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3 Los Angeles Lakers who will lose the most minutes once team is healthy

By Jason Reed

MIAMI, FL - APRIL 08: Wesley Matthews #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after hitting a three point shot during the first half of the game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on April 8, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - APRIL 08: Wesley Matthews #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after hitting a three point shot during the first half of the game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on April 8, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

2. Kyle Kuzma

Kyle Kuzma has missed two games while LeBron James has been hurt but when he does play he is getting significant playing time. Kuzma has been mildly disappointing during this stretch as well. This was a chance for him to step up and be the team’s leading scorer without LeBron and AD and that just has not been the case.

He is getting a lot of playing time and is taking a lot of shots but his efficiency has been terrible. In 10 games played without LeBron James, Kuzma is shooting 38.9% from the field and 27.7% from beyond the arc… in 8.3 attempts per game!

If Kuzma passed this test then you could make the case for him to stay at a similar minutes number once the team got healthy. There is a bit of roster redundancy with Kuzma, AD and LeBron, but strong play would have forced Frank Vogel to figure that out.

Kuzma has not earned the same playing time and he is undoubtedly going to get less playing time once the stars return. He is averaging 34.6 minutes per game without LeBron and AD and quite frankly, he probably should get fewer minutes per game than he was getting before the injuries.

I know there are some big Kuzma fans that read my work here at Lake Show Life but he has not played well in the 10 games without the stars. With the new additions and the strong play of Morris, I would play Kuzma around 25 minutes per game, almost 10 fewer than he is currently getting.

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