I really like what he's been up to this summer. Between working on his shot with possibly our new shooting coach and the youth leadership role he's taking on (group text and in the gym with Cook)...I really expect a big year for him. I think he and Boogie would make for a killer 1-2 punch off the bench. If Boogie makes the expected strides, could be the best bench unit in the league.
Y'all think AD's comments might hint that the Lakers will give Kuz the shot to start or simply boosting him up, possibly knowing he won't be starting as well? Lolz.
...boost. Imagine as a 4 or a 5 having to venture out there to cover him when he can shoot in open space or blow by you into the lane. Kuzma has the talent to score. Just needs to round out his game as all of us have said. Be above average as a defender and rebound better. Last season Kuzma was working on it drawing praise until the injury bug got him too. Cousins remembered Kuzma for baiting him into a pump fake then scoring on him on a drop step. Yelled at him the next time he pulled it again he'd clothesline him.
I still think we're underestimating where Kuz will be at come game-1. Lot of people, Lakers fans included acting low-key that he's peaked.
Kuzma's rookie season (MVP of the Summer League) to his regular season, I was disappointed whenever he missed. One quality he has is that he never shied away from taking the big shot. Kuzma has the tools and physique to be a decent defender. Smart enough to be a good passer. Being a scorer though is his forte. I'd like to see him in the post a bit or develop a midrange game.
This is the time that guys take the next step forward and again IMO, coming off the bench might stun his development OR it could* help him being more of the man coming off the bench. Could just see Kuz and AD feasting as LeBron becomes a legit walking triple double W/O working as hard as Harden/Westbrook. Part of the reason why Harden didn't start w/OKC is cause he didnt have the length of Thefolosha&by no means were gonna act like Kuz is lil tiny Lou-Will. PS- I wanna see Bradley,KCP&Green up Lou's you know what and see how he does. Time will tell.
Higher release is right. Hopefully his muscles develop the new memory quickly. Good to know he's putting in the time. I'm sure Kobe put relentless practicing in his head if he truly wants to be great.
Looks like a quicker release, I like it. If he can improve his deep ball to 35%+, then we'll be really talkin.
If he can master that higher release it boads so well for his future offensively. Think of all the guys with high release points.. a few that come to mind for me immediately are Garnett, Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, AD, etc.. You don't ever block those guys shots you only contest and hope they miss. If Kuz could develop his shot into that it would be another advantage.
Takes about 10,000 shots (correctly done) to begin changing the muscle memory... My son was putting up 750-1,000 per week and he was 11 or 12 at the time. He now knows his shot and can feel when he is doing something right. He breaks it down quickly and then corrects it within 100 shots. Part of the tweaking for him is because he is growing like crazy (6'2" at 13 years old). I don't even have to mention hand placement, set point, etc. because he already knows when he is not hitting it right. Crazy! Kuzma's jumper looks really good. Nice set point and beautiful release. Gonna be fun to see him this season. I just hope his defense and rebounding are up to his scoring ability.
