Yeah agree he is a work in progress on the defensive end, although I feel it's unfair to say all of Gibsons buckets we're on him.
He'll get there. The thing with Kuzma though isn't just the points he scores on offense. The offense just runs better with him on the floor. He may give up points on the other end, but we can't just account for Kuzma's points as it pertains to his offensive contribution. The offense looks soooo much better when he and Ball are together on the floor. Spacing looks better. Movement is crisper. When Nance and Lopez start, our offense is clunky and painful to watch. Just replacing Nance with Kuzma opens it up.
A lot of that has to do with the fact that Kuzma is always moving. He's typically never still and that opens up the floor. It's part of what makes Golden State dangerous as well.
I actually am OK with Luke's treatment of Kuzma to a point. While Byron would bench D-Lo and Randle and not tell them why and just mumble something about grit, Luke is quite clear when and why he pulls Kyle out. Kuzma is a unique talent. It's been a long time since we've had a rookie come in and perform at this high of a level offensively. He's doing thing Kobe didn't do, that Eddie Jones didn't do...Now in the case of Kobe, he is 4 years older, so I'm not making a straight comparison, but as far as rookie numbers, he's better. With that sudden fame and adulation that comes with all the Sportscenter highlights, local media washing his balls, etc. he might start to get full of himself. Luke trying to pump the brakes on him so he doesn't turn in to a matador like Harden is acceptable, especially in a season when we aren't looking at making the playoffs. And Luke being harder on Kuz tells me he knows he has to be careful with him because he can be something special, but he also knows he needs a firm hand to get the most out of him.
Oh, I know. believe me I notice. I'm just pointing out that Kuzma makes everything around him more fluid and everyone one around him better, so when looking at ppg for Kuzma vs points scored by whoever he's guarding, there's still several more points being scored by Ball, Ingram, Randle, etc that add to the Legend of the Kuz.
The Legend of the Kuz ......smack :Headbang: Come to think of it Kuz would look good doing the Julius affirmation above too. That might really be the last straw for Jules though ....
I don't know now if Kuz can still go straight to the Hall while an active player after a game like that. Pretty tough after even one of those.
Dude is putting up crazy numbers but he's still a rookie. Luke overplaying him isn't going to help any when he inevitably hits the rookie wall.
I wonder if he's not available whats the odd that we'll see nance @ 40mins while randle gets something in the teens still lol
Luke running Kuz into the ground for no reason and will probably still play Randle 10 minutes and Nance 45 minutes. smh
