Favors is MUCH bigger than Kuzma. Favors is listed at 6'10" 256 pounds, I'd say he's probably heavier than that. Love is listed at 6'10" 250 pounds, I bet that's pretty accurate. Milsap was bigger and stronger than him in the two games they played. Hell Milsap was bodying up Julius Randle who is in a next realm of strength compared to Kuzma. Milsap is listed at 6'8" and 246 pounds. Even Draymond Green is listed at 6'7" and 230 pounds which I believe is probably accurate. Kuzma is listed at 6'9" and 220 pounds. I'd be surprised if he's 220, but if he is it certainly isn't with the same sort of strength he'll see on a nightly basis from that position. But the key is that I'm not sure Kuzma has the width either meaning I'm not sure he ever catches up to those guys in terms of strength. You need a wide base and wide shoulders. I'm not sure Kuzma's shoulders are wider than Lonzo's honestly. Kuzma can play the PF spot in stretches, but he's not best suited to it. His best position right now is the SF spot where he's at least as strong as most SFs and he has the quickness to play the position. For what it's worth: Horry is listed as a SF/PF most places. We remember Horry when he was already 27 with a grown man's strength. When Rob first came into the league he wasn't a really big guy. He still had pretty strong, wide shoulders though.
If I remember correctly Jamison was longer, but he was another guy that was sort of in between the positions due to his lack of girth. It's not an insult to be between the positions, especially these days. It's just where he's going to be most effective so we can get him minutes. Ideally, we put him at SF, but I know we won't. If he has to start at PF, it's not the end of the world I just think he makes more sense at SF.
Balls, KCP, Ingram, Kuz, Lopez Needs this starting line up for us to not be blow out by 20 after the 1st quarter. Maybe down by 10.
its funny how being a "tweener" was such a bad thing 10 years ago, and now its "versatility". I think kuz can play the 4 against certain players but mostly the 3 for this year.
If the team starts 5-15 in the first 20 games and randle and ingram look like slugs, something will happen.
My whole defense of Randle is about the blame and questionable expectations people place on him. Kuz has absolutely outplayed both Randle and Ingram and I'm 100% in favor of him replacing Randle in the starting lineup. It really doesn't matter if he starts or comes off the bench so long as he's getting big minutes. Love watching him play and while his shooting should cool off some, I think he's ready day one.
I'd say move Ingram up to the 2. Kcp isn't providing anything in that starting unit, and he's not part of the future plans.
You give Kuzma the 6th man role. First off the bench at either the 3 or 4 depending on match-up. Let him eat against the other team's reserves.
IDK....benching Ingram doesn't necessarily mean we're giving up on him. We need to develop Ingram, but more importantly, we need to win games to attract free agents.
Kuzma needs to watch film of Ingram playing defense. Ingram needs to watch film of Kuzma finding spots in the defense and how to take what the defense gives and know when to force the issue. He's very advanced in those areas.
Lopez and KCP are our only hope for having respectable defense. He needs to start, just so we don't get behind 20-0 at the start of each game IMO.
if you mean trade, that would be awful. let's wait until just the moment at which they hit their lowest value...then...RAGE TRADE! if you mean something like benching those guys and picking up some semi-retired vets to show them how to play basketball, that's more sensible.
Ingram will be fine. I'm pretty confident about that. I'm not going to look at two 20 minute sessions in preseason that the guy is all hype and will be benched for Kuzma. Randle is gone though. Our only hope is he plays just well enough to get us out of the Deng deal (probably with a pick thrown in). I think he could put up some of his patented empty stats and get to the point where a GM can sell acquiring Randle as a good thing.
Kuzma seems like an assassin on the court. He is never hesitating and quite fluid in his movements. He also has a big variety of moves to be unpredictable for defenders. He needs to hit the weight room. Right now he is only a scoring machine. But he needs to be more complete to be a cornerstone. Otherwise he will be a bigger Lou Williams or Jamal Crawford. Bug he is poised enough to be a significant piece. Very exciting and intriguing player who has all the tools. Jesse and his team have been amazing for years.
