Not bad, but for now our starting five should be Ball Hart Bron Kuzma McGee. It should, but it won’t be.
When Kuzma scores like that he is a net positive player. My problem is, he isn’t much of a defender and when he is at 20 points or less, he is giving up just as much on the other side. This is further exacerbated when he plays backup 5 and it’s a layup drill for the opposing team.
Kuz can’t play the 5, but I’m not sure he’s been so bad defending otherwise. I need to see his defensive numbers when he’s not the 5 on the court. That being said, teams have certainly been going at him to try to exploit him as our weak link defensively. I’m thinking that might be more reputation from last year than how badly he’s defended this year... except at the 5 of course. He’s been terrible there. But back to the start Kuz in place of Ingram idea. Kuz’s offensive skill set fits better with LABron and Lonzo. Ingram needs the ball in his hand more and he can get that if he’s coming off the bench and allowed to be our primary scorer off the bench
There is a synergy angle here. Even if Kuz himself, when he scores 20, isn't positive, people in lineups with him may be are? He is such a threat that may be his gravity impacts others.
Kuz's defensive struggle (aside from size at the 5) mostly come from technique and attention to detail; for example, there was a play yesterday when DDR drove baseline and Kuz dropped down to help, DDR then passed it to the corner to Gay (Kuz's man) and he drained the 3; those are the types of little things (attention to detail) that he has to improve on... He can play the 4 next Lebron; because his man actually has to respect him and wouldn't cheat off of him; and if he does, Kuz will make them pay for it more times than not. This is really on Luke; who has to see this? Will he? I'm not sure, but we need a boost in that starting 5 and Kuz may be the solution.
Part of me is starting to think our best lineup might be Lebron/Hart/Ingram/Kuz/McGee. If there's one thing that the front office really dropped the ball on this offseason, it's the lack of actual centers. They constructed a team that was made to battle the Golden State death lineup. Problem is there are 28 other teams that actually have 7 footers at center for longer than McGee 15-20 token minutes. Well, that and the problem that this team isn't ready to even sniff the farts of the Golden State Death lineup.
Spectacular performance last night. I was wondering when red hot scoring Kuz would return and we finally saw it. I totally agree with Battletested - it's fantastic to see him return to his natural forward positions 3/4 and not have to play back up center, which was ridiculous. Williams did a great job at 5 which he's more suited for, so I think we will see more of him there. Fun game from Kuz!
Once he started rolling, you can see that swagger he got. Kuzmania mode. But he still has to do more defensively, he's too upright and needs to use his size a little more than he knows he can.
Good to see him look more like himself. He's an excellent fit next to LeBron. Dare I say, a better fit than Ingram. Right now Hart, Lonzo, and Kuzma should be spending most of their time with LeBron James on the floor. Let Ingram start, but pull him early for Kuzma and then let Ingram run the bench unit. Closing games should be: Lonzo/Hart/Ingram/Kuzma/LeBron.
feels like this team is still somewhat built with scotch tape, due to the reserving of the 2019 cap space for some unknown FA that might or might not come....this team is full of mercenary minus the youth, we could've used show Randle or even Brook better respect than what was given, hell Brook signed for Lance type $, we couldn't have offered lance and brook that kind of $? AND F#$#$#% KCnoD
I'd still prefer to have JaVale on the floor at the end. Someone has to guard the paint and neither Kuz or LeBron are gonna do that.
I agree it's somewhat match-up based. If they have guys who attack the basket like DeRozan was last night then pull Ingram, Hart, or Kuzma (whoever is coldest) and put McGee in there.
Seems like one great game from Kuz is enough for almost everybody to give up on BI in the starting 5. We shall see, I personally still expect Ingram to be the better player this season and long term. Mamy are mentioining fit, but consider the question if our biggest issue is defense or offense when making that judgement. BTW I love the fact that we can have a discussion like that - I love both guys. That being said, Kuz was a monster last night, a shame we couldn't get the win, I hope that one puts an end to his play at the 5 for good.
I agree with this. It might be that Kuz fits now but I think it is way too early yet to say Ingram is not quite as good of a fit. Kuz defensively leaves much to be desired. My fear is that he doesn’t have the fundamentals or the instincts to be a an above average defender. Alas, in today’s NBA it might not even be necessary. I don’t know about you guys but I feel Silver is ruining the league with the new rules. I love watching great D and unfortunately this lack of D will trickle down to college and high school ball. We already have seen what 3 point shooting has done at the other levels. Post game is a thing of the past. Hopefully, the NBA will pull their collective heads out and allow some defense to be played.
From Lakers Film Room on LG "I was sitting by a scout last night and he said to me re: Kuzma "He's got 37 and I think he's dribbled the ball 5 times", which is an exaggeration, but stylistically perfect next to LeBron nonetheless. Off ball bucket-getting matters." Start him, IMO.
Agree totally. Unfortunately, it seems they do not want great defense to be played in this league, or any kind of defense for that matter. This is only the next step in a process that has started many years ago.
