continue his development.

Speaking of development. Kyle Kuzma will need to see the floor on a consistent basis which is not a guarantee with Frank Vogel’s rotations. Some have been head-scratchers, some have been flat-out mistakes. He made them in the Phoenix game and they continued a night later. Read on to see what went wrong!