Opponent has to respect his outside shooting, which something both Nance and Randle do not have. I am really hoping Nance can hit them 10 or 15 ft jump shot consistently this year, because if not his minutes will most likely reduce with Kuzma on the roster. This guy absolutely has no hesitation and super quick release. James Worthy compared this guy offensive game to Klay Thompson in his post game.
Yes, because the real NBA games could start and his game could fall off a cliff. I'm being cautiously optimistic because I've been scarred by late 1st round picks as a Laker fan for decades. But for summer league, he deserves all the praise in the world, he can only play who is in front of him right now. Does he have the potential to be one of the steals of the draft? Yes, clearly he does. But it is looking like a hell of a draft class based off summer league, so a lot of guys might end up steals.
Shooting might no be consistent but that effort, bbiq and all around hustle will, if he can get a lil bigger he or randle can play small ball 5, nance for all his effort isnt a good defender imo and is so limited offensively
I'm bracing myself for every possibility man. Don't want to be let down again. We've had some players look pretty good in summer league that didn't look good in the real league, it happens. We haven't had any players that looked THIS good in SL admittedly, but other teams have. I'm cautiously optimistic.
They think you are kidding ..... Close your eyes and picture him 20lbs heavier, stronger, quicker, faster ..... better in every single phase of his game. Kyle in his prime .....
He is legit. He was even creating his own shot last night with some very nice moves to get to the basket. His versatility and effort is just great. Funny listening to the broadcast that they are saying he will have to fight to get into the rotation. I think he has already passed that, he might actually be pushing to get into the starting line up. This is not a knock on Randle.
What's crazy is he takes some really bad shots and missed some bunnies (fatigue), but he still shot 10/19 from the field. I love the way he attacks out there and how comfortable he is already playing against this level of competition. I think his age is part of that and hes' really got the kind of game that is good for this level of competition especially. His scorer's mentality is similar to why Tatum looks so good in this setting. I think he's going to continue to develop defensively in help situations, but his man defense is very good for his size. He's got quick, nimble feet. I'm definitely eating crow on this pick... Even for what he's shown now, he's shown that he's an NBA player and that's already more than I was expecting from him, maybe ever. I thought Kuzma (and Ball) looked tired and yet they made all the winning plays down the stretch. At the end of the day all Kuzma wants to do is win and that means a hell of a lot to me. We'll see what that translates to in terms of the regular season, but I'm excited to find out.
Kuzma looks more and more like our PF of the future. Randle and Nance have some serious competition. Kuzma is like a Swiss army knife: he does a bit of everything on the court. And he does it all well. He's setting good screens, knocking down threes, taking to the rack, finishing in transition, playing D on positions 1-4, and boarding. He's hustling but he's got the right skills as well. Very promising.
Best part about last night for both Kyle and Zo was they played against NBA level competition from the Nets. So kuz proved he's ready for the NBA, Zo just needs to continue to get stronger and work on his mid range but still played great with his 6 assist that led to fouls or missed. So he should have had way more. His defense is improving as well
I don't think I'm ready to give the starting role to Kuzma just yet but I think it's Randle's and Nance's position to lose.
I'm a fan of this guy, what a steal. With that being said, let's not get carried away. I'll be shocked if he takes away the starting job from Randle...
Kuzma is not a starter yet. His body has to get used to the grind. However, the easiest way to get playing time is make shots. So, who knows. Randle will need to show alot this year. Otherwise he will be flipped at the dead line.
Oh for sure. But he's looking much better than any of our other PF's than in their Summer league, so I'm hopeful he ends up better than them sooner rather than later. Could be the Lonzo effect though.
