had at least 4 really nice iso drive and finishes last night. wish he had improved his three point shot--which seemed likely at the end of the summer. i really think if he was shooting 38% from three, he'd basically be what everyone had hoped for.
I thought his shooting would be better regardless of any role change. That’s a “CYA” comment by Kuz and I ain’t interested in it.
Displayed a lot of really nice offensive moves last night. I liked that he was aggressive in getting his own with Lebron out. More of this Kuz.
He's proving what we all know. He can score in bunches as a first or second option. But his inability to score as a third option is the issue. He's not good enough to be a 1st or 2nd option so naturally, you'd expect him to be the third option. Can he do what he did vs the Warriors taking 10-12 shots? Can he accept a lesser role offensively but focus on being a better defender? He played well vs the Warriors but let's be honest... The Warriors had 7 scrubs out there. About half of those guys wouldn't even be on an NBA team if the Warriors were fully healthy.
I don’t think he cares to be here long term for those points. He doesn’t want to be a 3rd option, and I’d bet he feels like he could be a member of a team’s one-two punch.
Haa. Yep. That’s where players can hype their numbers and appear more than they are. Play no defense, no punishment if you can score. Helps with the next contract. Yikes. I feel like I’ve just described a player I’m intrigued by: Devin Booker.
phx has been more competitive this year, but yeah. devin booker, zach lavine. these guys can put up big numbers, even as clear #1 options, but can you win that way? i suppose houston's success with harden has everyone thinking that will keep happening. but there are only so many whistles and so many role players willing to just stand in corners year after year whilst foregoing opportunities at bigger paydays.
He needs more minutes - but problem is too many guys are playing well at the 4/5 position and we've been using 2 guard lineups with KCP or Green at 3 as well - so where are the minutes going to come from? Kuzma is basically LeBron/AD insurance. If either of those 2 sit, he will play and have more opportunities. With both those guys playing...Kuzma will not find enough minutes or opportunities to be what we've seen him be the last few years. It's a weird conundrum but it's something that will hopefully get fiugred out soon or at least by summer time if we don't win it all...
His biggest issue is his poor shooting. He's shooting 32% from three. That's a terrible rate and something our third option has to be able to excel at considering AD and Bron aren't exactly sharpshooters. That's ultimately the #1 reason why he won't get more minutes with AD+Bron and closing lineups. If we have AD+Bron+Dwight, that's already three players who can't shoot. We can't add Kuzma in these lineups so it becomes a mess for Vogel. I mean, if you take a look at Klay, imagine if he shot 32% from three. Yeah, Klay can score in other areas and play defense but his three point shooting is ultimately what allows him to be such an excellent third option. People talk about he's not getting the ball as much so he's more inconsistent. That's just not true. He's taking just about the same amount of shots per minute as his first two seasons. He's getting the shots and the team is feeding him it. He's just not efficient out there.
https://stats.nba.com/players/shoot...eason&DistanceRange=By Zone&TeamID=1610612747 Look at his corner 3s compared to above the break He should be benched any time he takes a non corner 3 And the coaching staff and or anayltics department better start to drill this info in some guys brains We could really use a 3 point sniper this summer who actually will play minutes
Agreed - he's not hitting those 3's - he's shooting it better than last year - but just barely. A lot of hype came from Kuzma's camp and from the Lakers themselves regarding Kuzma - he has not only fallen short of it, he has actually somehow regressed. I'd love to see more minutes for him - but then again, i'm just not sure that will improve anything. Unfortunately, he seems to play better when LeBron or AD are not playing - and that's ultimately what Kuzma is - He's our LeBron/AD Insurance for games here and there that they will miss (and hopefully they won't be missing any playoff games)
hmmm...i'm not so quick to say he's regressed. to my eye (i know, the eye...), he's playing better individual and team defense, and he's trying hard to fill the role we have for him. that role--despite our desires--is not third star. it's multi-faceted role player. again, he hits a few more threes, and i think folks are much happier. not sure what's going on there, as his stroke looks fine, imo. only recently does even look mildly comfortable taking those shots, so who knows what that's about. i think it's on everyone (coaches, kuz, FO) to figure out how to make it work. he's more talented than what we're getting, production-wise. so...how best to handle that?
When do we stop making excuses for Kuzma? His best year, was his rookie year. His shooting had gone down, he still plays enough minutes to “get it going” but the only place he should be going is out the door this summer for help. The guy is wildly inconsistent. There’s no way you can depend on him. He’s not a terrible player on the right team but we are no longer tanking. He might get lightening hot for a playoff game or two but then be cold as ice for the next 3. His defense has improved but he had no place to go but up....is he Rondo bad, no but he’s not good either.
